by Glen Kitayama, Vice-Chair of the Manzanar Committee
“This [injustice] is still happening today. We’re not alone. We have to be like the Quakers [during World War II]. They were not afraid to support us …Somebody cared for us, so we need to care for others…Sometimes, the truth hurts [when we speak out] but we have to do that because otherwise we will leave this earth and not have done our job.” -Kyoko Oda interview with Virginia Yamada of Densho in 2019
The Nikkei community lost a giant this week with the passing of Kyoko Nancy Oda. Born at the Tule Lake concentration camp in 1945 to Tatsuo and Yuriko Inouye, Kyoko dedicated her life to service as a teacher and principal in the Los Angeles Unified School District, president of the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, and president of the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition.
Kyoko devoted much of her life to telling her father’s story in the Tule Lake Stockade – a prison within the Tule Lake Segregation Center. Because of the stigma attached to Tule Lake inmates, Tatsuo did not talk about his experiences for many years until Kyoko encouraged him to attend the Pilgrimages to Poston, Manzanar, and Tule Lake in the 1970s. At some point during their travels, Kyoko noted that her father decided to share the diary that he kept while he endured the inhumane treatment in the Tule Lake Stockade. Over the years, Kyoko worked with her father to transcribe his diary from Japanese to English in the hours after work and after her kids were put to bed. Tatsuo Inouye’s Tule Lake Stockade Diary was eventually published in 2020 and stands as a testament to resilience in the face of hostility.
Manzanar Committee Chair Bruce Embrey reflected, “Kyoko was a great role model and pillar of the community. Her ‘second act’ was so impressive leading Tuna Canyon, publishing her father’s stockade diary, and being such a strong advocate for immigrant rights.”
In her 2019 interview with Virginia Yamada of Densho, Kyoko humbly described herself as the “least important person” in the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition even though she served as president and the spokesperson for the organization. “We have lawyers, we have communicators, graphic artists, we have scholars, they have engineers to design this exhibit. So my role is very minimal…These are very busy people. And I thought about it and I said, you know the word giri, duty? Okay, I’m busy, too, but … this is our story. It’s about the Japanese, German and Italians, this is our story. I can’t shy away from it.”
Jenny Chomori of the Manzanar Committee knew Kyoko well: “Kyoko and I have crossed paths for many years as activists and educators in LAUSD, but didn’t become friends until we both participated in the Manzanar Committee’s Katari program in 2018. From that moment on, I witnessed her dedication up close through her work in Tuna Canyon and speaking with students at the annual ABC Unified District’s Day of Remembrance. Whenever I asked her for help on a project, she was always there. Kyoko was a friend, community advocate, confidant, and sister. She will be missed. Kyoko, may you rest in power.”
On a personal note, I first met Kyoko when she walked me through the Tuna Canyon exhibit that was set up at the Pasadena Playhouse to coincide with the production of Hold These Truths on Gordon Hirabayshi in 2017. I had no idea that she was the president of the group and was shocked to learn that Tuna Canyon was a detention center during World War II. A couple of years later, she spoke to my 4th grade class about her father’s experience at Tule Lake. The students loved the presentation and I gained further insight into this remarkable woman’s journey.
As the years passed, I was constantly amazed at her gambare spirit. She continued to fight for what she believed in even while literally fighting for her life with cancer. Last August, Kyoko was a featured speaker at the Day of Action in Little Tokyo to protect our national parks and challenge the ICE raids in our communities. Many of us on the organizing committee knew how difficult it was for Kyoko to continue with her work and would have understood if she could not attend the protest. We also knew that it was futile to try to convince her to rest. In a phone conversation, I told Kyoko that she reminded me of my friend and mentor Alan Nishio because both of them refused to let cancer control their lives. They continued to live life on their own terms and died knowing that they did their job.
Rest in Power, Kyoko.
Manzanar Committee 
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