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.

Activist Stan Shikuma speaking at a rally outside the Northwest Detention Center. In front of him are posters with photos of Japanese American incarceration camps that say

Photo Essay: A Day of Remembrance and Resistance

Last weekend marked the 82nd anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced removal and incarceration of more than 125,000 Japanese Americans during World War II....

This 150 Year Old Bonsai Holds the Incredible History of One Japanese American Family

The Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, Washington connects people to nature through the living art of bonsai. The Densho communications team recently had the chance to visit the museum...
Photo of Erna Harris smiling and wearing a black beret circa 1970s, over a newspaper background

Meet Erna P. Harris: Writer, Dissident, and Ally

Through stories of remarkable people in Japanese American history, The Unknown Great illuminates the diversity of the Nikkei experience from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day....

Manzanar CloseUp

Welcome to Densho’s newest digital platform, Manzanar CloseUp! An evolution of Densho’s popular Sites of Shame project, Manzanar CloseUp applies similar data extraction and visualization tools to offer a close-up view of Manzanar concentration camp. Users are able to see geographical and population features of the camp with an unprecedented level of detail, including information about camp population down to the individual family and barrack level. 

Explore the Map

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.

Listen Today

Encyclopedia

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

Americans Betrayed: Politics and the Japanese Evacuation (book)

The first book-length exploration of the causes of the mass forced removal of Japanese Americans and their subsequent confinement, it emphasizes the role of West Coast politicians and pressure groups in the decision.

Draft resistance

Resistance by nearly 300 incarcerated Japanese Americans to conscription into the United States Army under the Selective Service and Training Act of 1940. Most served time in federal prison for their resistance.

Immigration Act of 1924

Also known as the Johnson-Reid Act, the Immigration Act of 1924 ended further immigration from Japan, while restricting the number of immigrants to the U.S. from southern and eastern Europe.