Mercer Island resident Judy Kusakabe Featured in ‘Origins: Our Thousand Days’, Season 4 of Cascade PBS docuseries

The Cascade PBS branding graphic for Origins: Our Thousand Days on the left. Judy Kusakabe at the SIFF Cinema Uptown special preview screening on the right.

Mercer Island, WA, March 20, 2026 – On the evening of Thursday, March 12 at SIFF Cinema Uptown, Mercer Island resident Judy Kusakabe attended a special preview screening of Season 4 of the Cascade PBS docuseries Origins titled Origins: Our Thousand Days.

Season 4 of the short-form docuseries directed by filmmaker Andrew Inaba explores the story of the imprisonment of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor, told through the unique lens of Pacific Northwest communities.

Inaba interviewed Kusakabe for the five-part series.

Kusakabe has a long history with the Mercer Island School District. Annually she gives presentations to fourth graders at our elementary schools on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Her unique and inspiring educational presentation connects with students.

“Judy has been a longtime and deeply valued guest presenter in our school communities,” said West Mercer elementary principal Megan Isakson.

“Through her storytelling and personal connection, she brings the realities of Japanese American incarceration to life in ways that go far beyond a social studies textbook. Over many years, she has built strong, meaningful relationships with students, staff, and families. We are honored to partner with her and to provide a space where her story, and this important history, can continue to be shared.”

“My reason for giving my presentations for the thirty years is that I want to share our stories. Nidoto Nai Yoni Kodomo No Tame Ni - This must never happen again, for the sake of the children,” said Kusakabe.

“Also, Okage Sama De - Because of you, I can be strong. I want to honor my parents, my family, my friends, and their families, all those who were incarcerated,” continued Kusakabe.

Watch Promo Trailer For Origins: Our Thousand Days

Kusakabe’s children attended Mercer Island schools as have several grandchildren, some of whom have recently graduated from MIHS. Kusakabe’s daughter Andrea Fukano is a paraeducator at Islander Middle School.

“The documentary episodes I saw at the screening were very emotional for me, and my family to see. Andrew did an excellent job to show the raw reality of what happened during the incarceration. I could tell that the film really touched the empathy and the hearts of those who viewed it because, as I was passed, in my row, people thanked me. That meant a lot to me because they were thanking me for my part in telling about our history,” said Kusakabe.

“We were absolutely floored and so honored to have my mom be included,” said Fukano. “What a beautiful film. Wow!”

Cascade PBS Origins Docuseries Homepage

“To be interviewed for this documentary means a lot to me because it gives us another opportunity to share our stories, and to tell others that it is wrong to take away dignity, safety, honor, liberty, choices, and lives with reasons of “the panic that comes with war, fear of people who are different and because of bad decisions made by people in power”,” said Kusakabe.

Chapter 1 of Our Thousand Days will be broadcast on Cascade PBS on Thursday, April 16 at 8:50pm and available online the next day. There will be a new episode every subsequent Thursday for four weeks. 

“I had a garage sale this past summer,” said Kusakabe.

“A young man about 30 years-old, looked at me and told me that he knew me, but was unsure where we had met. As he shopped around, he got excited, because he remembered. He had been in one of my presentations in the Mercer Island School District…many years ago. He told me that he remembered what I had told them, and he often thought about my stories. It brought me great joy because he also told me that he has been sharing my talk with others. Wow, how great is that?”

“I am almost 84 years-old and my friends and family tell me all the time, that I need to slow down. Just when I think that maybe I will, something like these wonderful things happen to me.”  

About the Documentary
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japanese American citizens and Japanese nationals in the Pacific Northwest were forcibly removed and imprisoned in concentration camps without trial or due process. Five episodes look back at two women who were children at the time of their imprisonment, revealing a story of resilience against injustice that resonates today.

About the Filmmaker
Andrew Inaba's roots in the Pacific Northwest begin with his grandmother, who left Japan immediately following the war and settled near Seattle's Nihonmachi. In a community shaped by wartime incarceration, he absorbed the stories and came to understand the region's role in this history. With Our Thousand Days, Andrew gives voice to those who lived this history and carries it forward for another generation, so that it may never happen again.