Tule Lake

doc Letter from Rohwer incarcerees to War Relocation Authority (ddr-densho-379-743)

Ten members of the Rohwer community write to the War Relocation Authority to ask that Chimata Sumida not be transferred to Tule Lake. They praise his work at Rohwer as an Events speaker as well as his position on the Resettlement Board.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-743/

img Japanese American and friend sifting for shells (ddr-densho-2-59)

Patsy Yorita (left) and Neal Frost, (son of a teacher at the Tule Lake concentration camp), sift dirt for shells. The shells were used by people in the camp to make jewelry. Tule Lake was drained in the early 1900s. The camp was located on the old lake bed, where people found shells for making jewelry …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-2-59/

img Incarceree performing in camp parade (ddr-densho-2-23)

Patsy Yorita performing a flag salute at the Tule Lake concentration camp at the Independence Day parade.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-2-23/

img Tule Lake concentration camp (ddr-densho-2-33)

View of the Tule Lake concentration camp barracks. A rock formation that the inmates called "Castle Rock" can be seen in the background. After obtaining permission to go through the gates, people could climb to the top of the formation.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-2-33/

img "Abalone Hill" (ddr-densho-2-46)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-2-46/

img Japanese Americans digging for shells (ddr-densho-2-47)

These individuals are digging for shells to make jewelry, which was a popular pastime for many Japanese Americans in camp. Left to right: Kumataro Nishimura, Kadju Nishimura, Jimmie Yorita, Neal Frost (son of one of the teachers at Tule Lake), and Patsy Yorita. Tule Lake was drained in the early 1900s. The camp was located on …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-2-47/

img Jewelry made in camp (ddr-densho-2-49)

This corsage pin was made by Peggie Yorita, a Japanese American at the Tule Lake concentration camp. The flowers and leaves are composed of shells found at the camp. Tule Lake was drained in the early 1900s. The camp was located on the old lake bed, where people found shells for making jewelry to sell to …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-2-49/

img Corsage made of shells (ddr-densho-2-4)

This corsage pin was made by a Japanese American in camp. The flower petals and leaves are made from various types of shells found at the camp. She used toothbrush bristles dipped in cornmeal for stamens and wound the stems by hand with fine green thread. Wire from screen windows was used to put the pin …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-2-4/

doc Tule Lake Pilgrimage sign up form (ddr-densho-365-9)

This blank sign up form for the 1994 Tule Lake Pilgrimage lays out the price tiers for the trip, including handwritten notes on prices excluding the bus portion of the trip.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-365-9/

doc Takeharu Inouye Diary (ddr-densho-365-2)

In the second diary he kept in the camp at Tule Lake, Takeharu Inouye recounts his struggles with education and the boredom resulting from few recreational opportunities. Though he participated in several baseball games with his classmates, Takeharu spent the majority of his free time attending the movie showings that occurred daily or weekly throughout the …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-365-2/

doc Kinenhi: Reflections on Tule Lake (ddr-densho-365-10)

This advertisement with an attached order form features the book entitled Kinenhi: Reflections on Tule Lake. The book was inspired by pilgrimages to Tule Lake and features interviews with internees.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-365-10/

doc Tule Lake Pilgrimage (ddr-densho-365-8)

This pamphlet briefly describes the circumstances leading to the creation of the Tule Lake Relocation and Segregation Center, and follows up with a statement concerning the importance of the Tule Lake Pilgrimage in the healing process for Japanese Americans. The right-hand fold out includes an itinerary for the 1994 Tule Lake Pilgrimage.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-365-8/

doc Through the Windows at Tule Lake (ddr-densho-365-7)

Through the Windows at Tule Lake was an event consisting of performances and readings during the 1994 Tule Lake Pilgrimage. Performers included Barbara Muramoto, the Shizen Youth Dance Theatre, Bill Marutani, Aya Ogawa, and David Hirota. The event focused on experiences at Tule Lake across generations, including for young people interned in the camp. The program …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-365-7/

doc Takeharu Inouye Diary (ddr-densho-365-1)

Takeharu Inouye's first diary documents his family's forced move to the Sacramento Assembly Center, followed by their move to the Tule Lake concentration camp. Since his mother, Miyoe Inouye, was a teacher, thirteen-year-old Takeharu's diary focuses on his classes in the Japanese and American schools at Tule Lake. His struggles with his schoolwork, as well as …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-365-1/

doc Takeharu Inouye Diary (ddr-densho-365-3)

In the final diary that Takeharu Inouye kept during his internment at Tule Lake, he includes descriptions of the movies he went to see daily, which served as his primary form of recreation. Takeharu also describes his feelings over succeeding and failing in his high school classes, since his friends would cheat off of his work, …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-365-3/

img Tule Lake Housing Warehouse Crew (ddr-densho-517-2)

Group photo of 20 men. Written on back: "Tule Lake 1943 / Housing Warehouse Crew" in black ink. Written on back: "Roy 3rd from left in dark shirt" in pencil.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-517-2/

img Tule Lake Housing Warehouse Crew (ddr-densho-517-1)

Group photo of 15 men. Written on back: "Tule Lake / 1943?" in pencil.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-517-1/

doc Christmas letter (ddr-densho-483-132)

Christmas letter from Tsutomu Fukuyama to family friends. The letter describes Christmas at Minidoka, housing conditions following transfers from Tule Lake and Manzanar, the agricultural impacts of the boll weaver, and the resettlement of Nisei Christians.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-483-132/

doc The Minidoka Herald Special Edition (February, 1944) (ddr-densho-483-94)

Selected article titles: "The work of the Federated Christian Church of Minidoka" (p. 1); "A glimpse into the barrack colony of Minidoka" (p. 1), "The vision of the worldwide church" (p. 1), "Greetings from Minidoka" (p. 1), "Structure of the Federated Christian Church of Minidoka" (p. 1), "The work of the Minidoka Project elementary schools" (p. …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-483-94/

doc Letter from Oregon Governor Sprague and rebuttal from Ichiro Hasegawa, Richard Higawa, and Ken Sekiguchi from Tule Lake (ddr-densho-423-156)

Letter sent to President Roosevelt and reprinted in the Oregon Journal, arguing that Japanese incarcerees should be forced to work on the sugar beet harvest or be deported to Japan. The detailed rebuttal from Hasegawa, Higawa and Sekiguchi gives exact numbers of available labor, problems with work conditions on the farms, hypocrisy of demanding the removal …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-423-156/