Living conditions

All of the camps were constructed according to the War Department's specifications, which included barbed-wire fences, guard towers, and armed guards around the perimeter. The camps were organized in "blocks" consisting of twelve to fourteen barracks, a mess hall, communal showers and toilets, laundry facilities, and a recreation hall. Each barracks was divided into four or six rooms with each room housing one family, no matter how large, and there was no running water. The furnishings that Japanese Americans found on their arrival were canvas cots, a potbellied stove, and a single bare light bulb. The thin walls offered little protection from the harsh weather, which ranged from 110 degrees in the summer to 25 degrees below zero on winter nights. The flimsy construction allowed no privacy and made normal family life difficult. Camp inmates improved their own living conditions by creating interior walls and partitions, constructing furniture from scrap lumber, and planting gardens.

World War II (231)
Concentration camps (1434)
Living conditions (1751)

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1751 items

img [Newspaper packaging] (ddr-csujad-56-216)

Incarcerees fold and package camp newspaper for distribution. Page 2 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book Two. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-025

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-216/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, December 23, 1943 (ddr-csujad-56-58)

Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. Transcript is found in item: ssu_nbea_9056. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-056

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-58/

doc When American citizens lost their freedom, [newspaper article] (ddr-csujad-56-180)

A newspaper article from the Press Democrat published on September 15, 1977. Interview of ex-incarceree, Murakami. Photos of recently arrived incarcerees and buildings at Camp Amache. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-02-047

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-180/

img [Tsurumoto in the garden] (ddr-csujad-56-203)

Bill Tsurumoto crouched down in rock garden near living quarters. Page 12 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book One. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-012

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-203/

img [Off the truck] (ddr-csujad-56-213)

Japanese American woman and two men are greeted by other incarcerees, as they get off a truck. Page 22 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book One. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-022

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-213/

img [Ladies group photo] (ddr-csujad-56-222)

A group of young Japanese American girls interned at Camp Amache. Page 8 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book Two. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-031

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-222/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, August 13 1942 (ddr-csujad-56-14)

Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-012

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-14/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, November 30, 1943 (ddr-csujad-56-56)

Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-054

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-56/

img [Soldier] (ddr-csujad-56-149)

Candid portrait of Japanese American soldier. Photo provided by Tak Kameoka. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-02-016

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-149/

img [Crop land] (ddr-csujad-56-170)

Bags of potatoes in the field with more bags in the background. Photo provided by Tak Kameoka. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-02-037

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-170/

doc Letter from Lea Perry to George Ito, June 27, 1942 (ddr-csujad-56-10)

Letter from Lea Perry to George Ito. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. Transcript is found in item: ssu_nbea_9008. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-008

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-10/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, March 6, 1944 (ddr-csujad-56-71)

Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-069

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-71/

img [Japanese American soldier] (ddr-csujad-56-187)

Japanese American soldier and incarceree standing in the snow outside the living quarters. Photo provided by Tak Kameoka. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-02-054

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-187/

img [Two ladies] (ddr-csujad-56-207)

Two young Japanese American women. Page 16 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book One. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-016

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-207/

img [Group conversation] (ddr-csujad-56-233)

A group of incarcerees by the Arkansas River near Camp Amache. Page 19 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book Two. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-042

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-233/

img [Administration area] (ddr-csujad-56-194)

Camp Amache administration and personnel buildings near front entrance. Page 3 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book One. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-003

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-194/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, November 24, 1943 (ddr-csujad-56-55)

Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-053

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-55/

img [Yasu and group by the river] (ddr-csujad-56-236)

A group of Japanese American incarcerees by the Arkansas River with a young man named Yasu in the left foreground. Page 22 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book Two. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-045

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-236/

doc Letter to Joe and Lea Perry, January 26, 1944 (ddr-csujad-56-64)

Letter to Joe and Lea Perry. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. Transcript is found in item: ssu_nbea_9062. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-062

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-64/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, February 2, 1944 (ddr-csujad-56-67)

Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. Transcript is found in item: ssu_nbea_9065. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-065

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-67/

doc Letter from Lea Perry to Kazuo Ito and family, December 26, 1943 (ddr-csujad-56-59)

Letter from Lea Perry to Kazuo Ito and family. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. Transcript is found in item: ssu_nbea_9057. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-057

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-59/

img [Men by the river] (ddr-csujad-56-143)

Photo of a group of men talking and playing around by the river. Photo provided by Tak Kameoka. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-02-010

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-143/

img [Snake charming] (ddr-csujad-56-224)

Cowl and Masaji sit on the ground at Camp Amache, one holding a snake and the other wearing a turban and playing a wooden flute. Page 10 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book Two. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-033

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-224/

img [River] (ddr-csujad-56-145)

Photo of the river where incarcerees were visiting outside camp. Photo provided by Tak Kameoka. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-02-012

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-145/

doc Letter from Lea Perry, January 7, 1944 (ddr-csujad-56-62)

Letter from Lea Perry. The original letters are housed with the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and were borrowed for digitization courtesy of the JACL, December 2014. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-060

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-62/