TADAIMA! A Community Virtual Pilgrimage

In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, each of the annual pilgrimages to sites of wartime Japanese American incarceration have been canceled. These pilgrimages provide important educational and community-building opportunities for both descendants of the camps and the wider public. Recognizing the ongoing significance of these pilgrimages, we have begun work on “Tadaima! A Community Virtual Pilgrimage” to take place this summer, hosted on the Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages (JAMP) website over the course of nine themed weeks.

“Tadaima! A Community Virtual Pilgrimage” is a collaborative undertaking, involving representatives from many different contingents of the Nikkei community, as well as scholars, artists, and educators committed to actively memorializing the history of Japanese incarceration during World War II. “Tadaima!” means “I’m home!” in Japanese - it is our way of acknowledging that we are all home and the important reasons for why that is, while also celebrating the history, diversity, strength, and vibrancy of the Nikkei community. Rather than separate in-person site pilgrimages, “Tadaima!” will bring together many of the unique traditions from each site with new content - online exhibits, workshops, performances, lectures, panel discussions, film screenings, a community archive, and more - to create accessible and wide-ranging opportunities for learning, sharing stories, and building community. Spread across nine themed weeks, the Virtual Pilgrimage will feature pre-recorded and live-streamed content, as well as opportunities to engage with presenters and gather, virtually, as a community.

Four logos for Tadaima! were designed in collaboration with Erin Shigaki of Purple Gate Design and Eugene Tagawa.