Discover the History ofWWII Incarceration

120,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated during World War II. Learn about this unprecedented denial of civil liberties and why it still matters today.

Explore Personal Stories

Learn about Japanese American history and the legacy of WWII incarceration by exploring personal stories from those who lived through it.

Promote Equity Today

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Join us in putting the lessons of Japanese American WWII incarceration into action today.

Densho Catalyst: History, Essays, & Opinion

Dive into hidden histories and learn why these stories matter today with the latest essays and opinions from Densho and other community voices.

A line of tents at the Slocal internment camp circa 1942

Photo Essay: Japanese Canadian Internment Field School 

In this photo essay, Densho’s communications and public engagement director Natasha Varner shares images and some of what she learned during a two-week immersive learning experience about Japanese Canadian internment...
Japanese American teens gathered around a table reading at Minidoka

15 Books About Japanese American WWII Incarceration For Readers Of All Ages

Looking for some summer reading for the students—and learners of any age—in your life? Densho Content Director Brian Niiya recommends some graphic novels and youth-friendly books with plotlines related to...
Japanese Americans walking in a street between barracks at Heart Mountain concentration camp. Heart Mountain is visible in the distance.

Frozen Hair, Work Stoppages, and Other Lesser-Known Stories from Heart Mountain

Perhaps you know the Heart Mountain, Wyoming, concentration camp for stories of boyhood-friends-turned-congressmen Norman Mineta and Alan Simpson, for the draft resistance of the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee, for...

Critical Conversation, Art, and Virtual Fundraiser

We are witnessing a new era of whitewashing. Book bans, censorship, and attempts to sanitize our nation’s past are all on the rise – so it’s more important than ever that we raise our voices and collectively refuse to be silenced. Join us on October 5th for an evening of conversation, performance, and capacity-building for Densho.

Campu: A Podcast

Campu weaves together the voices of survivors to spin narratives out of the seemingly mundane things that gave shape to the incarceration experience: rocks, fences, food, paper. Follow along as hosts Hana and Noah Maruyama move far beyond the standard Japanese American incarceration 101 and into more intimate and lesser-known corners of this history.

Encyclopedia

Thousands of articles about the history of the Japanese American WWII exclusion and incarceration experience. Here are a few to get you started:

Pomona (detention facility)

The Pomona Assembly Center held people from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties, and almost all inmates were sent for long-term confinement to the Heart Mountain, Wyoming camp.

Yoshiaki Fujitani

Yoshiaki Fujitani is a Nisei Military Intelligence Service veteran, Honpa Hongwanji Bishop, and promoter of interfaith outreach efforts.

Farewell to Manzanar (book)

Popular memoir that tells the story of one family's forced removal and confinement at Manzanar through the eyes of a young girl, first published in 1973.