Pierce County camp imprisoned thousands in WWII. Here’s where a sculpture will mark it
The sound of Taiko drummers beating their instruments will soon fill Pioneer Park. The Puyallup Valley Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and Arts Downtown will host a dedication ceremony for a sculpture Sunday, Oct. 3 in remembrance of an internment camp that imprisoned thousands in Pierce County during World War II.
The sculpture is titled “Camp Harmony,” which was the nickname of the facility, and was created by Washington-based artist John Zylstra. The piece refers to the Puyallup Assembly Center, the formal name of the camp, which was held where the Washington State Fair currently stands.
The assembly center was the only Japanese internment camp in Washington state formed after then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order in February 1942 authorizing the internment of Japanese Americans. The center held over 7,600 people, said Eileen Yamada Lamphere, president of the Puyallup Valley Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.
The sculpture is a flat panel made out of steel. At the very top is a roof similar to traditional Japanese architecture, Zylstra said. The roof is followed by a moon, shoji screen and a maple tree with a single leaf. Near the bottom of the tree is barbed wire.
“That juxtaposition of the other images, as opposed to the barbed wire, was meant to put the piece in historical context to a particular time, a particular place and a particular kind of public or private reaction to all sorts of things,” Zylstra said.
The dedication ceremony is at noon in Pioneer Park. It was originally scheduled for Aug. 22 but had to be postponed due to a fire that prompted part of the city to evacuate that day, Arts Downtown president Becky Condra said.
In addition to Zylstra and Condra, Mayor Julie Door as well as Kent Hojem, Washington State Fair CEO, will speak at the ceremony. Cho Shimizu, a survivor of the assembly center, and keynote speaker Lori Matsukawa will also be at the event.
Lamphere said attendees can expect to see performances from Seattle Matsuri Taiko and Tacoma Fuji Taiko. An exhibit from the Pacific Bonsai Museum and photos from the assembly center will also be available for public viewing.
Lamphere said attendees can get a chance to take home paper cranes. The Puyallup Valley Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League made about 250. They can make 10 in about 10 minutes, she said.
“Cranes are the Japanese symbol of longevity and endurance,” Lamphere said.
Condra said Zylstra’s sculpture has been in Puyallup since 2019 as a part of Arts Downtown’s rotating gallery. They decided to purchase the piece in February 2021 because it had a connection to the city, she said.
“It is the newest piece that we have purchased and donated to Puyallup,” Condra said. “We usually don’t have a big public dedication program, but we decided that this was so important and had such strong ties to the history of our community.”
Lamphere said her chapter and the state fair are in the process of planning a permanent exhibit at the fair that will showcase the history of the assembly center and pay tribute to those who were imprisoned. They plan to share more updates with the public sometime next year, she said.
“Everybody has been touched by what happened in 1942 whether they recognize it or not,” Lamphere said. “Maybe through this exhibit, they’ll learn.”
