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Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660: Drawing as Documentation and Resistance
Decades before the modern graphic novel emerged as a popular genre, Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660 used visual storytelling to document the trauma of WWII Japanese American incarceration. In this guest…
Photo Essay: Densho in the Community for Day of Remembrance 2026
For this year’s Day of Remembrance 2026, Densho staff joined communities across the U.S. to honor and commemorate the survivors, descendants, and stories of WWII Japanese American incarceration. Staff participated…
Protecting Immigrant Students (Part I): What Japanese American Incarceration Teaches Us About Educator Responsibility
In this two-part series, Densho’s Education and Public Programs Manager, Courtney Wai, reflects on how her experiences as a classroom teacher working with immigrant students shaped her understanding of immigration…
Protecting Immigrant Students (Part II): Resources and Strategies for Creating Safer Classrooms
This piece concludes our two-part series on how educators can support immigrant students. In the first installment, Courtney Wai, Densho’s Education & Public Programs Manager, shares how her experience teaching and…
Building the Densho Digital Repository: Three Decades of Digital Preservation
How did Densho’s digital archives begin, and how have they evolved over nearly three decades? Densho Archives Director Caitlin Oiye Coon traces the journey from the creation of Densho’s first…
Uncovering Lost Histories in “Safe Passage”: A Preview of Evelyn Iritani’s New Book
Evelyn Iritani’s new book, Safe Passage: The Untold Story of Diplomatic Intrigue, Betrayal, and the Exchange of American and Japanese Civilians by Sea During World War II, uncovers a little-known…
Guidelines for Choosing Children’s Books on Japanese American Incarceration
In this conversation, Densho’s Senior Development and Communications Manager Jen Noji speaks with Brian Niiya, Content Director, and Courtney Wai, Education and Public Programs Manager, about how to thoughtfully select…
Loni Ding, Godmother of Asian American Documentary Filmmaking
In 2014, Densho received an extensive collection of materials from the family of acclaimed filmmaker Loni Ding. This collection included hundreds of media that were produced by Ding to create…
Japanese American Community Excitement and Opinions about Rachel Maddow’s “Burn Order”
In this collaborative post, Japanese American community members and organizers reflect on the impact, value, and effects of the MS NOW podcast Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order. The podcast, released…
“Burn Order”: The Latest Retelling of the WWII Incarceration Story
The popular MS NOW podcast Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order is the latest retelling of the Japanese American exclusion and incarceration story to draw a large mainstream audience. While a…
Eric L. Muller: Guest Perspective on Rachel Maddow’s “Burn Order”
Legal historian Eric L. Muller—Dan K. Moore Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—raises important historiographical questions about MS NOW’s podcast Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order. Looking closely…
Launching the Densho Public Index of Japanese American Collections on this Day of Remembrance 2026
Each year, February 19th brings us back to a crucial date in 1942. On that day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, a decision that authorized the forced…
Ask a Historian: What were the Experiences of Disabled People during WWII Incarceration?
In this new installment of our running “Ask A Historian” series, guest writer Selena Moon—a PhD student researching Japanese American disability history and working on accessibility in various realms—explores the…
Educator Spotlight: Tamara Bunnell
Tamara Bunnell is a high school History Teacher and Dean of Students in Seattle, Washington. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from The Evergreen State College and a Master’s Degree from…
Youth Voices Rising: Connecting Art, Activism, and Asian American History
In October 2025, Densho’s Education and Public Programs Manager, Courtney Wai, led a zine-making workshop for middle school students in the Youth Voices Rising program at Austin’s Asian American Resource…
Nisei Notables Who Would Have Turned 100 in 2026
In what has become an annual tradition, Densho Content Director Brian Niiya starts the new year by looking at the lives of notable Nisei who would have turned 100 in…
Legal Legacy & Personal Lives: The Yasui Family Papers
In this Intern Spotlight post, Densho Archives Team intern Kathryn Perry Bolin explores upcoming additions to the Yasui Family Collection, a rich collection illuminating both a landmark legal case and…
Celebrating 25 Years of Minidoka National Historic Site: A Testament to Resilience and Remembrance
In this special guest post, Hanako Wakatsuki-Chong (Executive Director of the Japanese American Museum of Oregon) reflects on and celebrates the 25th anniversary of Minidoka National Historic Site joining the…
30 Years with Densho: Three Decades of Preservation, Education, and Storytelling
As Densho marks its 30th anniversary, Executive Director Naomi Ostwald Kawamura reflects on the organization’s past, present, and future, honoring the community that built Densho and addressing the urgent work…
Celebrating Naoko Tanabe’s Contributions to Densho
After nearly two decades of dedicated service, Densho’s Japanese Researcher and Translator Naoko Tanabe is retiring at the end of this year. Since joining Densho in 2006, Naoko has worked…
Remembering Mitsuye Endo and the Supreme Court Case That Helped End Incarceration
In honor of the anniversary of the landmark decision Ex Parte Endo, legal scholar and Professor Emerita Lorraine Bannai explores the case and woman who helped bring an end to…
Legacies of Incarceration in Hawai‘i: Exploring Kelli Nakamura’s New Book
Historian Kelli Y. Nakamura’s new book, Legacies of Incarceration: The World War II Experiences of Hawai‘i’s Japanese (University of Hawai‘i Press), explores the incarceration of Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i across…
Reflections on Recent Camp Pilgrimages in North Dakota and Arizona
Densho Content Director Brian Niiya reflects on the ways camp pilgrimages have changed over the past few decades, evolving from redress-era gatherings into expansive, intergenerational events that connect Japanese American…
Neighbors Not Enemies: Remembering Crystal City and the Ongoing Struggle for Justice
Last month, Densho’s Courtney Wai, Caitlin Oiye Coon, and Executive Director Naomi Ostwald Kawamura joined survivors, descendants, and community members at the 2025 Crystal City Pilgrimage in San Antonio, Texas….