Returning home

When the camps closed, Japanese Americans were handed $25 and put on trains headed for the places they had been forcibly removed from nearly four years earlier. Harassment was common -- many returning Japanese Americans were greeted with signs reading "No Japs Allowed." Other discovered their property had been vandalized or stolen. Homes and businesses that had been boarded up or left in the care of others were abandoned and stripped of furnishings and goods. For the majority, who did not have homes to return to, housing was the most serious problem. Housing discrimination was severe in many areas and persisted to varying degrees until the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Former camp inmates with no other options moved into hostels and converted community institutions with conditions not much better than the camps they had just left. Although this period was stressful, it is remembered as a time when people came together to share what they had.

World War II (231)
Leaving camp (287)
Returning home (1049)

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1049 items

img Northwest Buddhist Convention Banquet (ddr-one-1-415)

Black and white photographic negative of guests at the Northwest Buddhist Convention banquet dinner in the basement of the Seattle Buddhist Church. Sitting third from the right is Shiz (Fujita) Inaba, sitting opposite is Yosh Tanabe.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-415/

img Obon Festival- Dancers (ddr-one-1-265)

Black and white photographic negative of six Obon dancers sitting and smiling for the camera. From left to right: Aki (Shiraishi) Dong, Mary (Nakata) Fujii, Atsuko "Alice" Kida, Atsuko "Alice" (Matsumoto) Ando, Betty Nakashimada, and Jean Yasuko (Kida) Tomita. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-265/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 12 "Seattle Seafair" (ddr-one-1-497)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 12 driving down SW Third Ave in front of a large crowd gathered outside a Signal gas station and San Francisco Tailor, behind the Signal gas station is the old Multnomah Hotel. The float is made up of two parts, first part of the float has two riders sitting …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-497/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 6 "Robert Bros" (ddr-one-1-502)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 6 driving down SW Third Ave in front of a large crowd gathered outside a Signal gas station and San Francisco Tailor, behind the Signal gas station is the old Multnomah Hotel. The float has four visible riders, three dressed in purple gowns, one dressed in a white wedding …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-502/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade Float- "Timber Carnival" (ddr-one-1-552)

Color slide of a float in the Rose Festival Parade driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside the Shoreline and Grant Hotels. The float is made of green foliage and has a large log with a lumberjack made of red and blue flowers on top. The sign on the side of the log …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-552/

img Northwest Buddhist Convention (ddr-one-1-431)

Black and white photographic negative of two Nisei women standing behind set banquet tables. From left to right: Noriko (Ichikawa) Kurashige, and May Matsumoto.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-431/

img Rose tray (ddr-one-1-526)

Color slide of two young girls in purple costumes kneeling and holding a large tray of pink rose buds with ribbons tied around their stems. The girls are kneeling before 1951 Rose Festival Queen Gloria Krieger who is dressed in a white jacket and hat and sitting in a golden chair. The woman holds a small …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-526/

img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-220)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers holding "uchiwa" (fan) above their heads in front of large crowd. From left to right line: Beti ann (Minamoto) Wantroba, and Nami (Miura) Koida, all others unidentified. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by the …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-220/

img Oregon Buddhist Church Annual Lotus Bazaar (ddr-one-1-105)

Black and white photographic negative of a crowd and banners at the Oregon Buddhist Church's Annual Lotus Bazaar (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple). Man in crowd with legs crossed talking to two unidentified women is Sam "Pompadour Sam" Sasaki. For print please see ONLC 4946 (ddr-one-1-717)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-105/

img Northwest Buddhist Convention Banquet (ddr-one-1-414)

Black and white photographic negative of guests at the Northwest Buddhist Convention banquet dinner in the basement of the Seattle Buddhist Church. Sitting on the far left is Shizuko "Shiz" (Ochiai) Ota Okazaki.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-414/

img Chinese Wedding Celebration (ddr-one-1-238)

Black and white photographic negative of Fred Lee and Betty Jean (Chinn) Lee's wedding guests watching a dragon dance performance outside.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-238/

img Frank Hirahara at New Tokyo Bar (ddr-one-1-80)

Black and white photographic negative of Frank Hirahara and Rose Mae Hara at the New Tokyo Bar in Portland, Oregon. For original print please ONLC 2855 (ddr-one-1-79).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-80/

img Wedding portrait of Fred Lee and Betty-Jean Lee (Chinn) (ddr-one-1-132)

Black and white photographic negative of Fred G. Lee and Betty Jean (Chinn) Lee in wedding attire including a large bridal headdress.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-132/

img Picnic at the Oregon Coast (ddr-one-1-58)

Color slide of two unidentified Japanese American men sitting on a blanket at the Oregon Coast enjoying a picnic.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-58/

img Obon Festival Dance Rehearsal (ddr-one-1-303)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers practicing an Odori folk dance inside Norse Hall in Northeast Portland. Second dancer from the left is identified as Atsuko "Alice" (Matsumoto) Ando. Young boy and third standing audience member from the left is identified as Eddie Tamiyasu. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-303/

img Roses (ddr-one-1-521)

Color slide of a row of pink rose bushes. Other rows of red and pink rose bushes are visible in background. Image was most likely taken at the Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. According to donor processed on June 14, 1964.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-521/

img Sorelles Group Photo (ddr-one-1-16)

Original black and white photographic print of the Sorelles, a high school social group. Left to right: Grace (Ebihara) Akiyama, Betty Nakashimada, Jean Yasuko (Kida) Tomita, Nami (Miura) Koida, Masae “Elsie” (Morita) Onishi, Beti ann (Minamoto) Wantroba, Mitsy (Kiyomura) Takeoka, Betty Ishida, Elsie Okazaki, Agnes (Inouye) Kitayama, Atsuko "Alice" Kida, Astuko "Alice" (Matsumoto) Ando, Jean Matsumoto, …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-16/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade Float- Vancouver, Washington Cenaqua (ddr-one-1-162)

Color slide of the back of a Rose Festival Parade float driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside the Grant Hotel and the intersection of NW First Ave. The Noon Bag Company building is visible in the background. The float depicts a carousel with a clown and three women in pink dresses and …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-162/

img Dance (ddr-one-1-101)

Black and white photographic negative of a room full of unidentified couples dancing together at an informal dance.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-101/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade Float- "Pacific Telephone" (ddr-one-1-533)

Color slide of the side of the Pacific Telephone float in the Rose Festival Parade driving down W Burnside and the intersection of NW Second Ave, the corner of the Shoreline Hotel is visible in the background. The side of float has purple, white and red flowers and reads "Pacific Telephone." On the float five women …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-533/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 35, "Boyd's Coffee" (ddr-one-1-465)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 35 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd gathered outside the Noon Bag Company, two advertisements are visible on the side of the building. The float is made out of pink flowers and has a large wheel on top that is upside down, but reads "Boyd's Coffee". …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-465/

img Sorelles Group Photo (ddr-one-1-5)

Original black and white photographic print of the Sorelles, a high school social group. Back Row (left to right): Elsie Okazaki, Agnes (Inouye) Kitayama, Atsuko “Alice” Kida, Atsuko “Alice” (Matsumoto) Ando, Nami (Miura) Koida, Kimi Wakabayashi, Grace Mieko (Muramatsu) Ouchida, Masae “Elsie” (Morita) Onishi, and Betty Nakashimada. Middle Row (left to right): Rose Haruye (Muramatsu) Ouchida, …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-5/

img New Tokyo Bar (ddr-one-1-84)

Black and white photographic negative of unidentified bar patrons at the New Tokyo Bar. Bartender George Ninomiya is behind the bar.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-84/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- Crowd (ddr-one-1-448)

Color slide of crowd and light post outside the Shoreline Hotel and Anchor Inn on W Burnside. Presumably the crowd has gathered to watch the Portland Rose Festival Parade. The Rose Festival Parade is an annual event in which floats are made out of flowers and paraded down the streets of Portland. According to donor processed …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-448/

img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-192)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers with arms raised in front of a crowd. Right row second from the left: Mr. Yoshihara, right row third from left: Beti ann (Minamoto) Wantroba. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by the wider Nikkei …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-192/