Shadow of the Mountain

The Storm In last week’s installment, we met members of the Manzanar Fishing Club. Giichi Matsumura, acquainted with these men, had just convinced them to let him join a planned excursion high into the mountains above Manzanar. For them, it was a chance to … [Read more...] about In the Shadow of the Mountain: Part Six (Final Installment)

The Fishermen Previously in this series, a discovery was made on a mountain, an immigrant started a family in California, that family’s world was turned upside down, and 10,000 people were incarcerated in the desert. When Kazue Matsumura was a little … [Read more...] about In the Shadow of the Mountain: Part Five

The Camp In the previous installment, after the attack on Pearl Harbor and Executive Order 9066, forced evacuation of Japanese Americans began. In April 1942, the Matsumura family was ordered from their home in Santa Monica Canyon and boarded a bus headed to … [Read more...] about In the Shadow of the Mountain: Part Four

The Order In the previous installment, Giichi Matsumura had immigrated to California from Fukui, Japan, along with his new bride, Ito, just before President Coolidge signs the Immigration Act of 1924 into law, effectively ending Japanese immigration. The young … [Read more...] about In the Shadow of the Mountain: Part Three

In the previous installment of this series, two hikers make a gruesome discovery on Mount Williamson. After climbing the mighty peak, they make a brief stop at the Manzanar National Historic Site, oddly drawn to the former War Relocation Camp. On the long drive … [Read more...] about In the Shadow of the Mountain: Part Two

This begins a multi-part series by local author Jay O’Connell. It starts with a gruesome discovery in late 2019 and ultimately will tell the story of one man’s family and their life in California leading up to and during one of history’s darkest chapters nearly … [Read more...] about In the Shadow of the Mountain: Part One