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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…
Terminology Redux
Since it had been a while, the Densho staff took some time to review our terminology policy and the “A Note on Terminology” statement on our website. Issues on terminology…
A Disappointing Comparison during the 70th Anniversary of EO9066
From Densho’s Executive Director, Tom Ikeda: In 2008 I voted for President Obama hoping for comparisons with Franklin D Roosevelt, a Democratic President who entered office amid a financial crisis…
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…
Terrorism, 1945 Style
One of the articles I’ve been working on for the Densho Encyclopedia on and off is a piece on the terroristic incidents that greeted the first Nisei to return to…
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…
Densho Encyclopedia Sample Article: Children’s Village
The Densho Encyclopedia is a free and publicly accessible website project launching in the fall of 2012 that will provide concise, accurate, and balanced information on many aspects of the…
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…
Densho Job Openings
Densho is seeking to fill four positions in the coming months. To apply for the job openings listed below, please send your resume (Word, PDF, or Plain text) and a…
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…
Disaster in Japan
The tragic earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 was a shocking event. The scope and scale of the devastation is difficult to believe. All of us at…
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…
RIP William Hohri
[Below is an excerpt from an obituary written by Martha Nakagawa. The photo is from an interview William Hohri did with Densho in 1997. Frank Abe also has a good…
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…
Frank H. Hirata: A Nisei in the Japanese Army
Densho recently interviewed Frank H. Hirata, a Kibei-Nisei from Spokane, Washington. At the age of ten, Frank was sent to live with his grandfather in Japan. During World War II,…