The Japanese Americans in Arizona (JAAZ) Oral History Project is a joint project with The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) - Arizona Chapter, The Japanese American National Museum, Asian Pacific American Studies Program at Arizona State University, Asian American Faculty and Staff Association at Arizona State University, Arizona Historical Society and Museum and the Tempe Historical Society.

The project has completed over 35 interviews with individuals and groups in the Phoenix metropolitan area. We still have at least 10 more interviews to be completed in the area. The holidays and unexpected losses to the community have delayed our timeline. In addition to local interviews, we expect to conduct interviews in the Tucson area, and also in California. Note: We will have a booth at the Matsuri Festival, Feb 26-27, at Heritage Square. We will be located in the Lathe House. If you or others you know have memories about the Japanese American community in Arizona, please stop by! We’d love to hear your memories and make them a part of our project.

In the meantime, we are beginning to work on the book. The book will include Valerie Matsumoto’s study of Issei women in Arizona, Andrew Russell’s work on Japanese American workers in the mines and on the railroads, and reprints of significant essays about Japanese Americans in Arizona. Of course, we also will be writing additional chapters based on the rich information from the JAAZ oral history project. Finally, the book will also include a section of visual interpretations of some of the oral history transcripts by ASU Design Students based on an innovative collaboration between the JAAZ Oral History Project and the students of Molly Schoenhoff, faculty in ASU’s School of Design.