A grassroots organization dedicated to preserving, educating, and sharing the story of World War II-era incarceration of Japanese Americans in order to deepen understandings of American history and inspire action for equity.
A comprehensive reference tool with nearly 1,000 free and accessible entries related to the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Oral history interviews, photos, newspapers, and other primary sources that document the Japanese American experience from immigration through redress with a strong focus on the World War II mass incarceration.
Online education center featuring multidisciplinary curriculum, instructional guides, and primary source material that allow teachers and students to connect with the lived experiences of Japanese Americans.
Learn the basics about World War II Japanese American incarceration through a series of short videos and essays.
Bruci Kaji recalls the moment he realized he wanted to help found the Japanese American National Museum.
Stay connected with Densho through regular posts, guest contributions, and photo essays that put our work and the story of WWII incarceration in conversation with current events.
There is a certain narrative of “success” that punctuates the history of the Japanese American incarceration camps. Whether it is in books or at pilgrimages to these sites, or the museums that commemorate them, stories of perseverance, fortitude, and “making it” against this terrible backdrop are always there. And it is necessary, this narrative, because it gives folks pride. But at the same time, we must ask ourselves, especially as Asian Americans, what does a history and community built on pride of “success” leave out, and more importantly, who does it forget?
The Vietnam War, which officially commenced on November 1, 1955 and lasted for nearly twenty years, cost the lives of over 58,000 Americans and more than 3 million Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Lao soldiers and civilians. The peace movement that gradually turned public opinion against the war is often remembered as an affair led by white college students, white flower children, white pastors, and white mothers, with perhaps a smattering of black and brown faces somewhere in the background. But the Sansei and other Asian Americans played an integral, and frequently independent, role in the anti-war movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
When we think about literary works that incorporate the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, most of us probably think of either one of the bestsellers by non-Japanese authors (e.g. Snow Falling on Cedars or The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet) or older “classic” works by Japanese American authors such as the recently re-issued No-No Boy and Citizen 13660 or Farewell to Manzanar and Obasan. But there have actually been a good number of more recent works by Japanese American authors, many of which are not as well-known as they should be. We’ve put together a list of a dozen novels with an interesting take on the forced removal and incarceration during World War II.
While the photographs of Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange have helped shape visual understandings of World War II incarceration, there are many lesser known photographers who documented the Japanese American experience during era. One of those photographers, Hikaru “Carl” Iwasaki, captured intimate family moments in camps like Heart Mountain and Jerome, as well as the resettlement process in cities from Bellevue to Buffalo and beyond.
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