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Sushi & Sake Fest a Success!
A heartfelt thank you to the 500 guests and sponsors who made this year’s Densho Sushi & Sake Festival the best! Kudos to the staff and volunteers for making MOHAI…
Mary Kageyama Nomura: A Five Year Old Singing for Issei
Mary Kageyama Nomura was removed to the Manzanar concentration camp, California, during World War II. There she was known as the “Songbird of Manzanar,” frequently performing in camp. She was…
Tsuguo “Ike” Ikeda: Talking About Democracy in a Camp Classroom
Tsuguo “Ike” Ikeda was a high school student at the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. In this clip, he remembers how he and his camp classmates reacted when their teacher brought…
Free Press behind Barbed Wire? Newspapers Published in the Concentration Camps
“A battalion of American troops of the 7th Army was cut off for a week near St. Die in France. All its attempts to break out were stopped by superior…
Izumi Hirano: Surviving the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
Izumi Hirano was born in Hilo, Hawaii, but moved to Japan with his family as a child. He was in his classroom near the epicenter when the United States dropped…
Michiko Kornhauser: Meeting an American for the First Time
Michiko Kornhauser was a child living in Okayama during World War II. In this clip, she describes first meeting an American GI during the U.S. occupation of Japan after being…
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…
Controlling the Historical Record: Photographs of the Japanese American Incarceration
Clandestine photographs from war in Iraq prove a long-known fact: images of soldiers in battle, prisoners of war, and civilians caught in the conflict have the power to provoke outrage,…
Oddball Camp Stories in Popular Culture: California Generation
By Brian Niiya, Content Director, Densho In the work I’ve been doing on the Densho Encyclopedia, I’ve come across quite a number of oddball camp references in mainstream popular culture…
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….
April Fool’s 2013
Densho’s special April Fool’s Edition of the eNewsletter is now available!
New Encyclopedia Articles, November-December 2012
In the last two months of 2012 Densho published 42 new articles to our public encyclopedia about the Japanese American experience during World War II, including:
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…
New Articles in the Densho Encyclopedia
The Densho Encyclopedia continues to expand with more newly written articles about the Japanese American experience during World War II. In the last month, 36 articles were added to this…
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…
First Peek at the Densho Encyclopedia: Editor’s Message
We are two months away from the launch of the Densho Encyclopedia and want your feedback. We made a beta version available for viewing and testing: encyclopedia.densho.org. Editor’s Message Brian…
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…