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Happy 100th Birthday, Gordon Hirabayashi!
April 23, 2018 marks what would have been Gordon Hirabayashi’s 100th birthday. As a young man, Gordon learned the hard way that without a vigilant and engaged citizenry, our Constitution…
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 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…
Day of Remembrance 2018: Our History, Our Responsibility
Join us this February 19th for a Day of Remembrance event to honor Japanese Americans of World War II and stand in solidarity with American Muslims today. During World War II,120,000…
Remembering the Manzanar Riot
December 6, 2017 marks the 75th anniversary of the best known instance of mass unrest in the one of the WWII concentration camps. The Manzanar Riot, as it was called,…
Resistance and Resilience in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District
The Chinatown-International District has been the center of Seattle’s Asian and Asian American community life for more than a century. But the region is defined as much by protest and resistance as…
Photo Essay: Exclusion Order No. 1, Bainbridge Island
March 30, 2017 marks the 75th anniversary of the removal of Japanese Americans from Bainbridge Island, Washington. The community of almost 300 was the second in the country targeted for…
“Never Again” Event Livestream
Join us as we examine World War II-era Japanese American incarceration history and how it relates to American Muslim rights today. Presenters include Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Densho director Tom Ikeda,…
What Pearl Harbor Meant for Japanese Americans
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy launched a surprise military attack against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor located on the island of O’ahu. The attack not…
The Lessons of WWII Japanese American Incarceration are Needed Now More than Ever
Throughout this year of 20th anniversary celebrations, we have been invigorated by the accolades and warmth we felt from our community. But we know we have a lot of work to…
Minoru Yasui: Celebrating a Legacy of Civil Rights Activism
Minoru “Min” Yasui was one of four Japanese Americans who fought the legality of exclusion and/or detention during World War II all the way to the Supreme Court. While he…
Notable Niseis and Allies Who Would’ve Celebrated Their 100th Birthdays in 2016
By Brian Niiya, Densho Content Director I had intended to contribute to this blog a lot more, and one of the types of pieces I hoped to do were essays on…
Tom Ikeda: “Why Densho Matters to Me”
Twenty years ago when Densho started, I began interviewing Japanese Americans about what it was like being incarcerated during World War II. To help me become a better interviewer I…
On Yuri Kochiyama’s 95th Birthday, 5 Enduring Quotes to Celebrate With
Happy birthday, Yuri! Yuri Kochiyama, who passed away in 2014, would have celebrated her 95th birthday today. (I’d like to imagine the K-Bears are throwing her a party somewhere, but…
2016 Day of Remembrance Events
When the first Day of Remembrance was held in Seattle in November 1978, the event was staged as part of the Redress Movement seeking an official apology and monetary compensation for…
Densho Teach-In
[Update, March 14, 2016: Due to the overwhelming popularity of our first Digital Teach-In, we’ve scheduled a second one to be held May 1-6, 2016. Sign up here and please…
The Enduring Legacy of Fred Korematsu
Challenger of World War II exclusion and confinement, Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu (1919-2005) dedicated his life to the civil rights crusade that would eventually earn him a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Gila River Concentration Camp: Intersecting Japanese American and Indigenous Histories
Until his death earlier this year, Mas Inoshita made it his duty to regularly travel to a remote part of the Arizona desert to tend to a stark monument, a…
Minidoka Concentration Camp: Looking Back 70 Years Later
The Minidoka concentration camp was located in a remote portion of South Central Idaho’s Snake River Plain and housed approximately 13,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. It closed seventy years…
Densho Encyclopedia Reaches a Milestone
The Densho Encyclopedia published its 1,000th article this month—a milestone made possible, in part, by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites…
Photo Essay: Colorado’s Amache Concentration Camp
On August 27, 1942 the Amache concentration camp opened its doors to thousands of Japanese Americans who had been uprooted from their lives in California and transported to the remote,…
Hiroshima and the Japanese American Hibakusha
In recognition of the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, people across the globe are commemorating the lives lost and impacted by this tragedy. The anniversary also provides an opportunity…
Celebrating Mary Tsukamoto on her 100th Birthday
On what would have been Mary Tsukamoto’s 100th birthday, we take a moment to honor a woman who showed incredible resilience and leadership despite suffering poverty, poor health, and the…
The Living Legacy of Tamie Tsuchiyama
Today marks the 100th birthday of Dr. Tamie Tsuchiyama–the only Japanese American woman to work full-time for the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study (JERS) Although she never published anything…