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 (283)
Leaving camp (434)
Returning home (1151)

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1151 items

img Sorelles Group Photo (ddr-one-1-9)

Black and white photographic negative of the Sorelles, a high school social group. Back Row (left to right): Elsie Okazaki, Anges (Inouye) Kitayama, Atsuko "Alice" Kida, Atsuko “Alice” (Matsumoto) Ando, Nami (Miura) Koida, Kimi Wakabayashi, Grace Mieko (Muramatsu) Ouchida, Masae “Elsie” (Morita) Onishi, and Betty Nakashimada. Middle Row (left to right): Rose Haruye (Muramatsu) Ouchida, Kathleen …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-9/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 23 "Story Book Hour" (ddr-one-1-537)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 23 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside the Blue Eagle Café on the corner of NW Second Ave. The float has three children in white sitting on the float waving at the crowd. One woman in a white dress stands at the back of float …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-537/

img Obon Festival- Dancers (ddr-one-1-267)

Black and white photographic negative of two young girls posing for the camera at Obon in front of crowd seated on bleachers. Second from the left is Janice (Matsunaga) Okamoto. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by the wider Nikkei community.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-267/

img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-218)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers performing before a crowd. Obon dancers from left to right: fifth from the left is Shig Yuzuriha, seventh from the left is Nobyo Sato, ninth from the left is Hana Hanada. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-218/

img Indoor Carnival Fundraiser- Bingo (ddr-one-1-88)

Black and white photographic negative of an indoor carnival fundraiser possibly hosted by the Sorelles or Adelphons (Japanese American young women's groups). People sitting and playing bingo, watchers stand behind. Sitting left to right: Joe Namba, Nobi Saito, Henry "Wimpy" Kawata, George Kasahara, Terry Mishiro, Diane (Ando) Harder, and Minoru "Bob" Ando. Standing in front of …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-88/

doc 70th Anniversary of the Japanese Congregational Church (ddr-densho-474-53)

The Japanese Congregational Church's 70th Anniversary book traces the history of JCC within the context of national and local events.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-474-53/

img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-261)

Black and white photographic negative of two lines of dancers performing an Odori (traditional Japanese folk dance) at Obon. Right line from left to right: Mr. Tsujimura, Atsuko "Alice" Kida, Susanne Mineko (Sasaki) Myer. Left line, third from left: Don Oishi. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-261/

img Sorelles Beach Outing (ddr-one-1-391)

Black and white photographic negative of a group of Nisei at a beach outing planned by the Sorrelles (a high school social group). Sitting left to right: unidentified, Masae "Elsie" (Morita) Onishi, Nobyo Sato, unidentified, Grace Mieko (Muramatsu) Ouchida, Loretta (Fujii) Kaneko, Mas Ouchida, May (Ebihara) Gelfand, and unidentified. Standing left to right: Kathleen "Kathie" Haruko …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-391/

img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-187)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers in front of small crowd. Fourth dancer from the left is Beti ann (Minamoto) Wantroba. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by the wider Nikkei community. This image was taken at Holladay Park in Portland, …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-187/

img Reed College (ddr-one-1-360)

Black and white photographic negative of Ayame Ogimi and her brother Carlos Ogimi staring at a large document or drawing on a table in front of them. This photograph was taken at Reed College where Ayame and Carlos were both students. Original print ONLC 3176 (ddr-one-1-358).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-360/

img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-180)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers with "uchiwa" (fan) in front of large crowd. Some spectators seated on chairs, most on grass. Among the seated spectators next to an empty chair with her name on it is Portland Mayor Dorothy McCullough Lee. Dancers: Third from the left is Joe Shiraishi, fourth from the left …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-180/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- Victoria Girl's Drill Corps (ddr-one-1-176)

Color slide of Victoria's all girls drill team marching in the Rose Festival Parade on W Burnside in front of a crowd outside a Bekins Storage. The women are dressed in white uniforms with pink and purple capes. The Rose Festival Parade is an annual event in which floats are made out of flowers and paraded …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-176/

img Northwest Buddhist Convention Banquet (ddr-one-1-418)

Black and white photographic negative of guests at the Northwest Buddhist Convention banquet dinner in the basement of the Seattle Buddhist Church. Sitting at the head table from left to right: Reverend Sunya Pratt (from Tacoma, Washington), Reverend Tatsuya Ichikawa (from Seattle, Washington), Reverend Eiyu Terao (from Spokane, Washington), Reverend Ikuta from (Vancouver, British Columbia), Reverend …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-418/

img Adelphons Group Photo (ddr-one-1-3)

Black and white photographic negative of the Adelphons, a young women's service group of the Portland Chapter of the Japanese American Citizen's League, in formal attire. Back Row (left to right): Sumiko “Sue” (Kawasaki) Fujino, unidentified, Minnie (Oyama) Abe, Ochiyo (Nishioka) Hasuike, unidentified, Mary (Furusho) Iwasaki, Tamae "Butch" Yamamoto, Kathryn (Kawata) Niita, Irene (Kawata) Nakagawa, Sophie …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-3/

img Buddhist Convention (ddr-one-1-334)

Black and white photographic negative of large crowd of Buddhists gathered outside Collin's Field House in Seattle, Washington for a Buddhist convention. First row: Kiku Fujita, unidentified, Nancy from Tacoma, and Yasuko (Hashimoto) Morita. Second row, far right is Irene (Fujii) Mano. Third row far right: Sumiye (Fukei) Kato. Fourth row far left: Yosh Tanabe, Ted …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-334/

img Sorelles Group Photo (ddr-one-1-17)

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, Astuko "Alice" (Matsumoto) Ando, Jean Matsumoto, …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-17/

img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-273)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers performing an Odori folk dance at Obon. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by the wider Nikkei community..

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-273/

img Nisei at Epworth United Methodist Church (ddr-one-1-327)

Black and white original photographic print of Nisei women at Epworth United Methodist Church rolling up newspapers possibly during the Northwest Methodist Rally. From left to right: Martha (Kondo) Miyasaki, Miriam (Koyama) Kiso, Grace (Sakano) Robbs, Jean Yasuko (Kida) Tomita, unidentified, and Masae "Elsie" (Morita) Onishi. For negative please see ONLC 3144 (ddr-one-1-326)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-327/

img Obon Festival- Dancers (ddr-one-1-278)

Black and white photographic negative of three Obon dancers smiling for the camera. From left to right: Beti ann (Minamoto) Wantroba, Nami (Miura) Koida, and Jean Yasuko (Kida) Tomita. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by the wider Nikkei community.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-278/

img Sunday School (ddr-one-1-92)

Black and white photographic negative of Sunday School class. Students work on coloring project with adult teachers, image of Buddha hangs on wall. Class not taught at the Oregon Buddhist Church, exact location is unknown.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-92/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 22 "Retail Trade Bureau" (ddr-one-1-135)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 22 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside W.L. Reid Company Building Hardware Specialties. The float has a circus theme with three seals made of black flowers balancing balls of red and yellow flowers on their noses. The float has three riders on top, two women …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-135/

img Dance (ddr-one-1-99)

Black and white photographic negative of three unidentified couples dancing together at an informal dance, possibly a Sorelles (a high school social group) event.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-99/

img Buddhist Convention (ddr-one-1-331)

Black and white photographic negative of members of the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as the Oregon Buddhist Temple) at a Buddhist convention at Collin's Field House in Seattle, Washington. Back row left to right: Frances (Kinoshita) Mayeda, Aki (Shiraishi) Dong, Mary (Nakata) Fujii, unidentified, Jean (Tsujimura) Takashima, remaining unidentified. Front row left to right: Sumi …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-331/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 31 "Human Cannon" (ddr-one-1-144)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 31 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside the Shoreline Hotel and Anchor Inn. The float has four elephants made of yellow flowers on the front sitting in a circle with trunks raised in the air. A cannon made of green flowers is on the back …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-144/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- Pistol Creek Fire Department (ddr-one-1-140)

Color slide of the Pistol Creek Fire Department pushing a small wagon up W Burnside, the Noon Bag Company and White Stag Manufacturing building is visible in the background, two large advertisements are partially visible on the Noon Bag Company building. The firemen are dressed in red long-johns and rubber boots with their fire department name …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-140/