Terminal Island
Terminal Island of San Perdro is a tiny island off of California and host to a close-knit Japanese community. It is the home of Chester Nakayama, but their home is turned upside-down in the wake of World War II when he, his family, and other Japanese families are forced out of their homes and sent to the Colinas de Oro War Relocation Center, Japanese internment camp.[1] It is situated between San Pedro and Long Beach.[2]
Yuko Tanabe came here to be the bride of Hideo Furuya, but was cast out when he learned that she was pregnant. ("Taizo")
Upon being released from the Colinas de Oro Relocation Center, the residents of Terminal Island returned, only to find a large fence labeled "government property" and a field of dirt beyond. ("Come and Get Me")
Behind the scenes[]
Terminal Island is a real island, largely artificial, located in Los Angeles County, California.
Since the island was geographically isolated at that time prior to the war, the Japanese-Americans that settled there had a distinct culture from Los Angeles and nearby San Pedro.
In the early 1940s, it was home to nearly 3500 Japanese Americans, who, like those in The Terror: Infamy, were forced out of their homes and sent to internment camps, their neighborhoods razed.[3]