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 (430)
Returning home (1151)

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1151 items

img Portland Rose Festival Parade Float- "Cosmo-Carnival" (ddr-one-1-138)

Color slide of a Rose Festival Parade float driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside the Shoreline Hotel on the corner of NW 2nd Ave and W Burnside. Signs for the Blue Eagle Cafe, Dr. Geo Chan, Chinese Medicine Company and Drugs visible in the background along W Burnside between NW 2nd and …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-138/

img Northwest Methodist Rally Portland (ddr-one-1-319)

Black and white group photographic negative of the attendees of the Northwest Methodist Rally in Portland on November 23-25, 1951. Inscription on negative reads "Northwest Methodist Rally Portland Nov. 23-25, 1951." The group is posed in front of old Epworth Methodist Church building. Front row left to right starting third from left: Rupert Fujii, Shig Tada, …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-319/

img Reed College (ddr-one-1-366)

Black and white photographic print of Ayame Ogimi playing ukulele for two unidentified friends in her dorm room at Reed College. Negative ONLC 3186 (ddr-one-1-368).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-366/

img Reed College (ddr-one-1-368)

Black and white photographic negative of Ayame Ogimi playing ukulele for two unidentified friends in her dorm room at Reed College. Original print ONLC 3184 (ddr-one-1-366)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-368/

img Obon Festival Dance Rehearsal (ddr-one-1-302)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers practicing an Odori folk dance inside Norse Hall in Northeast Portland. Some dancers wear straw hats. Dancers from left to right: unidentified, unidentified, Dennis Kasubuchi, Mr. Tsujimura, unidentified, and Toraichi Kobayashi. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-302/

img Methodist Banquet (ddr-one-1-348)

Black and white photographic negative of a banquet inside a church. Guest are seated in pews around tables. Man standing on far right with tray is Kenji Onishi. Seated at table in foreground facing the camera is: Beti ann (Minamoto) Wantroba, unidentified, and Lew Tomita, looking at Kenji Onishi from foreground table is George Nakata. The …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-348/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 5 (ddr-one-1-551)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 5 driving down W Burnside between Chinese Medicine Co and Blue Eagle Café on NW Second Ave. The float depicts a large fountain made of yellow flowers with pink flowers depicting the water. Four women in yellow and blue dresses sit around the float, one is holding a purple …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-551/

img Lecture (ddr-one-1-329)

An unidentified speaker in front of a seated crowd. Front row far left is Paul Hagiya. Back row left to right: Lillian (Niimi) Mikariya, unidentified, Tats Kumasaka, Jim Ozawa, and unidentified.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-329/

img Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-72)

Color slide of two women posing in kimonos and straw hats at Odori (traditional Japanese folk dance). From left to right: Ruth Saito and Grace (Tachibana) Ishikawa.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-72/

img Northwest Buddhist Convention Banquet- Dining Room set-up (ddr-one-1-427)

Black and white photographic negative of two unidentified women setting banquet tables in the basement of the Seattle Buddhist Church for the Northwest Buddhist Convention Banquet. Striped flag and a flag with the Wheel of Dharma are visible hanging in the background.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-427/

img Obon Festival- Obon dancers (ddr-one-1-211)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers waving small Japanese and American flags for the camera in front of a crowd. From left to right: Kuni Kitayama, Chieko Yoshihara, Sakae Kobayashi, Hisano Sakamoto, Kaoru Funatake. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and attended by …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-211/

img Third Annual Oregon Nisei Bowling League Tournament Dance- Individual Women's Winners (ddr-one-1-117)

Black and white photographic negative of four individual winners at the Third Annual Nisei Bowling League Tournament Dance at McElroy's Ballroom in Portland, Oregon. From left to right: Florence “Flo” (Anazawa) Teshima, Aki (Shiraishi) Dong, unidentified woman, and unidentified woman. Sitting inside a booth to the far left is Kimi Tambara.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-117/

img Wedding of Sam Sakamoto and Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto (ddr-one-1-44)

Black and white photographic negative of bride and groom, Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto and Sam Sakamoto, in front of the alter, bride's train twisted and on the stairs. Original print ONLC 2806 (ddr-one-1-33).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-44/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 42 (ddr-one-1-167)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 42 going down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside the Shoreline Hotel and Cafe. The float has a small pink elephant sitting on its hind legs with two men sitting in front. The float is pulled by a team of Shetland ponies. The Rose Festival Parade is …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-167/

img Obon Festival Dance Rehearsal (ddr-one-1-318)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers rehearsing an Odori folk dance inside Norse Hall in Northeast Portland. Obon dancers from left to right: Shig Yuzuriha, Hiro Okayama, Yonezo Fujii, and Tom Shigeo Tamiyasu. First seated women in the audience on far left is Sakae (Fujii) Ando. Obon is an annual event hosted by the …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-318/

img Valentine's Day potluck at Oregon Buddhist Church (ddr-one-1-60)

Color slide of young women filling plates at a Valentine's Day potluck at Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as the Oregon Buddhist Temple). From left to right: Kathleen "Kathie" Haruko (Matsuda) Sato, unidentified, Rose Haruye (Muramatsu) Ouchida, Jean Matsumoto, and Michiko (Masuoka) Nishioka.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-60/

img Obon Festival- Odori folk dance (ddr-one-1-231)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers performing in front of a crowd. Obon dancers from left to right: Joe Shiraishi, unidentified woman, Harue Akiyama, and Wako Henjyoji. 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 …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-231/

img Obon Festival- Dancers (ddr-one-1-204)

Black and white photographic negative of three young Obon dancers posing for camera in front of large crowd. Obon dancers from left to right: Jeanne Tanaka, Toshiko (Maekawa) Okino, and Eileen Tanaka. Crowd: first sitting from the left is Joyce (Tanaka) Fedler, first from the right sitting on bench is Joe Ikata. Obon is an annual …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-204/

img Obon Festival- Dancers (ddr-one-1-199)

Black and white photographic negative of Obon dancers posing for camera in front of small crowd with their backs bent slightly and arms extended. Fourth from the left is Yukiye Itoyama, fifth from the left is Eki Yumibe. Obon is an annual event hosted by the Oregon Buddhist Church (now known as Oregon Buddhist Temple) and …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-199/

img Wedding of Sam Sakamoto and Hanaye (Fujiwara) Sakamoto (ddr-one-1-38)

Original black and white photographic print of wedding attendants posed. Left to right Tamaye (Fujiwara) Nomi and Yoichi "Jack" Nomi.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-38/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade- float 31 "Newberg" (ddr-one-1-531)

Color slide of Rose Festival Parade float 31 driving down W Burnside in front of a crowd outside a Blue Eagle Café on NW Second Ave. A sign for the Chinese Medicine Co can be seen in background. The float is a carriage covered in white and purple flowers with two women sitting inside waving at …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-531/

img Reed College (ddr-one-1-358)

Black and white photographic print 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. Negative ONLC 3178 (ddr-one-1-370).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-358/

img Portland Rose Festival Parade Float- Vancouver, Washington Cenaqua (ddr-one-1-161)

Color slide of a Rose Festival Parade float driving down W Burnside in front of the Shoreline Hotel and Anchor Inn. The float depicts a carousel with women in pink dresses and silver sequin sitting around the edge. One woman is holding a blue ribbon. The side of the float reads "1950-1825 Vancouver WN, Cenaqua". The …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-161/

img Nisei at Epworth United Methodist Church (ddr-one-1-326)

Black and white photographic negative 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 print please see ONLC 3145 (ddr-one-1-327).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-326/

img Northwest Methodist Rally Portland (ddr-one-1-324)

Black and white photographic negative of the attendees of the Northwest Methodist Rally in Portland on November 23-25, 1951. Inscription on photograph reads "Northwest methodis Rally Portland Nov. 23-". The group is posed in front of the old Epworth Methodist Church building. Front row left to right starting third from left: Rupert Fujii, Shig Tada, and …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-one-1-324/