Highlights from Densho's Collections
CSU Sacramento Japanese American Archival Collection
Documenting the people, places, and daily life of Japanese Americans who lived in pre-war Florin in the Sacramento region, and conditions in American incarceration camps during WWII.
Morita Cole Family Collection
Photos of the Morita family on their property in Oregon prior to incarceration at Minidoka and after the war in Chicago.
Tatsuo and Lili Inouye Family Collection
The Tatsuo and Lili Inouye Family Collection contains correspondence, photographs, programs and manuscripts centered around the Inouye family.
About Densho’s Collections
Densho’s collecting mission for historical materials is to encourage the examination of democracy, intolerance, wartime hysteria, civil rights, and the responsibilities of citizenship in our increasingly global society through a close examination of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Although a majority of the collections are from the war years, Densho also collects materials that provide a more complete understanding of the Japanese American experience, ranging from the late 1800s through the present. Geographically, our collection spans the West Coast and increasingly represents the Japanese American experience across the US and beyond.
We use digital technology to preserve and provide access to the collections. Rather than accumulate physical materials, we digitize items and then make them freely accessible through the Densho Digital Repository.
We are constantly expanding our collections and we encourage individuals and institutions to consider sharing material with us.
Sharing Your Collections
Loan your family or community’s items to Densho for digital preservation.
Create Your Own Family Archives
Preserve your family’s historical photographs, documents, newspapers, letters, and more.
Digitization 101: Densho & Washington State Historical Society
Densho partnered with the Washington State Historical Society to create four videos touching on the basics of digitizing historical materials. Caitlin Oiye Coon and Micah Merryman take you through the basics of handling materials, scanning, and processing files in "Digitization 101." These videos are a part of WSHS's Common Concerns program aimed at helping small heritage organizations throughout Washington State. You can also visit WSHS's YouTube channel to watch more of their videos.