Collections & Research - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment

Collections & Research

The Densho Archives contain primary sources that document the Japanese American experience from immigration in the early 1900s through redress in the 1980s, with a strong focus on World War II incarceration. The archives are growing as Densho continues to collect oral histories, images, and records.

Alien registration card of Masahiko Wada with registration number, name, fingerprint, signature, and photo

Densho Digital Repository

A digital archive with thousands of historic photographs, documents, newspapers, letters, oral histories, and other primary source materials from immigration to the WWII incarceration and its aftermath.

Oral History

A vast library of interviews filmed by Densho and our partners featuring survivors of WWII incarceration, participants in the redress movement, activists, artists, and many others.

Four Japanese American women in the 1940s stand together and pose for a photo.

Historical Materials

Densho’s archives team collects, digitizes, and shares stories of the Japanese American experience before, during, and after WWII. Learn more about our collections and discover resources for submitting historical materials to Densho, or creating your own family archive.

Japanese family wearing kimono pose for a photo outside.

Family History & Genealogy

The Densho Family History Program’s mission is to help members of the Japanese American community connect with their history through education, training, access to genealogical tools, and preservation of historical materials.

A young Japanese American man sits on a box reading in front of shelves of books.

Encyclopedia

An ever-expanding collection of essays about the key people, places, and events that played a role in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Names of incarcerated Japanese Americans

Names Registry

A searchable version of the WRA Form 26 register and Final Accountability Rosters. Search for family members and research subjects by name and discover where they were incarcerated, where they lived before and after the war, and other important details.

Map of the central United States from Idaho to Kansas.

Sites of Shame

This interactive map, timeline, and site locator allows users to explore the national network of WWII-era detention facilities.

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