Practice Kendo Sword: Stewart Ikeda

Stewart Ikeda shares the story behind a practice Kendo sword that his grandfather made during World War II while in an internment camp. For him, this object is a token of pride and an important reminder of his heritage, despite the dark history of Japanese internment camps in the United States.

Ikeda is a fourth-generation multiracial Japanese American yonsei, he is currently part of the AAPI Arts & Culture Collaborative hosted by the Asian Community Fund at The Boston Foundation. He lives in Arlington, MA, where he is an active advocate for the arts, co-chair of the Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture, and member of the Semiquincentennial Committee.