The Kasa Project surrounds our collective importance and need as human beings for shelter and safety.

 

 In Japanese, the word “kasa” means umbrella, which represents the canopy of the heavens, shelter and protection. They often signify power and dignity and the vertical handle conveys the central axis that upholds the world. They represent the ability to shield oneself from spiritual suffering and other harmful forces while providing a protected place to release emotion.

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The Kasas in this project are visual interpretations of the stories held by survivors of the Japanese American incarceration. Their stories speak to the ramifications that incarceration, separation of families, racism and other injustices cause for the survivors and subsequent generations that follow.