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![Japanese Americans preparing to leave Redondo Beach in a car caravan to Manzanar.](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/cars1.jpg)
Ask a Historian: Could Japanese Americans Drive Themselves to Camp?
Oliver Wang, curator of the Japanese American National Museum’s summer 2025 exhibit, Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community, which looks at how car and truck culture have…
![Barracks at Minidoka concentration camp under construction in 1942](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/camp-construction-1.jpg)
Ask a Historian: When Did America Start Building Its WWII Concentration Camps?
Densho Content Director Brian Niiya answers a question about the origin of the concentration camps where Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II.
![A Japanese American teen performing a flag salute during an Independence Day parade at Tule Lake. She has a big smile and is holding a baton and leading the parade.](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ddr-densho-2-23.jpg)
Ask a Historian: Why Do Some Survivors Say Camp Was “Fun”?
Densho Content Director Brian Niiya responds to a question from a descendant of the camps who wonders why his Nisei father often shared “happy” memories of the wartime incarceration.
![A mother and child walking down a dirt path between barracks at Minidoka concentration camp.](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ddr-densho-37-424.jpg)
Ask a Historian: How Did Alaska Natives Wind Up Inside Japanese American Concentration Camps?
Brian Niiya delves into the hidden history of a group of Alaska Natives caught up in the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans in our first “Ask a Historian” entry of…
![Mourners standing next to a casket at a funeral in Amache concentration camp](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/funerals1.jpg)
Ask a Historian: What Did Funerals Look Like in Camp?
In this latest query from Densho Content Director Brian Niiya’s “Ask a Historian” series, Shelley Lekven asks what funerals looked like for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II: Do…
![Japanese Americans reciving typhoid vaccinations while registering for forced removal in 1942.](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/vaccines2.jpg)
Ask a Historian: Did Japanese Americans Have Access to Vaccines in WWII Incarceration Camps?
Densho Content Director Brian Niiya answers a question about vaccination efforts in WWII concentration camps from a survivor who experienced them firsthand. Junko Mizuta writes: With the vaccine mandates being…
![Mess hall staff in Manzanar posing for a group photo](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mess-hall-staff.jpg)
Ask a Historian: Why Were There “Waitresses” in Camp?
In this latest edition of “Ask a Historian,” Densho Content Director Brian Niiya digs into the history behind a photo taken in a mess hall at Topaz concentration camp —and…
![](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ddr-densho-151-113-451x350.jpg)
Ask A Historian: How Did Japanese American Mothers Feed Their Babies in Camp?
Densho Content Director Brian Niiya answers a fascinating question from a 99 year old camp survivor who worked in an “assembly center” milk station providing food for infant incarcerees.
![](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Santa-Fe-internees.jpeg)
Ask a Historian: Where to Find Records on Family Members Sent to DOJ Camps
In this month’s installment of Ask a Historian, Densho Content Director Brian Niiya advises a reader on how to track down records of Japanese Americans arrested as “enemy aliens” and…
![A street in between barracks at Manzanar. A man is sitting on the front steps of a barrack, and another is walking down the street. There are mountains visible in the distance.](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/manzanar-ansel-adams-506x350.jpg)
Ask a Historian: What’s the Story Behind Ansel Adams’ Famous Manzanar Photos?
Each month, Densho Content Director Brian Niiya will answer your questions about the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans — the small details of life in camp, the rumors and myths…
![Japanese Americans waiting in a mess hall line in Manzanar. They are standing and sitting in the shade next to a barrack.](https://densho.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ask-a-Historian1-647x350.png)
Ask a Historian: How Many Japanese Americans Were Incarcerated During WWII?
Do you have a burning question about Japanese American history? A piece of family lore you’re not sure is myth or fact? Brian Niiya, Densho’s Content Director and basically a…