Citizen 13660

Born on June 27, 1912, Okubo was a writer and artist who was best known for Citizen 13660, her compilation of 189 illustrations and text describing her experience with Japanese American internment at Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz War Relocation Center during World War II.

Okubo began the sketches for Citizen 13660 in 1942 upon first entering Tanforan Assembly Center, although the graphic novel opens with the start of World War II when she was traveling through Europe. According to the graphic novel, Okubo first began sketching the daily scenes of internment life after her first day at Tanforan Assembly Center. In an accompanying image of her drawing her surroundings, Okubo writes, “The camp was a mess” (48). While Okubo’s drawings and textual account prominently feature the difficulties of camp life, she also depicts moments of joy and respite as well. Her drawings and text depict not only the deplorable conditions of the camps but also the various ways in which she and the other internees tried to retain their sense of normalcy during internment.

Citizen 13660 became an essential resource documenting internment life. Because cameras were banned from the camps, Okubo’s drawings became one of the few viable ways to visually document what had transpired during internment.