Category: oral history
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Mo Nishida: A Frightening Encounter in Camp
Mo Nishida describes a childhood memory in the Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, which led to his mother’s nervous breakdown. Mo Nishida’s full interview is available in the Densho Digital…
Ruth Y. Okimoto: Snakes and Scorpions in Camp
Ruth Y. Okimoto was a child at the Poston (Colorado River) concentration camp, Arizona, during World War II. In this clip, she talks about encountering the local wildlife in camp….
Gordon Yamada: Serving with the MIS
Gordon Yamada served with the Military Intelligence Service during and after World War II and in Japan during the U.S. occupation. In this clip, he talks about his early days…
Peggie Nishimura Bain: Shell Collecting in Camp
During World War II, Peggie Nishimura Bain and her children were incarcerated in the Tule Lake concentration camp, California. In this clip, she describes how she and others quickly discovered…
Senator Daniel Inouye: Leadership Tactics During Combat
Senator Daniel Inouye served as an officer with the 442ndRegimental Combat Team during World War II. In this clip, he talks about his techniques for reducing casualties among the soldiers…
Paul Nagano: Singing Hymns on the Way to Camp
Paul Nagano was ordained as a Baptist minister while incarcerated at the Poston concentration camp, ministering to fellow Japanese Americans and leading ecumenical worship services in camp. In this clip,…
Fred Shiosaki: Meeting a Member of the “Lost Battalion” After the War
Fred Shiosaki served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II, including one of the campaigns, the “Rescue of the Lost Battalion.” In this clip, he remembers how…
Kara Kondo: Singing Christmas Carols to a Camp Guard
Kara Kondo recalls Christmas in the Heart Mountain concentration camp and singing carols underneath a guard tower. Kara’s full interview is available in the Densho Digital Archive, and this clip…
Elsa Kudo: Mother’s Hardships on the Journey from Peru
Elsa Kudo was born in Canete, Peru, where her parents ran a successful store. During World War II, her father was arrested, deported to the U.S., and held at the…
Jim Hirabayashi (1926-2012)
Jim Hirabayashi, who passed away peacefully last week at age 85, lived a remarkable life filled with accomplishment and governed by principle, a word everyone who knew him seemed to…
Richard E. Yamashiro: Witnessing the “Manzanar Riot”
Richard Yamashiro was a teenager during World War II. While in the Manzanar concentration camp, he remembers the dissent surrounding supporters of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) who were…
Archie Miyatake: Father Avoids Photography Restriction in Camp
Toyo Miyatake, well-known Issei photographer, received permission to take photographs at the Manzanar concentration camp, California. However, because of War Relocation Authority rules, Toyo was allowed to set up the…
Jim Matsuoka: An Unpleasant School Assembly in Camp
Jim Matsuoka was grade school age when he and his family were sent to the Manzanar incarceration camp, California. In this clip, he remembers feeling upset by a speech made…
Gordon Hirabayashi: Receiving Support from Mother for Wartime Stand
During World War II, Gordon Hirabayashi defied the curfew and removal orders being enforced against Japanese on the West Coast. He turned himself in to the FBI, was found guilty,…
Rae Takekawa: FBI Raid and Mother’s Outrage
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Rae Takekawa remembers waking up to the commotion of an FBI raid of family home. Rae Takekawa’s interview was conducted in 1998 and is…
Sen. Daniel Inouye: Injured in Battle
Senator Daniel Inouye, longtime Senator from Hawaii, served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. In this clip, he describes a battle in which he lost his…
Atsumi Ozawa: A Japanese Peruvian’s Story
During World War II, Atsumi Ozawa, a Japanese Peruvian, was removed with her family from her hometown of Huancayo, Peru, and taken to the Crystal City internment camp, Texas. Her…
Joe Yasutake: Thoughts from a Nisei after 9/11
Joe Yasutake talks about the loss of civil liberties in the political climate following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Mr. Yasutake’s full interview is available in the Densho…
Jack Dairiki: Witnessing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
Jack Dairiki was born in Sacramento, California, but went to Japan with his father in 1941. He was unable to return to the U.S. because of the onset of World…
Hiroshi Terry Terakawa: Wartime Experiences in Salt Lake City
Recently Densho conducted a series of interviews in partnership with the Japanese American Museum of San Jose. One of the gentlemen interviewed was Hiroshi Terry Terakawa, who was living in…
Aiko Tengan Tokunaga: Celebrations in Okinawa
In this video clip, Aiko Tengan Tokunaga describes community gatherings after World War II in which villagers would create dance costumes and musical instruments using whatever materials they had on…
Gladys Koshio Konishi: Celebrating New Year’s Day in Colorado
To start off 2011, Densho presents a clip from a visual history interview with Gladys Koshio Konishi, who grew up in Fort Lupton, Colorado, where her family ran a produce…
Justice Charles Z. Smith: Reflections on Pearl Harbor
In this month’s Archive Spotlight, Charles Z. Smith, former Washington State Supreme Court Justice, discusses his feelings upon hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Having never personally met a…
Masamizu Kitajima: Leaving Hawaii for Jerome Concentration Camp
Earlier this year Densho traveled to Hawaii and interviewed Masamizu Kitajima, a Nisei from Ookala, Hawaii. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, his father, a prominent Buddhist minister, was arrested…