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Watch These Two New Films Online While You Can
Two new documentaries break the mold of traditional cinematic takes on the World War II incarceration story. Densho Content Director Brian Niiya reviews the films—The Ito Sisters and Masters of…
A Fresh Look at an Old Classic
John Okada: The Life & Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy Edited by Frank Abe, Greg Robinson, and Floyd Cheung John Okada’s No-No Boy is a legendary and…
“What an Ungodly Place to Meet”: Tales from Camp Toilets
In stories of the forced removal and incarceration, certain types of stories recur. There is the shock of Pearl Harbor and the subsequent exclusion orders, the preparations for removal including…
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the “Loyalty Questionnaire”
Seventy-five years ago this week, Japanese Americans in War Relocation Authority (WRA) concentration camps were being asked to fill out the notorious “loyalty questionnaire.” After throwing them into these camps…
The Last Alien Land Law
Most of the discriminatory laws passed during the early 20th century to discourage Japanese immigrants from settling permanently in the United States have been repealed—but did you know that there…
The Fred Korematsu Story for Young Readers
January 30th is Fred Korematsu Day! Here in California, we’ve been celebrating it since 2011, and now it has been adopted in several other states (shout-out to New York where…
Mary Mon Toy and the Nisei Entertainers Who Became “Chinese” During World War II
Mary Mon Toy (1916-2009) was many things. Singer, showgirl, Broadway performer, activist, thespian. The New York City based actress is best remembered for her break-out role as Minnie Ho in The…
Ship Jumpers, Border Crossers, and Other “Illegal” Issei Immigrants
Here at Densho, we often draw parallels between the forced removal and subsequent incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West Coast and the treatment of marginalized groups today. Sadly, the…
Twelve Novels by Japanese American Authors Centered on WWII Incarceration
When we think about literary works that incorporate the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, most of us probably think of either one of the bestsellers by non-Japanese authors (e.g. Snow…
Five Bestsellers with Japanese American Incarceration Plot Lines
Did you know that at least five novels with Japanese American incarceration plot lines have made national best-seller lists in the past twenty or so years? Densho Content Director Brian…
Book Review: The Little Exile
Perhaps because there are so many oral history accounts of Japanese Americans imprisoned in American concentration camps during World War II (including many hundreds on our website), it’s always seemed…
The Niʻihau Incident: Déjà vu All Over Again
A new film based on the Niʻihau Incident is stirring up anger over its misrepresentations of Hawaiian and Japanese American history. Densho Content Director Brian Niiya breaks down what the…
More Japanese American Incarceration Documentaries You Can Watch Online For Free
Last year’s roundup “10 Documentaries About Japanese American Incarceration You Can Watch Online for Free Right Now” has been one of our most popular blog posts to date. Since its…
Exceptions to the Rule: How Caretakers Helped Some Japanese American Families Minimize WWII Property Losses
Japanese Americans subject to forced removal seventy-five years ago suffered tragic losses of property, business assets, family heirlooms, and more. But there were some notable exceptions—cases where non-Japanese Americans stepped…