The Dinner Party
Podcast (Narrative)
11 minutes
The Dinner Party is the story of Chiyo and Hiro, two young Japanese Americans who meet and fall in love while incarcerated during WWII, only to learn that an even bigger test awaits once the war is over.
Chiyo Matsutani is a young college student in San Francisco and Hiro Fujimoto has nearly paid off the loan on his Sacramento farm. Both are American citizens when they’re rounded up in 1942 and sent to an incarceration camp where they meet, fall in love, and marry.
But when they’re released three years later, Hiro’s farm - like the property of so many Japanese Americans - is gone. They take the only jobs available to them, as housekeeper and gardener for a wealthy family in Oakland where they face harassment, casual racism, and an unending future of dreary servitude.
Based on a true story, this tale of love and resistance is a look behind the curtain at the resilience, humor, and community it took to survive at a time when "American" didn't apply to all citizens.
But when they’re released three years later, Hiro’s farm - like the property of so many Japanese Americans - is gone. They take the only jobs available to them, as housekeeper and gardener for a wealthy family in Oakland where they face harassment, casual racism, and an unending future of dreary servitude.
Based on a true story, this tale of love and resistance is a look behind the curtain at the resilience, humor, and community it took to survive at a time when "American" didn't apply to all citizens.
