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25 Times Gidra Was Goddamn Glorious
From 1969 to 1974, Gidra, the unofficial voice of “the Movement,” chronicled changing tides and unfolding dramas within the Asian American community. Taking its name from a giant three-headed dragon…
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…
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…
Photo Essay: Japanese American Mothers During WWII
Mothers’ Day is around the corner—which means most of us are busy getting ready to show some love and affection to the women who raised us. (Y’all should really be…
Yellow Power: The Origins of Asian America
Prior to the social and political upheavals of the 1960s, there was no “Asian America”—at least not as we know it today. While Americans of Asian descent had joined forces…
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…
Sold, Damaged, Stolen, Gone: Japanese American Property Loss During WWII
Imagine being told you had a week to pack up all your belongings. You can bring all the bedding, clothing, and toiletries you can carry, but you better find a…
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…
4 Bad Ass Issei Women You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
If you’re into strong women who like to color outside the lines and aren’t afraid to take what’s theirs, then you came to the right place, my friend. Following the…
Immigrants Do Not Need to Prove Themselves Worthy of Inclusion
2017 is shaping up to be a rough year for immigrants—which is saying a lot, considering that building a new life in a new country is, by definition, pretty damn…
Yonsei Woman Takes (Digital) Pen to Paper in her Support for Black Lives
Sara Onitsuka is a 20-year-old junior at The College of Wooster. She’s also a yonsei whose grandparents and great grandparents were incarcerated during World War II. She never spoke to…
Wall Street Journal: Art Review Meets Incarceration Apologism
In his latest foray into historical revisionism parading as art review, Edward Rothstein, writing for The Wall Street Journal, would like viewers of two exhibits on Japanese American WWII incarceration…
Little Known Stories of Japanese Americans Who Resisted Incarceration
Stories of resistance to World War II incarceration often include Gordon Hirabayashi, Minoru Yasui, Fred Korematsu, and Mitsuye Endo. These are the most famous Japanese Americans who resisted the racially…
“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,…
Allegiance: See the Film, But Watch for these Historical Inaccuracies
By now most of us know that Allegiance, a musical portraying the Japanese American incarceration and that starred George Takei, ran on Broadway for a few months in 2015–16. And…
Teacher Workshop: Examining Race and Discrimination
Looking to register for our May 18 Seattle Workshop? Follow this link: bit.ly/Densho-TW-RD201905 This spring, Densho is hitting the road with a new workshop for secondary teachers. Educators in Seattle,…
This is Not a Test
Statement from Densho Director Tom Ikeda For decades, “Never Again” has been a rallying cry for many Japanese Americans. Invoking these words reminds us of the trauma of our own…
We Need to Talk About the Katy Perry PSA
“Don’t let history repeat itself,” implores a widely-shared and well-received PSA published by pop star Katy Perry this week. The film short, funded by Perry and directed by Aya Tanimura…
Support for Muslim Association of Puget Sound
Earlier this month, community leaders, including Densho director Tom Ikeda, gathered at Redmond’s Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) mosque to dedicate a new sign, replacing one that had been…
What The LA Times Meant to Say…
On Sunday, The Los Angeles Times published two reader letters that employed racial stereotypes, misinformation, and logical fallacies to argue in favor of the World War II-era mass incarceration of…
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…
“Democracy is for the Unafraid”
As a chronicler of American race relations, writer Chester B. Himes was deeply impacted by the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. In his 1945 debut novel, “If He Hollers Let…