The vintage Califone record player allows archivist Paul Kikuchi to access and share songs that he inherited from his great-grandfather and other 78 records that were left behind by Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.Paul Kikuchi got to know his great-grandfather, Zenkichi Kikuchi, through the records he'd left behind: LPs of Japanese music from the 30s and 40s. Zenkichi had immigrated here around the time 78 records were being invented.When Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II under Executive Order 9066 they could take only what they could carry. Many of their LPs were lost, but Paul was able to collect and preserve some of these recordings.Instead of leaving them in an archive, he installed a Califone record player in the Panama Hotel café, inviting people into a soundscape of this place before Executive Order 9066 changed it forever-- and to consider the history and archives of American music in a new way.Special thanks to the Panama Hotel and Tea House, the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of WA and the Northwest Nikkei MuseumRelated LinksPaul KikuchiThe Panama Hotel and Tea HouseJapanese Cultural and Community Center of WANikkei Music Archives at the JCCCWMore about the writing Bat of No Bird IslandJoin us for our free live event for The Blue Suit in Seattle on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Do find our more information to kuow.org/events.Do you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback