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Food Sharing as a Method of Community Building in the Japanese American Courier
Newspapers have played an important role in informing societies of current affairs and influencing public opinion for centuries, as a primary form of communication and a main source of information…
The National Archives Is Whitewashing “Ugly” Histories Like Japanese American Incarceration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is probably not a household name for most Americans. This federal agency oversees billions of documents, from the Declaration of Independence to electronic…
Archive Horror Stories
Fire, pests, and mold, oh my! These are the horror stories that keep our Densho archivists up at night. We’re wrapping up Archives Month with some of the most horrifying…
Ask a Historian: Where Can I Find…
At Densho, we field a lot of questions about where to find various resources related to the Japanese American incarceration online. While some things can be found via your favorite…
Protecting Archival Materials from Fires, Floods and Other Disasters
After helping our neighbors at the Seattle Betsuin salvage archival materials damaged in a fire, Densho Archivist Micah Merryman took steps to level up Densho’s disaster preparedness and protect the…
The World of Mary Mon Toy, the Broadway Actress Who Hid Her Japanese Identity Behind a Chinese Name
Actress and performer Mary Mon Toy is best known for her breakout role as Minnie Ho in the original Broadway production of The World of Suzie Wong — which led…
Intern Spotlight: Kathryn Perry Bolin on How Archives Can Be a Platform for Social Justice Work
Kathryn Perry Bolin is a graduate student at the University of Washington pursuing a Master’s in Information and Library Science (MLIS), and recently completed an internship with Densho’s archives team….
The Densho Legacy Archive Offers a Glimpse into Hard Work and Passion That Built Densho
Densho Project Archivist Will Allen has been helping to create Densho’s Legacy Archive, an archive of Densho’s organizational records since its founding in 1996. Will shares some highlights from this…
This 150 Year Old Bonsai Holds the Incredible History of One Japanese American Family
The Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, Washington connects people to nature through the living art of bonsai. The Densho communications team recently had the chance to visit the museum…
How Kaneji Domoto’s “Compassionate Architecture” Highlights The Contradictions Of Camp
As an intern at Densho, I have spent this past summer and fall processing new additions to the Kaneji and Sally (Fujii) Domoto Collection. During that time, I enjoyed getting…
Intern Spotlight: Kelsie Flack on Learning History from Those Who Lived It
Kelsie Flack gained a love of archival work during her undergraduate degree when she worked in special collections at the University of Utah’s J.W. Marriott Library. This experience pushed her…
Intern Spotlight: Kathleen Singleton on the Power of Archives
Kathleen Singleton is a mixed Yonsei, born and raised in Seattle, Washington. They graduated from Central Washington University with a BA in Professional and Creative Writing with a minor in…
Intern Spotlight: Ron Martin-Dent on Hidden Connections in the Archives
Densho Archives Intern Ron Martin-Dent shares some lessons learned and surprises uncovered during his time adding new collections to the Densho Digital Repository.
Mine Okubo Illustrated a Book About Invading Alien Santas That You’ve Probably Never Seen…Until Now
Mine Okubo was best known for her 1946 illustrated memoir, Citizen 13660, which depicted her incarceration at Tanforan and Topaz. While that book brought her the most acclaim, Okubo was…
Archives Spotlight: The Miwa Family’s Transnational WWII Journey
The James Seigo Miwa Family Collection is a new and fascinating addition to the Densho Digital Repository. It includes family photos and documents relating to Miwa’s detainment as an “enemy…
The Unsolvable Mystery of “That Damned Fence”
The barbed wire fence is an enduring symbol of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans. As Hana and Noah Maruyama point out in Episode Three of the Campu podcast, the…
Archives Spotlight: Remembering Nisei Veterans
During World War II, thousands of Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military. Nearly 80 years later, as the number of Nisei veterans with firsthand memories of this history dwindles,…
Archives Spotlight: The Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple Collections
In honor of American Archives Month, we feature a guest post from Densho Digitization Tech, Christen Greenhill Robichaud. In this essay, Robichaud details her team’s work on an exciting new…
Densho’s Oral History Program Is Back after a Pandemic Pause
Like many oral history projects, we’ve spent much of the last 18 months adapting and adjusting to meet the challenges of the pandemic. Knowing that elders and communities of color…
Photo Essay: The First Manzanar Pilgrimage
On December 27, 1969, an intergenerational group of Issei, Nisei, Sansei, and a few Yonsei made the 220-mile trek from Los Angeles to Manzanar. It was the first organized pilgrimage…
T. K. Pharmacy Was a Lifeline for Incarcerated Japanese Americans during WWII
T. K. Pharmacy was one of few Japanese American businesses that remained open during World War II. Operating out of Denver—outside the so-called “exclusion zone”—it offered a lifeline to Japanese…
Photo Essay: Japanese American History Through the Eyes of Everyday Families
Personal collections are a critical component of Densho’s archives. These collections, donated by families and individuals, provide amazing insights into Japanese American history that might otherwise be forgotten, while allowing…
Commemorating Redress in the Archives
On this anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 we’re highlighting some recent additions to Densho’s archives that focus on the Redress Movement. Along with our…
‘It was my first grown-up feeling of responsibility’: Student Views of Life in a Japanese American Concentration Camp
We’re fortunate today to have access to hundreds of testimonies from Nisei elders who were incarcerated as children during WWII. But the perspective captured in these oral histories is that…