Social and recreational activities

Japanese Americans found ways to fill the long days created by the enforced idleness of camp life. They made jewelry from shells found in the desert, built furniture for their rooms using scrap lumber and renovated the exteriors of their barracks. People also played cards, chess, checkers, mahjongg, and the Japanese games 'go' and 'shogi.' Camp inmates held dances, concerts, plays, and arts and crafts exhibitions. In Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho, they even held a beauty contest to select the "Sweetheart of Minidoka."

World War II (231)
Concentration camps (1434)
Social and recreational activities (1155)

Related articles from the Densho Encyclopedia :
Arts and crafts in camp, Music in camp

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1155 items
Young former California boy learning to ice skate at Heart Mountain incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-58)
img Young former California boy learning to ice skate at Heart Mountain incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-58)
Young former California boy learning to ice skate at Heart Mountain incarceration camp. January 10, 1943. Photo by Tom Parker. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMLSC_TOMO_f23
Teenage incarceree spending Sunday afternoon in various activities such as ironing, playing cards, etc. at Granada incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-37)
img Teenage incarceree spending Sunday afternoon in various activities such as ironing, playing cards, etc. at Granada incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-37)
Teenage incarceree spending Sunday afternoon in various activities such as ironing, playing cards, etc. at Granada incarceration camp. August 30, 1942. Photo by Tom Parker. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMLSC_TOMO_f02
Artist completing a watercolor at Granada incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-49)
img Artist completing a watercolor at Granada incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-49)
Artist completing a watercolor at Granada incarceration camp. Photo by Tom Parker. December 13, 1942. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMLSC_TOMO_f14
Self-organized harikuri band, string quartet, at Jerome incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-18)
img Self-organized harikuri band, string quartet, at Jerome incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-18)
Self-organized harikuri band, a string quartet at Jerome incarceration camp. Guitar, Joe Iwasaki; first mandolin, Johnny Yamashita; violin, Seichi Ono; second mandolin, Yutaka Motsuda. March 12, 1943. Photo by Tom Parker. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMLSC_TOMO_018
Swing Band practice at Heart Mountain incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-51)
img Swing Band practice at Heart Mountain incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-51)
Swing Band practice at Heart Mountain incarceration camp. September 16, 1942. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMLSC_TOMO_f16
High school Junior Class dance at Granada incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-43)
img High school Junior Class dance at Granada incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-43)
High school Junior Class dance at Granada incarceration camp. December 11, 1942. Photo by Tom Parker. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMLSC_TOMO_f08
Incarcerees watching outdoor musical performance at Manzanar incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-20)
img Incarcerees watching outdoor musical performance at Manzanar incarceration camp (ddr-csujad-14-20)
Incarcerees watching outdoor musical performance at Manzanar incarceration camp. June 5, 1942. Photo by Francis Stewart. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMLSC_TOMO_020
Poston Community Enterprises remodling [remodeling] sale (ddr-csujad-16-1)
doc Poston Community Enterprises remodling [remodeling] sale (ddr-csujad-16-1)
Announcement for a "penny sale" held by the manager of Camp 1 Store 3, stating that Community Enterprises is soliciting people's patronage; includes a list of merchandise that customers' extra pennies would buy. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: JAIC_01-14_01
Desert Sentinel, Volume I, No. 4, November 30, 1942 (ddr-csujad-17-5)
doc Desert Sentinel, Volume I, No. 4, November 30, 1942 (ddr-csujad-17-5)
School newspaper published at the Gila River incarceration camp. Features and topics include a new superintendent and the choice of "Desert Sentinel" as the name for the school paper; news of campus, sports, and social and holiday events, including the opening of the Butte High School library; items about classes, students and teachers, including a student …
Granada Pioneer, Edition 2, Issue 21, January 15, 1944 (ddr-csujad-17-9)
doc Granada Pioneer, Edition 2, Issue 21, January 15, 1944 (ddr-csujad-17-9)
Newspaper published at the Granada incarceration camp. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: JARC_02-07_04
Deserted Senses [spoof title for Desert Sentinel], Vol. I, No. 9, April 1, 1943 (ddr-csujad-17-3)
doc Deserted Senses [spoof title for Desert Sentinel], Vol. I, No. 9, April 1, 1943 (ddr-csujad-17-3)
School newspaper published at the Gila River incarceration camp; this is an April Fools' Day issue with articles and illustrations making fun of life at camp. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: JARC_04-01_03
Granada Pioneer, Edition 2, Issue 20, January 8, 1944 (ddr-csujad-17-8)
doc Granada Pioneer, Edition 2, Issue 20, January 8, 1944 (ddr-csujad-17-8)
Newspaper published at the Granada incarceration camp. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: JARC_02-07_03
Desert Sentinel, Vol. I. No. 15, June 21, 1943 (ddr-csujad-17-1)
doc Desert Sentinel, Vol. I. No. 15, June 21, 1943 (ddr-csujad-17-1)
School newspaper published at the Gila River incarceration camp. According to an announcement on the back page, publication seeks to make known the War Relocation Authority's "plans and policies," the results of Community Council deliberations, and various regulations and news about life at the Gila River Incarceration Camp. Issue features articles about and by the Camp's …
Granada Pioneer, Vol. I, No.5, November 11, 1942 (ddr-csujad-17-6)
doc Granada Pioneer, Vol. I, No.5, November 11, 1942 (ddr-csujad-17-6)
Newspaper published at the Granada incarceration camp. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: JARC_02-01_06
Granada Pioneer, Vol. I, No.61, May 1, 1943 (ddr-csujad-17-7)
doc Granada Pioneer, Vol. I, No.61, May 1, 1943 (ddr-csujad-17-7)
Newspaper published at the Granada incarceration camp. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: JARC_02-04_01
Desert Sentinel, Vol. I No. 3, December 24, 1942 (ddr-csujad-17-4)
doc Desert Sentinel, Vol. I No. 3, December 24, 1942 (ddr-csujad-17-4)
School newspaper published at the Gila River incarceration camp. Features and topics include a constitution and new principal for Butte High School; news of campus, sports, and social and holiday events; items about classes, students and teachers; and short prose and poetry pieces. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: …
Desert Sentinel, Vol. I No. 12, May 14, 1943 (ddr-csujad-17-2)
doc Desert Sentinel, Vol. I No. 12, May 14, 1943 (ddr-csujad-17-2)
School newspaper published at the Gila River incarceration camp. Features and items include a report on a bond drive and on a "Kampus Karnival"; news about the debate team and about a talent show, as well as about goings-on at Topaz, Utah; Manzanar, California; Echoes, Wyoming; Hunt, Idaho; and Amache, Colorado; and illustrations. See this object …
Relocation Communities for Wartime Evacuees, September 1942 (ddr-csujad-19-23)
doc Relocation Communities for Wartime Evacuees, September 1942 (ddr-csujad-19-23)
This paper describes the relocation communities for "the wartime evacuees" from the Pacific Coast. It also talks about the community life and the work opportunities for the incarceress in the different incarceration camps. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: WRA_01-15_01
Manzanar From Inside Out (ddr-csujad-19-2)
doc Manzanar From Inside Out (ddr-csujad-19-2)
Text of address by Roy Nash, Director of the Manzanar War Relocation Project, given to the Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco, on July 31, 1942 for the purpose of "interpret[ing] the actuality of a War Relocation Center housing 10,000 evacuees" in view of perceptions of mistreatment of incarcerees in California. Sections of the speech include …
Social groups: creative writers, Caucasian-Japanese relationship, Mr. Cook, leadership (ddr-csujad-26-12)
doc Social groups: creative writers, Caucasian-Japanese relationship, Mr. Cook, leadership (ddr-csujad-26-12)
Report on a creative writers group including establishment, membership, meetings, purpose, and leadership. The group gathered weekly to critique each other's work for submittal to the Tulean Dispatch and outside publications. Describes the involvement, influence, and eventual tension with Mr. Cook and the writers group as an example of a "Caucasian-Japanese relationship" in the camp. Report …
Tule Lake monograph (ddr-csujad-26-1)
doc Tule Lake monograph (ddr-csujad-26-1)
Unpublished manuscript includes a collection of diary entries, letters, and essays written by school students incarcerated at the Tule Lake camp and collected through the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study (JERS). The writings include first-person descriptions of travel to the Tule Lake camp, adapting to camp, limitations of camp, day-to-day camp life, family life, community …
Chapter 6 and 7 personality cards (ddr-csujad-26-34)
doc Chapter 6 and 7 personality cards (ddr-csujad-26-34)
Journal entries written by high school students discussing their observations and perspectives on a variety of topics including living in barracks, block noise, lack of privacy, mess hall dining, nosy neighbors, jobs, leisure time, sports, movies, church attendance, the Young Buddhist Association (YBA), family dynamics, social changes, dating, and rumors. Each entry includes the full date …
Recreational organization (ddr-csujad-26-10)
doc Recreational organization (ddr-csujad-26-10)
Report detailing the establishment of a recreation and community activities department including its organization, activities planning, personnel problems and conflicts, issues with structure and equipment, and a structural diagram of the community activities section. The report focuses on the place of recreation in the lives of incarcerees and the differences between Issei and Nisei leading to …
Personality cards (ddr-csujad-26-38)
doc Personality cards (ddr-csujad-26-38)
Journal entries written by high school students discussing their observations and perspectives on a variety of topics including classes, class discussions, assignments, grades, exams, homework and studying, interclass sports, graduation, dances, and a carnival fundraiser for yearbook. Each entry includes the full date and student name. The entries were part of a class assignment and collected …
Personality cards (ddr-csujad-26-44)
doc Personality cards (ddr-csujad-26-44)
Journal entries written by high school students discussing their observations and perspectives on a variety of topics including social and cultural differences, personality conflicts, friendships, social interactions, school, dogs, memories, reflections on camp life, weather, a friend in the military visiting his parents in camp, hobbies, and opinions about other people and daily life. Each entry …
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