October 29, 2026
In September, Densho said goodbye to its longtime Content Director, Brian Niiya, who officially retired from his position. As reflected in the words from our staff, it is no secret that Brian is, and will always be, a treasured friend and colleague.
Naomi Ostwald Kawamura
It’s so hard to imagine Densho without you! You are my favourite resource for Japanese American history. I have learned so much from working with you, and I have always admired and appreciated the care, nuance, and thoughtfulness you bring to your work. You are also one of the most generous historians and scholars I have ever had the privilege to know. It was like earning a second PhD working alongside you.
I’ll also miss your wild sense of humor and general silliness. One of my personal goals during our directors’ meetings was always to make you laugh! Thank you also for stressing out the entire staff with JA Jeopardy at staff retreat.
I’m so grateful for everything you’ve contributed to making Densho the organization that it is. Thank you also for your support and kindness. You will be so missed.
With much appreciation, Naomi
Geoff Froh
It has been one of the highlights of my career to have worked with you, Brian. You’ve been a colleague, an inspiration, a friend and a constant source of the kind of humor that helped lift all of us up just a little bit when things were dark. Your intellectual courage in following the historical evidence no matter where it might lead while also maintaining deep sensitivity and care for the storytellers has become the foundation of our work and the reason why Densho has become a trusted steward of our community’s history. We are going to do our best to continue holding up the high standard you’ve set for us. I’m also looking forward to all of the research and projects that you have been waiting to undertake in your “retirement”. While we at Densho are sorry to lose our privileged access to your incredible talents, the world at large will surely benefit from the new work you have before you.
Finally, I hope as you travel that world in the years to come, you will have the occasional opportunity to find a stable internet connection and call us up for some horsing around. Congratulations and best wishes always!
Lisa Doi
I am so honored to have gotten to work with you at both Densho and JANM. You truly are an encyclopedia of Japanese Americana, but unlike an encyclopedia, your thoroughness and attention to detail reflect a depth of care for our community: its people, past and present.
Christen Robichaud
Some of my favorite moments with Brian are signing into virtual meetings to see what new, fun background he had selected for himself. Also, to hear him brag about the beautiful weather he was having in California and Hawai’i while I was in mostly gray Seattle. I really enjoyed working with Brian, he was always there with a great joke, extremely knowledgeable, and so kind.
Courtney Wai
Thank you for all your hard work (and your sense of humor)! Your expertise and your compassion has helped build Densho’s reputation and most importantly, shaped public understanding of the incarceration and Japanese Americans. You’ve left an incredible legacy with us, and we will do our best to honor you and your work. We will miss you, but I know our paths will cross again. Congratulations on a well-earned retirement!
Geoff Jost
I’ve always enjoyed Brian’s dry-as-a-martini wit and trenchant take on the world. Meetings with him are always a treat – you can always count on him to pull out some deep-cut JA history fact that leaves you shaking your head, how does he know all this stuff? I met Brian a long time before I came to Densho. I worked with him and a misfit band of archivists and curators for a summer, autumn, and winter at JANM in a cramped corner of the Legacy Center, with the “Moving Memories” video playing on a loop all day every day – we could all recite George Takei’s narration from memory! Brian helped me get started on a photo scanning project for the Fighting For Tomorrow exhibit. He was already the elder statesman for us back then, a crusty ol’ Nisei in the body of a Sansei. What are we going to do without him? Probably ask ourselves: “What Would Brian Say?”
Dana Hoshide
Congratulations on your retirement, Brian! Thank you for your patient, thoughtful, and shockingly informative answers to the countless esoteric questions I threw your way over the years. Wandering through the Emeryville Ikea aisles with you looking for folding chairs is one of the funnier and weirder moments in my Densho career, and that’s saying something!
Maya Hayashi
Brian! It was wonderful to get to know you during our overlap at Densho. I enjoyed all the opportunities we had to work with one another and thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge with me.
Caitlin Oiye Coon
I feel so honored to have had the opportunity to work with Brian. He is one of the smartest people I know, and I don’t think I ever stumped him on a question, no matter how random or esoteric. Our meetings won’t be the same without his dry sense of humor and laugh. One of my proudest moments will always be winning Brian jeopardy and hoisting the Niiya trophy with my teammates!
Jennifer Noji
A large part of my excitement about joining Densho was gaining the opportunity to work with the Brian Niiya. While I had known that Brian was an incredibly smart and knowledgeable scholar, often referred to as a “walking encyclopedia,” I had not known how kind, funny, and generous he would be as well. While I feel honored to have worked with Brian, I also feel very fortunate to have seen this other side of him. Plus, because we were both based in LA, it was a lot of fun to see Brian at various community events and to occasionally visit his home. While we will miss Brian at Densho, I wish him a wonderful retirement and some very-well-deserved rest!
Jonathan van Harmelen
Many congratulations to Brian for his well-deserved retirement. I am proud to have known Brian for many years as a mentor and a friend. It is hard to imagine a Densho without Brian; he was responsible for building the Densho Encyclopedia into the expansive database that it is today. It not only testifies to his expansive knowledge of everything related to Japanese American history, but also his creative view of history and an eye for the topics needing attention. Today, the Densho Encyclopedia and its other public history projects are a go-to source for research on Japanese American history – much of it thanks to Brian. It also attests to his warm personality that has made it a joy for so many authors, like myself, to work with Densho over the years. His presence will be surely missed by all. In the meantime, I know Brian will stay busy writing the next Japanese American crime novel or completing his collection of LPs by Japanese American artists.
Diana Tsuchida
For years, I had known about the formidable Brian Niiya and that his vast knowledge of Japanese American history was unmatched. And for years, I looked forward to a moment or opportunity when I might be able to work alongside him. Elated to have joined Densho in May of this year, I was quickly heartbroken to learn that Brian’s retirement was just a few short months away. Brian, conducting your “We are Densho” interview was an honor for me, and allowed such a special opportunity to learn about your personal and family history, and just what drives you to enrich our community’s historical records. Not only have you carved out a community legacy, you have continued your family’s as well. Thank you for all you have done for us as we continue to grow upon the foundation you created.
Rebecca Haynes
Thank you, Brian, for your time at Densho, always making staff meetings more enjoyable by making everyone laugh, sharing your knowledge so generously with us and the community, building the encyclopedia into the extremely valued resource that it is, and sharing so many lesser-known parts of Japanese American incarceration history. Although I have not been on staff long, the times I have gotten to speak with you have always been enlightening and made me wish I had more questions to ask so I could know your answers. I think we will all miss you over here at Densho for many reasons, including the ability to ask you random questions as part of work! You’ve inspired me to be more curious, and to see that there really is always more to learn about the nuanced and diverse histories of our community. I am very grateful to have gotten a chance to work with you and am wishing you all the best in retirement!
Philip Kikawa
Congratulations on retiring! Thank you for all your years of hard work, insight and humor. We will miss your insight and trivia. One of my funniest memories is during an all-staff, someone asked (and I’m paraphrasing here), “What is Densho going to be doing in 30 years?” And I heard Brian across the room mutter “In 30 years I’ll be dead.” Anyway, enjoy retirement – it’s the best career move you can make.
Dina Moreno
When I first met Brian and came to understand his incredible range of knowledge about the incarceration I thought, “When I grow up, I would like to be like Brian.” Brian sets a standard, not just for intellectual rigor and knowledge, but for his generosity in sharing what he knows, answering questions no matter how obscure or trivial. Questions like, “Who is this guy in this photo?” To which he might answer, “I have no idea.” And this being Densho’s most immutable axiom: If Brian doesn’t know, no one does. Thank you, Brian, for your patience, humor and incalculable contributions to the body of scholarship.
Sara Beckman
Congratulations, Brian, on your retirement! I will miss your dry sense of humor and insights during our staff meetings. I am always appreciative of your willingness to answer any questions myself or the other archivists had. It was even better when you would chime in on the archivist chat to help identify photographs. It was a pleasure working with you, and I hope retirement is good to you!
Miya Schilz
I am so grateful to have been able to work with Brian and gotten to know him over the year and some change that we have overlapped at Densho. Everyone knows that he is the “walking encyclopedia,” but I quickly came to learn and admire his ability to balance his intellectual command on Japanese American incarceration history with the driest, layered humor. He tastefully added “play” to discussions where the topics were often or could have stayed heavy, taking the opportunity, I felt, to strengthen the capacity of others in this community work. Moreover, with his humor, he could always lighten and energize any room or zoom meeting. I am happy to have had the chance to pick Brian’s brain on various random topics, such as the media’s and graphic novels’ depiction of the incarceration and the next generation of Japanese American musicians. Each interaction has expanded my understanding of this history and its nuances. I will miss Brian at Densho and the humorous, mini debates of if SoCal or NorCal was better, but I wish him the best in this next chapter! Congratulations, Brian!
Virginia Yamada
Brian has a way of freely sharing his knowledge that leaves one feeling responsible for carrying that on and taking action. It isn’t something he demands of people, it is something one feels compelled to do by his example. His deep understanding of Japanese American history and the community, which he shares with honesty, humor and care, leaves me always coming away from meetings with him feeling smarter, in a better mood and ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
I probably learned the most about the importance of oral histories from Brian. He helped me keep our ever-growing potential narrator list up to date and I will miss his recaps of recently attended community events that inevitably left him with more people he met that we should interview.
Brian is ever curious. He truly seems to enjoy always learning more and freely sharing everything he knows, which is why, though I’m sad he is leaving us for retirement, I’m excited to see all the things he will be doing next…and I hope he will continue to send narrator recommendations our way!
To see photos from the Legacy in Motion, our 30th Anniversary gala in Seattle where Brian was honored for his contributions to Densho, see our Catalyst post here.