By The North American Post Staff
“Unsettled–Resettled: Seattle’s Hunt Hotel” is a new permanent exhibit at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW) that will open next week on the 74th anniversary of the Day of Remembrance.
Honoring the Japanese American incarceration during World War II, the exhibit sheds light on the postwar era (1945-1959) of the Japanese Language School when the buildings were converted into a temporary hostel and recalls the experiences of families and individuals who lived there. Local leader and community figurehead Genji Mihara established and managed the facility, calling it “Hunt Hotel” as most residents were returning from the Minidoka Incarceration Camp in Hunt, Idaho.
Within the walls of the historic buildings, over thirty families began to rebuild their lives in the wake of WWII. Children were raised, loved ones were lost and little by little the rooms were vacated, giving way to community organizations, classrooms and storage.
The projects features a historic site marker, art installation, exhibit catalogue, online archive, walking tour and traveling art show, and was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program and by King County’s 4Culture program.
“Hunt Hotel” opens to the public Monday at the JCCCW, Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. An accompanying book will be available for purchase in March.
