For a long time, I’ve wanted to work on a project in some sort of form about the Japanese-American Internment during WWII. Over the past 3 years I’ve been working on the idea of how I could do this. Since I moved to LA a few months ago, I’ve been thinking about how I could make this project be impactful, intriguing, and give the people who were affected by this atrocity a voice, and to put a face with their story.

The most challenging part of this project is to find people that are still alive that were in these concentration camps and willing to share their stories and be photographed. There are many who would rather not relive the pain and haven’t even shared their experiences with their kids. I was fortunate enough to meet a couple, Yukio and Kiko Matsumoto, who in conversation had brought up the fact that they had both been in the camps while they were very young and met shortly in Chicago after being released. I immediately told them about this project and asked if they would be interested in being a part of it. Thankfully, they were on board.

I can’t wait to share some of the images soon. You can see the final image from these behind the scenes photos on Instagram @matthewscottgranger

Feel free to reach out or leave a comment below if you’d like to hear more or have any questions about this project.