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)

Related articles from the Densho Encyclopedia :
Alien land laws, Hood River incident, Kazuo Masuda, Return to West Coast

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1049 items
Obon Festival- Dancers (ddr-one-1-315)
img Obon Festival- Dancers (ddr-one-1-315)
Black and white photographic negative of two Obon dancers posing with "uchiwa" (fan). From left to right: Tomi Tsujimura and Yachiyo Morita. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by the wider Nikkei community.
Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-185)
img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-185)
Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers in two lines approaching the camera with arms in motion. From left to right front row: Betty Nakashimada, Aki (Shiraishi) Dong, Ted Tetsuo Tamaki, Shiz (Fujita) Inaba. Back row fourth from left is Arthur Ojiro “Art” Sasaki. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church …
Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 20
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 20 "Fountain of youth" (ddr-one-1-489)
Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 20 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 depicts the story of the fountain of youth, with three young ladies dressed in gowns …
Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 17
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 17 "Arabian Nights" (ddr-one-1-492)
Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 17 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 theme is written on the side as "Arabian Nights." Five women dressed in large colorful …
Registration Table at Epworth United Methodist Church (ddr-one-1-339)
img Registration Table at Epworth United Methodist Church (ddr-one-1-339)
Black and white photographic negative of a registration table inside Epworth United Methodist Church, possibly for the Northwest Methodist Rally. From left to right: Lillian (Niimi) Mikariya, Atsuko "Alice" Kida, and Loretta (Fujii) Kaneko, remaining unidentified.
Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 14
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 14 "Shell" (ddr-one-1-169)
Color slide of Rose Festival float 14 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside W.L. Reid Company Building Hardware Specialties and the Riverfront Hotel and Cafe. An advertisement for Chevrolet is visible in the background on the side of the Portland Commons Annex. The float depicts a tiger jumping through a hoop. A …
Third Annual Oregon Nisei Bowling League Tournament Dance (ddr-one-1-119)
img Third Annual Oregon Nisei Bowling League Tournament Dance (ddr-one-1-119)
Black and white photographic negative of unidentified couples dancing at the Third Annual Nisei Bowling League Tournament Dance at McElroy's Ballroom in Portland, Oregon. Jimmy Amato and his Orchestra are playing in the background.
Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 21 (ddr-one-1-175)
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 21 (ddr-one-1-175)
Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 21 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside the W.L. Reid Company Building Hardware Specialties and the Riverfront Hotel and Cafe. The float is a truck made of red and white flowers with animal cages, a small yellow sign is visible on the front with number …
Nisei at Epworth United Methodist Church (ddr-one-1-330)
img Nisei at Epworth United Methodist Church (ddr-one-1-330)
Black and white photographic negative of four Nisei girls wearing white gloves, large, fake ears and a newspaper bib inside Epworth United Methodist Church, possibly during the Northwest Methodist Rally. Each girl is also holding a conductor baton. Third girl from the left is identified as Sophie (Tomita) Imai.
Sorelles Group Photo (ddr-one-1-21)
img Sorelles Group Photo (ddr-one-1-21)
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, Atsuko "Alice" (Matsumoto) Ando, Jean Matsumoto, …
Portland Rose Festival Parade-  float 23
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 23 "Sears, Roebuck and Co" (ddr-one-1-149)
Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 23 driving down Burnside in front of a crowd outside W.L. Reid Company Building Hardware Specialties. The float is of two horses made of yellow and brown flowers pulling a chariot made of green and yellow flowers with a male rider dressed as a Roman chariot rider. Two women …
Photographer (ddr-one-1-433)
img Photographer (ddr-one-1-433)
Black and white photographic negative of an unidentified photographer standing on a pew with a large camera.
Wedding of Sam Sakamoto and Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto (ddr-one-1-40)
img Wedding of Sam Sakamoto and Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto (ddr-one-1-40)
Original black and white photographic print of bridal party standing in front of the alter. Left to right: Tamaye (Fujiwara) Nomi, Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto, and Lilly (Kobayashi) Irinaga.
Children at Odori (ddr-one-1-64)
img Children at Odori (ddr-one-1-64)
Color slide of two posing children in their Odori (traditional Japanese folk dance) costumes. Second from the left is Janice (Ikata) Marks.
Portland Rose Festival Parade- Cowgirl (ddr-one-1-163)
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- Cowgirl (ddr-one-1-163)
Color slide of a woman in a white western/cowgirl costume riding on the back of a palomino horse with a black saddle with silver embellishments in the Rose Festival Parade. She is posed for the camera at the intersection of W Burnside of NW First Ave, the Grant Hotel and Noon Bag Company buildings are visible …
Portland Rose Festival Parade- Float 40 (ddr-one-1-171)
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- Float 40 (ddr-one-1-171)
Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 40 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside the Shoreline Hotel and Cafe, and Anchor Inn. The float has a large elephant made of white flowers and three women in Arabian costumes riding up front. On the float is a small yellow sign with the number …
Reed College (ddr-one-1-364)
img Reed College (ddr-one-1-364)
Black and white photographic negative of Carlos Ogimi and other students sitting at drawing table working on an unknown project. Carlos is the first seated student on the right, everyone else is unidentified. This photographic negative was taken at Reed College where Carlos was a student. Original print ONLC 3180 (ddr-one-1-362).
Portland Rose Festival Parade- Float 27
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- Float 27 "Motor Show 1907" (ddr-one-1-467)
Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 27 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd gathered outside the Noon Bag Company and White Stag Manufacturing. The side of the float reads "Portland Auto Dealers." Written on the front is "Motor Show 1907." A small yellow sign is placed on the front of the float …
Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-66)
img Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-66)
Color slide of four unidentified women in yukatas or kimonos with Japanese straw hats performing Odori (traditional Japanese folk dance) at night.
Horse in stables (ddr-one-1-441)
img Horse in stables (ddr-one-1-441)
Color slide of a brown horse with a large white spot on its head inside a stable that surrounded by straw. According to donor processed on June 20, 1951.
Northwest Buddhist Convention Banquet- Kitchen (ddr-one-1-428)
img Northwest Buddhist Convention Banquet- Kitchen (ddr-one-1-428)
Black and white photographic negative of women plating food in the kitchen of the Seattle Buddhist Church for the Northwest Buddhist Convention Banquet. Behind the stove from right to left: Irene (Yamaguchi) Tatsuta, Betty Kurimoto Yamasaki, Noriko (Ichikawa) Kurashige, and May Matsumoto, others unidentified.
Wedding of Sam Sakamoto and Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto (ddr-one-1-34)
img Wedding of Sam Sakamoto and Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto (ddr-one-1-34)
Original black and white photographic print of the bride, Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto, standing in front of the alter holding her bouquet.
Obon Festival (ddr-one-1-183)
img Obon Festival (ddr-one-1-183)
Black and white photographic negative of a large seated crowd. Obon dancers crouched on the sideline. First crouched man on left side is Nobi Saito, first seated man from left is Tom Shigeto Tamiyasu. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by the wider …
Portland Rose Festival Parade-
img Portland Rose Festival Parade- "Tom and Huck" (ddr-one-1-468)
Color slide of a Rose Festival Parade float driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd gathered outside the Noon Bag Company building. The float depicts Tom and Huckleberry Finn riding on a raft. Two boys are dressed up as the characters and wave to the crowd. The side of the float reads "University of …
Reed College (ddr-one-1-356)
img Reed College (ddr-one-1-356)
Black and white photographic negative of siblings Carlos Ogimi and Ayame Ogimi at Reed College, where they both attended school.
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