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

Facilities
Format
Genre
Usage

Use <Ctrl> or (⌘) keys to select multiple terms

1049 items
Letter to Yuri Tsukada from Tok (ddr-densho-356-408)
doc Letter to Yuri Tsukada from Tok (ddr-densho-356-408)
Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from her sister Tokuko Domoto Kishi in which asks about family plans, tells about feelings on resettlement, and how her children have grown. Item tied together with all objects between ddr-densho-356-321 and ddr-densho-356-413.
Letter to Yuri Tsukada from Wak Domoto (ddr-densho-356-581)
doc Letter to Yuri Tsukada from Wak Domoto (ddr-densho-356-581)
Letter to Yuriko Domoto Tsukada from her sister Wakako Domoto. Wak writes her journey to California during which she learned a lot of news about individuals they knew in Japan and Nisei who served in the war, she also details how she spent Easter with their sister Tokuko Kishi.
Crossroads, Vol. 1, No. 42 (March 18, 1949) (ddr-densho-358-16)
doc Crossroads, Vol. 1, No. 42 (March 18, 1949) (ddr-densho-358-16)
Selected article titles: "Negroes, Chinese Oppose ENI" (p.1), "Evacuation Claims Questions, Answers" (p.2), "Toyo San: Saga of Senbei to Smart Photography" (p.3), "Mr. Watanabe Builds His Dream House" (p.11).
Couple reclaiming property (ddr-densho-36-6)
img Couple reclaiming property (ddr-densho-36-6)
Japanese Americans waiting to reclaim their property after World War II.
Family returning home (ddr-densho-36-54)
img Family returning home (ddr-densho-36-54)
Kametaro Funai (driving the tractor), and his family return home after the incarceration. The man standing on the platform is believed to be Floyd Schmoe, a well-known peace activist. After World War II, Schmoe organized teams of people to help Japanese Americans reestablish their farms. Museum identifying information refers to the group helping Funai as uni …
Wedding party (ddr-densho-363-1)
img Wedding party (ddr-densho-363-1)
Photograph of the wedding party at Sam Sakamoto and Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto's wedding. The photograph was taken by Frank C. Hirahara.\n\nTo view more photographs of the Sakamoto wedding and other photographs taken by Frank C. Hirahara please visit the Oregon Nikkei Endowment's Frank C. Hirahara Collection.
Japanese Americans leaving camp by bus (ddr-densho-37-783)
img Japanese Americans leaving camp by bus (ddr-densho-37-783)
Original WRA caption: Gila River Relocation Center, Rivers, Arizona. Aboard the Greyhound bus, which will take them to their former homes in California, these evacuees are anxious to be off. On September 15, two weeks before the Canal Camp at Rivers, Arizona, was to close, only 635 people remained and 370 of these had bus or …
Japanese Americans boarding buses (ddr-densho-37-784)
img Japanese Americans boarding buses (ddr-densho-37-784)
Original WRA caption: Gila River Relocation Center, Rivers, Arizona. Evacuees returning to their former homes in California by Greyhound bus. On September 15, two weeks before the Canal Camp at Rivers, Arizona, was to close, only 635 people remained and 370 of these had bus or train reservations for the following week (the Canal Camp once …
American Concentration Camps VOLUME 8 1944 and 1945 Japanese of Hawaii (ddr-densho-372-8)
doc American Concentration Camps VOLUME 8 1944 and 1945 Japanese of Hawaii (ddr-densho-372-8)
Volume 8 divides into five sections. Description about this volume reads directly from the book as follows: Part 1 features archival documents from 1944 and 1945 that depict the winding down of the relocation program. Part 2 features selected pages of a Congressional Record from February 23, 1944 and June 23, 1944 that resulted in the …
Information bulletin (ddr-densho-381-30)
doc Information bulletin (ddr-densho-381-30)
An information bulletin with articles about Minidoka's population, a train wreck, news from Seattle, bus fares, job offers, and three pages of Japanese text, possibly a translation.
Tamako Tokuda standing on sidewalk (ddr-densho-383-473)
img Tamako Tokuda standing on sidewalk (ddr-densho-383-473)
George and Tamako Tokuda's post-war resettlement in Seattle.
George and Tamako Tokuda on sidewalk (ddr-densho-383-471)
img George and Tamako Tokuda on sidewalk (ddr-densho-383-471)
George and Tamako Tokuda's post-war resettlement in Seattle.
Notes from individuals responding to
doc Notes from individuals responding to "what I would like to do after the war" (ddr-densho-383-542)
Written by Osa Edamura, who would have been a child at the time of incarceration, Gene Yamamoto and George Tsukamoto
Tamako Tokuda holding child (ddr-densho-383-468)
img Tamako Tokuda holding child (ddr-densho-383-468)
George and Tamako Tokuda's post-war resettlement in Seattle. The child is George and Tamako's oldest son, Floyd. The pair is next to a clothes drying line outside.
Man holding child (ddr-densho-383-469)
img Man holding child (ddr-densho-383-469)
George and Tamako Tokuda's post-war resettlement in Seattle. The child is George and Tamako's oldest son, Floyd. Written on front of photograph: "1946 - Yesler Way". Written on back of photograph: "May 1946".
Tamako Tokuda holding child (ddr-densho-383-472)
img Tamako Tokuda holding child (ddr-densho-383-472)
George and Tamako Tokuda's post-war resettlement in Seattle. The child is George and Tamako's oldest son, Floyd. The pair is next to a clothes drying line outside.
Tamako Tokuda standing on sidewalk (ddr-densho-383-467)
img Tamako Tokuda standing on sidewalk (ddr-densho-383-467)
George and Tamako Tokuda's post-war resettlement in Seattle.
Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-175)
doc Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-175)
Wants her to find a place in San Jose rather than go with his family, thanks her for the shoes, wants another baby as soon as he gets home.
Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-163)
doc Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-163)
He expects it may be hard to adjust to being a civilian again, would like them to have their own home, can't send money this month.
Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-156)
doc Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-156)
Saw his brother, Archie, heard that the family has moved to Mt. View California, ask where she is thinking of going when the camps close
Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-184)
doc Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-184)
Knows his family will be glad she is jointing them in Mt. View, but he doesn't want her to do any work while she is there, is sending more stockings
Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-117)
doc Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-117)
Wondering where they might live after the war, doesn't look like he will be coming home soon
Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-126)
doc Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-126)
Played softball, heard that his parents want Kathleen and Yuri (Aileen) to go with them to San Jose, but he wants them to stay in camp
Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-178)
doc Letter from Alvin Uchiyama to Kathleen Koga Uchiyama (ddr-densho-406-178)
The war is officially over, but he is waiting to celebrate when he can come home, wants Kathy to visit his sister Kai (Kasumi Uchiyama) before she goes to San Jose after the camp closes.
API