All Posts
View Other Categories
Photo Essay: Honoring Fallen WWII Japanese American Soldiers
Between 1942 and 1945, thousands of soldiers of Japanese descent served in the US armed forces. In less than two years, one of their best known units—the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental…
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…
Apology Politics: From Redress to Comfort Women
Guest post by Brian Niiya, Densho Content Director The recent visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the U.S. and his invitation to address the U.S. Congress has brought…
Photo Essay: Ten Portraits of Mothering in WWII Japanese American Concentration Camps
This Sunday, families across the United States will celebrate Mother’s Day. In honor of the holiday we’ve compiled a set of photographs that attest to the remarkable strength and tenderness…
Classic Movie Review: The Steel Helmet (1951)
The Steel Helmet—a 1951, low-budget film by Samuel Fuller—features one of the first popular culture references to Japanese American incarceration. In this post, Densho Content Director Brian Niiya presents a…
Crafting Beauty: Dissent by Design in Japanese American Concentration Camps
Following the Rago Arts auction debacle that unfolded earlier this month, new questions emerged about how and why Japanese American incarcerates were producing artwork from within the confines of WWII…
Beauty Behind Barbed Wire: The Book at the Center of the Rago Arts Auction Controversy
This week, a major controversy developed over the Rago Arts and Auction Center’s plans to auction off 450 photos and artifacts from WWII era Japanese American concentration camps. The collection…
Eiichi Edward Sakauye: Impact of the Alien Land Laws
Eiichi Edward Sakauye had extensive farmholdings in San Jose, California, before World War II. In this clip, he talks about how the 1913 Alien Land Law affected California Japanese American…
Gene Akutsu: The Importance of Speaking Out
During World War II, Gene Akutsu was incarcerated in the Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, and the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. In 1944 he was arrested for resisting the draft and…
2015 Day of Remembrance Events
Note: All events are free and open to the public except as noted. Some may require reservations; see web links for further information. Densho does not endorse these events, but…
Chizuko Norton: New Year’s Eve at Tule Lake Under Curfew
Chizuko Norton was a teenager during World War II at the Tule Lake concentration camp. In 1943, when the camp was designated a segregation center, a curfew was imposed on…
Densho Online Giving Challenge Match for December
Earlier this year, Densho received the Vox Populi Award from the Oral History Association for our online 800+ oral history collection. Following the announcement of this prestigious national award, the…
Joseph Frisino: Personal Reaction to the Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Joseph Frisino was serving in the U.S. Army when Pearl Harbor was bombed. He had grown up on the East Coast and, in 1941, struggled with not being able to…
New Encyclopedia Articles, November 2014
Having worked in museums and similar organizations for most of the last twenty-five or so years, the work they do is close to my heart. Many museum exhibitions have told…
Tosh Yasutake: Treating Soldiers with “Shell-Shock”
Tosh Yasutake served as a medic with I Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team. In this clip, he talks about how to treat soldiers, including the medic he replaced, who suffered…
Henry Miyatake: An Essay Results in Expulsion From School
Henry Miyatake was a high school student during World War II. In this clip, he describes an essay he wrote for a high school civics class at Minidoka titled “American…
New Encyclopedia Articles, September 2014
In 1987, in the midst of the movement for redress and reparations for the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum…
Garden of Stones and Historical Accuracy
The novel Garden of Stones is marred by many historical inaccuracies/implausibilities, but is a well told story that has no doubt introduced many to the story of Japanese American wartime…
Giro Nakagawa: Searched by the FBI at an Oyster Farm Station House
Giro Nakagawa was working for the New Washington Oyster Company in South Bend, Washington, before World War II. In this clip, he describes a visit from the FBI while he…
New Densho Encyclopedia Articles, August 2014
New to the encyclopedia this month are articles on writers and artists, Nisei soldiers during World War II, and a little known INS detention camp, among other topics.
Making It Worse
By Densho’s Content Director Brian Niiya Japanese Americans often object when journalists, screenwriters, or others minimize or distort some aspect of the wartime incarceration. But should we also object when…
New Densho Encyclopedia Articles, July 2014
By Densho’s Content Director Brian Niiya One of the neglected areas of Japanese American history is the story of Japanese Americans in Japan just before and during the war between…
Ruby Inouye: Treating Issei Patients
Ruby Inouye was a longtime family physician in Seattle after World War II. In this clip, she talks about her ability to speak directly to her Issei patients without an…
Shosuke Sasaki: “Escape” from Camp
Shosuke Sasaki was incarcerated at the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho, during World War II. In this clip, he remembers a humorous incident in which he cut through the camp’s barbed…