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 (231)
Leaving camp (287)
Returning home (1049)

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1049 items

vh Tokio Hirotaka - Toshio Ito - Joe Matsuzawa Segment 43 (ddr-densho-1000-23-43)

Returning home and restarting farm

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-23-43/

vh Frank Kitamoto Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-35-25)

Mother's efforts to reestablish the family farm after the war

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-35-25/

vh Frank S. Fujii Segment 24 (ddr-densho-1000-8-24)

Leaving Tule Lake: "Put me on a train, gave me $29... And then you're feeling so inadequate and feeling so poor"

This interview was conducted over two days due to electrical problems. The majority of the interview was completed on the second day, September 5.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-8-24/

vh May K. Sasaki Segment 26 (ddr-densho-1000-79-26)

Returning to Seattle, finding temporary living quarters in the local "dojo"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-79-26/

vh Yosh Nakagawa Interview Segment 25 (ddr-densho-1000-172-25)

Returning to Seattle after World War II; living at the Japanese Methodist Church

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-172-25/

vh Emery Brooks Andrews Interview Segment 18 (ddr-densho-1000-155-18)

Father's activities immediately after returning to Seattle: opposing the teamsters and aiding Japanese American farmers

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-155-18/

vh Emery Brooks Andrews Interview Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-155-17)

The end of World War II: returning to Seattle, father's resolve to reopen the Japanese Baptist Church

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-155-17/

vh Tokio Hirotaka - Toshio Ito - Joe Matsuzawa Segment 44 (ddr-densho-1000-23-44)

Reestablishing farms after the war

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-23-44/

vh Frank Kitamoto Segment 23 (ddr-densho-1000-35-23)

Reception of Bainbridge Island, Washington, community to returning Japanese after the war

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-35-23/

vh Frank Kitamoto Segment 24 (ddr-densho-1000-35-24)

Decision to return to West Coast after World War II

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-35-24/

vh Esther Takei Nishio Interview Segment 18 (ddr-densho-1000-370-18)

Leaving camp as part of a test group allowed to return early to the West Coast

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-370-18/

vh Fumiko Hayashida Segment 34 (ddr-densho-1000-15-34)

Difficulties with the family farm after returning home

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-15-34/

vh Fumiko Hayashida Segment 32 (ddr-densho-1000-15-32)

Leaving camp and returning to Bainbridge Island: "glad to be home"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-15-32/

vh Fumiko Hayashida Segment 33 (ddr-densho-1000-15-33)

Observing changes in the Bainbridge Island Japanese American community postwar

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-15-33/

vh Fumiko Hayashida Segment 35 (ddr-densho-1000-15-35)

Facing losses and giving up the farm on Bainbridge Island

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-15-35/

vh Yosh Nakagawa Interview Segment 24 (ddr-densho-1000-172-24)

Family chooses to return to Seattle after leaving camp

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-172-24/

vh Min Tonai Interview I Segment 32 (ddr-densho-1000-354-32)

Parents try to rebuild their lives after the war

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-354-32/

vh Junkoh Harui Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-11-17)

Positive memories of returning to school on Bainbridge Island, Washington after leaving camp

This interview was done outdoors in the Bainbridge Gardens Nursery which resulted in increased background noise and frequent interruptions by the business P.A. system.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-11-17/

vh Junkoh Harui Segment 14 (ddr-densho-1000-11-14)

Returning to Bainbridge Island and finding the total devastation of Bainbridge Gardens; parents' example of "gaman," perseverance

This interview was done outdoors in the Bainbridge Gardens Nursery which resulted in increased background noise and frequent interruptions by the business P.A. system.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-11-14/

vh Kaz T. Tanemura Interview Segment 15 (ddr-densho-1000-268-15)

Returning to Seattle and reclaiming family's hotel business

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-268-15/

vh Marian Asao Kurosu Interview Segment 72 (ddr-densho-1000-118-72)

Returning to South Park, Washington, after the war until home in Sunnydale was vacated

During this interview, Mrs. Kurosu alternately speaks in both English and Japanese. As a result, the English translation of the transcript contains [Jpn.] and [Eng.], which indicate whether the original dialogue was spoken in Japanese or English.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-118-72/

vh Grace Sugita Hawley Interview Segment 17 (ddr-densho-1000-246-17)

Returning to family home in Honolulu

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-246-17/

vh Junkoh Harui Segment 16 (ddr-densho-1000-11-16)

Efforts to rebuild Bainbridge Gardens: father's hurt at seeing his trees, taken during the war, in neighbors' yards

This interview was done outdoors in the Bainbridge Gardens Nursery which resulted in increased background noise and frequent interruptions by the business P.A. system.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-11-16/

vh Junkoh Harui Segment 26 (ddr-densho-1000-11-26)

Lessons learned from rebuilding, the importance of honor, dignity, and family legacy

This interview was done outdoors in the Bainbridge Gardens Nursery which resulted in increased background noise and frequent interruptions by the business P.A. system.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-11-26/

vh Junkoh Harui Segment 15 (ddr-densho-1000-11-15)

Positive memories of returning to school on Bainbridge Island, Washington

This interview was done outdoors in the Bainbridge Gardens Nursery which resulted in increased background noise and frequent interruptions by the business P.A. system.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-11-15/