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CAMP COMEDY PERFORMANCES

ABOUT THE INTERVIEW

In this video interview for the 2022 Day of Remembrance (DOR), Eileen Yoshimura, Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute DOR committee member, interviews Japanese American concentration camp survivor Atsushi "Art" Ishida about his experiences performing comedy skits with fellow members George Naohara and Mr. Yamada. Basing their skits off of a pre-war Japanese musical comic trio called the Akireta Boys (see below), they called their comedy team the "Nonki Na Boys" and began performing together while incarcerated at Jerome concentration camp. Watch to learn more about how he and the Nonki Na Boys came to perform comedy in camp and what the experience meant to Mr. Ishida.

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THE AKIRETA BOYS
あきれたぼいず

The Akireta Boys were a pre-war Japanese musical comic group comprised of members Boya Saburo, Kawada Yoshio, and Masuda Kiiton, and Shiba Rie. The group was active from 1937 to 1951.

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Special thanks to:
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Atsushi Ishida
Vicki Ishida
​Eileen Yoshimura, GVJCI Day of Remembrance committee member