"Gaman" is a Japanese term for the act of enduring an unbearable situation with patience and dignity. The word is Buddhist in origin, a virtue of keeping one's mind and self strong and disciplined. It's also the title of the new exhibit at Bellevue Arts Museum, the Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese Internment Camps. On display from now until October 12th, it's a unique collection of folk art, as well as everyday objects and possessions that internees made and kept with them during the 1942-1946 period where Americans of Japanese descent were removed from their homes and relocated in camps throughout the Southwest/Western half of the country. Gaman was a common term used by internees to give them the strength to bear such indignity, and their possessions and creative spirit are relics of our not-so-distant past that should never be forgotten.
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