英米　１年
I thought that it was very cruel for Japanese-Americans to suffer even though they didn't have anything to do with the war. I was especially surprised to hear that they weren't allowed to use cameras in the prison camps to look back and remember all the memories, and I can't imagine having that being taken away from me. I was moved by how much courage the people who secretly took photographs had, even though a punishment would be waiting for them if they got caught. Each photograph that they took has a deep meaning and tells stories that we can't even imagine.

英米　１年
In this lecture I felt complex emotions coming into my mind. The first one was interest. I never knew nor thought about Japanese American history, and if I didn't hear about it here, I think I would have never had a chance to know about this. The second feeling with sadness. Even though most of the Japanese Americans had an American heart, they were discriminated against only because of their appearance. That must not happen in any part of the world. The other feeling Is something I can't express clearly, but I really felt that each person feels their own way and there are also people who don't feel good about these kinds of topics. It was a new idea for me.

英米　１年
Thank you for your speech. I was surprised at your information, especially two things. One of them is that Japanese Americans had to leave their pets for their camps. I think this is the most horrible thing because pets are also part of their family. I have a cat and I can’t stand leaving my cat. Another one is that they were robbed of their names. I remembered “Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi”. I think their idea to not forget their name is great. I feel that the pictures are interesting because we can get a lot of meaning and information from them.

英米　１年
I have a little bit information about today’s theme because I’m a member of BA and have learned about Japanese Americans. Today’s speaker told us not only the history why Japanese Americans had to suffer from discrimination, but also the reality and lives of Japanese Americans through pictures. In short, it’s important to know the reality in same ways other than only to know the historical reading textbooks, I think. Knowing the past can make our life meaningful, I think.

英米　２年
Thank you for your lecture. I didn’t know about Japanese Americans in WWⅡ at all. By looking at the pictures minutely, we can know many things about what happened, I understood. However, as you said, there are some things we can’t understand only by looking at pictures. So, I thought if I have any interest in something when I see a picture, researching about it by other tools is also good. Thank you.

フランス　２年
Today, all of the topics are new for me. Actually, I didn’t know anything about Japanese American people. And, according Mrs.Junko’s presentation and many pictures, I could find the people who were at the mercy of the times. Dorothea Lange’s pictures taught me the pain of Japanese American people. I was shocked by the picture of the family with number tags (the Mochida family). Hikaru’s picture taught me of their humor. I found that they tried to protect their identity. And tried to be themselves. And they amused themselves in harsh living conditions. At last, Toyo’s picture taught me the strength of them (Japanese Americans). Especially, I could feel that the picture of the three boys. Today I could learn a lot of things about the background of immigrant people from each picture.

フランス　３年
Today's lecture was so informative as I had never learned about the history of Japanese-Americans before. I felt a bit embarrassed that I didn't have knowledge about them, so it was a good opportunity to learn about this topic I was impressed by the signboard hanging on the grocery store which says “I am an American”. This message from a Japanese-American can tell us how they felt at that time, and also how they truly felt they were American because they were born and raised in the US. Nevertheless, although they felt America was their home, they lost almost all their property and were sent to prison camps. I think pictures tell us many things beyond only words.

留学生
Dark Times, either it be war times or human rights restrictions/disrespect, are always a delicate theme. My country, Brazil, has just elected a fascist as president - a person who has declared publicly and is not ashamed at all that he doesn't respect minorities, that they should bend to majorities, and his poetic political enemies should be executed in a fashion similar to our dictatorship times: camps and military HQ’s, where they should be tortured. Photographs also play an important part in recording a history that otherwise would be forgotten. Being part of a minority group (LGBTI?) puts me at risk, and some of the lessons from today's speech gave me strength to oppose our future government and his allies. “Humor to combat dark times” and “creating representational space IS a resistance act” are some of the things I'm going to do when I'm back in my country, protect my people. It was also interesting to see how “fake news” hasn't changed that much. Taking a picture out of context was and is still dangerous to human rights.

留学生
Ms. Kobayashi’s speech was very interesting and it was also important because, of course, history is always important. What can we learn from photographs? She made us think critically about it and in my opinion we can always learn a lot from them, especially about past events. Photographs are a good way to record events, thus they are a good way to illustrate certain aspects of life. Of course, a photograph can show us just one part of a certain reality, and they can also be manipulated to deceive us, so it is important to know the context in which a photo was taken. We have to be aware of this. In short, it was a delight to take this seminar.

留学生
First of all, I want to congratulate Junko for coming and her well-presented lecture, I was amazed by all the pictures and facts she shared with to us. Of course, this topic was controversial because in wars there are two sides of history and infinite opinions, but she was neutral and presented what she needed to present without prejudice. I think photographs are so special because, as she said, they can show anything, and it can mean something different to everyone according to peoples beliefs, opinions or knowledge, and I also found interesting the idea that a photo can capture our first thoughts or expand them. I am also glad and happy that we as humans have so much resilience (as Japanese Americans, for example) that they were put in tight situations and they resurge and create things to make their lives easier, as with the camera lunchbox, the bathroom shower, the field and the name or the street-signs and remark that a photograph may show something but may mean, on the contrary, something else.