The legislation seeks to name an USPS facility after Mary Kageyama Nomura.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Dave Min (CA-47) introduced legislation on Sept. 16 to designate an United States Postal Service facility located in Irvine, Calif., as the “Mary Kageyama Nomura Post Office Building,” honoring the life and legacy of Nomura, widely known as the “Songbird of Manzanar.”
If enacted, the legislation would make the Irvine facility the first U.S. post office named in honor of a Japanese American who was incarcerated in a concentration camp during World War II.
Mary Kageyama Nomura
Photo: Courtesy of the Nomura Family/Pacific Citizen Archives
“Mary Kageyama Nomura lived through one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history, but she never allowed that injustice to extinguish her hope or her commitment to others,” said Min. “At Manzanar, her music brought comfort and joy to a community that had been stripped of its freedom and dignity simply because of its ancestry. Naming this Irvine post office in her honor is a small but meaningful way to preserve her extraordinary legacy of resilience, hope and community for generations to come.”
Born in Los Angeles in 1925, the fifth of the six children of Tomitaro and Machi Kageyama, Nomura was a teenager when the U.S. entered WWII. After losing both of their parents within four years, Nomura and her siblings were living on their own in Venice, Calif., when the federal government forcibly incarcerated them at the Manzanar War Relocation Center along with thousands of other Japanese Americans.
While incarcerated, Nomura became known for her remarkable singing voice. Her performances offered joy and comfort amid the hardship of camp life.
Following the war, Nomura and her husband, Shiro, built a life in Orange County, opening Shi’s Fish Mart in Garden Grove. She remained deeply involved in the Southern California Japanese American community and continued singing and participating in Manzanar reunions.
Nomura passed away on April 6 at the age of 100.
Min’s legislation is supported by Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA-41), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), Brad Finstad (R-MN-01), James Gallagher (R-CA-01), Darrell Issa (R-CA-48), Kevin Kiley (I-CA-03), Young Kim (R-CA-40), Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R-MP-At Large), Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18), Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS-At Large), Linda Sánchez (D-CA-38), Brad Sherman (D-CA-32), Mark Takano (D-CA-39), Mike Thompson (D-CA-04), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), Derek Tran (D-CA-45) and Maxine Waters (D-CA-43).