{"id":"ddr-densho-1024-27","model":"entity","collection_id":"ddr-densho-1024","links":{"html":"https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1024-27/","json":"https://ddr.densho.org/api/0.2/ddr-densho-1024-27/","img":"https://ddr.densho.org/media/ddr-densho-1024/ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008-a.jpg","thumb":"http://ddrmedia.local/media/ddr-densho-1024/ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008-a.jpg","parent":"https://ddr.densho.org/api/0.2/ddr-densho-1024/","children-objects":"https://ddr.densho.org/api/0.2/ddr-densho-1024-27/children/","children-files":"https://ddr.densho.org/api/0.2/ddr-densho-1024-27/files/"},"parent_id":"ddr-densho-1024","organization_id":"ddr-densho","signature_id":"ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008","title":"Topaz, The Chessmen","description":"Short narrative film about Japanese Americans struggling to run a flower nursery set in Northern California in 1949. Based on a short story by Toshio Mori  , filmmaker Ken Kokka made the film as a film student at UCLA.\r\n\r\nAs the story begins, Mas, a middle-aged Nisei man who had lost his nursery as a result of the wartime incarceration, works for Yosh. While Mas wants to grow the best flowers possible, Yosh is more concerned with cutting costs. Despite this, Mas convinces Yosh to hire George, a young man who has just dropped out of college. Though George is a good worker and aspires to own his own nursery, Yosh encourages him to go back to college, citing the difficulties of running a nursery and the hardships family members have to endure. When Mas is injured on the job, both men can see the writing on the all.\r\n\r\nSee this item in the <a href=\"https://resourceguide.densho.org/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Densho Resource Guide</a> at: <a href=\"https://resourceguide.densho.org/The%20Chessmen%20(film)/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Chessmen</a>.\r\n\r\nSee this item in the <a href=\"https://archive.org/details/digital-library-of-japanese-american-incarceration-films\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Digital Library of the Japanese American Incarceration Films</a> at: <a href=\"https://archive.org/details/ddr-densho-1024-27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://archive.org/details/ddr-densho-1024-27</a>.","breadcrumbs":[{"id":"ddr-densho-1024","model":"collection","idpart":"cid","label":"1024","api_url":"https://ddr.densho.org/api/0.2/ddr-densho-1024/","url":"https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1024/"},{"id":"ddr-densho-1024-27","model":"entity","idpart":"eid","label":"27","api_url":"https://ddr.densho.org/api/0.2/ddr-densho-1024-27/","url":"https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1024-27/"}],"_fields":["id","record_created","record_lastmod","status","public","sort","title","description","creation","location","creators","language","genre","format","extent","contributor","alternate_id","digitize_person","digitize_organization","digitize_date","credit","rights","rights_statement","topics","persons","facility","chronology","geography","parent","signature_id"],"record_created":"2025-03-20T13:40:36","record_lastmod":"2025-07-25T09:28:50","status":"completed","sort":1,"creation":"2005","genre":"motion_picture","format":"av","extent":"00:18:12","contributor":"Densho","digitize_person":"Unknown","digitize_organization":"Unknown","digitize_date":"Unkown","credit":"Courtesy of Japanese American Film Preservation Project, Densho","rights":"cc","topics":[{"id":"346","term":"Industry and employment -- Agriculture -- Flower growers"}],"facility":[{"id":"1","term":"Topaz (Central Utah)"}],"search_hidden":"","topics_id":["346"],"facility_id":["1"],"ia_meta":{"id":"ddr-densho-1024-27","original":"ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008.mp4","mimetype":"video/mp4","files":{"mp3":{"name":"ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008.mp3","source":"derivative","bitrate":"96","length":"18:12","format":"mp3","original":"ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008.mov","mtime":"1753383428","size":"13121965","md5":"f102da566bf7d35a4a0c5e13ffb8a7a7","crc32":"13acaf2e","sha1":"87c5510ddb1ef392b1f2d75db45b466c4d00cbce","mimetype":"audio/mpeg","url":"https://archive.org/download/ddr-densho-1024-27/ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008.mp3"},"mp4":{"name":"ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008.mp4","source":"derivative","format":"mp4","original":"ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008.mov","mtime":"1753386170","size":"114579698","md5":"160f493441bd3cd2c0b7baa8c339f059","crc32":"920cf289","sha1":"0ad38eb4bd6e6dbcfeca7f9843e41359ae923af9","length":"1092.3","width":"648","height":"480","mimetype":"video/mp4","url":"https://archive.org/download/ddr-densho-1024-27/ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008.mp4"}},"stream_only":false},"template":"av:video","download_large":"ddr-densho-1024-27-mezzanine-67dc65c008-a.jpg"}