Interactive StoryFiles

Step up to our StoryFiles to have compelling conversations with survivors of America's concentration camps and engage with US history in a new way. Based on hours of recorded interviews, StoryFiles use AI technology to give you a realistic experience of engaging with actor, author, and activist George Takei; camp survivor June Aochi Berk; World War II draft resister Takashi Hoshizaki; camp survivor Mary Murakami; and World War II veteran Lawson Iichiro Sakai. First person storytelling has always been an important part of our mission to share the lessons of history forward and to connect our past to the present. Now you can be a part of it too. Ask them anything you like and unlock their personal accounts of American history. Visit the Bios page to learn more about George, June, Takashi, Mary, and Lawson. The StoryFiles of Takashi Hoshizaki, Mary Murakami, and George Takei are presented by the Japanese American National Museum and the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation. The Storyfiles of June Aochi Berk and Lawson Ichiro Sakai are presented by JANM. The project was created with the nonprofit Japanese American Stories and is supported by The Freeman Foundation. Additional support for the StoryFile of Takashi Hoshizaki comes from the Hoshizaki Family Endowment Fund. The StoryFile of George Takei is supported by Joanne Watanabe Erceg, and the StoryFile of June Aochi Berk is supported in honor of Issei Pioneers: Bungoro & Fujino Morey.