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 Three girls in their quarters at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-9)

Three young women in barracks at Manzanar. One sits at a desk, writing in a notebook. The other two look on, one with her hands on the back of the woman at the desk, the other bends at the waist to wash her hands in a white bowl. Caption on back of photograph reads, "Japanese Girls …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-9/

img Sumi Seki at Jerome incarceration camp during construction (ddr-csujad-52-46)

Sumi Seki, wearing a knee-length coat, is standing on rubble at Jerome, Arkansas, incarceration camp. She appears to be standing on building materials, and there are more materials scattered on the ground behind her. There is some snow layering the ground. This is a photograph of a photograph, taken by Tom Shaw of the Independent Press-Telegram. …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-46/

img Two young women standing in front of barracks (ddr-csujad-52-22)

Two young women standing in front of barracks at Minidoka incarceration camp in Hunt, Idaho. Caption next to image reads, "OUTSIDE--Sharon Aburano, 16, left, stands outside the barrack where she was confined in a Japanese American interment camp in Hunt, Idaho during World War II. The upper part of the barrack behind her is covered with …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-22/

img Barracks at Manzanar with Mt. Whitney in the background (ddr-csujad-52-35)

Caption next to image reads, "NEW EVIDENCE--Homes used for the internment of alien and American Japanese during World War II are situated near Mt. Whitney, Calif., in this 1942 file photo. A key military report that led to the internment of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans during the war was based upon 'intentional falsehoods,' say attorneys planning …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-35/

img Two men in front of a residential barracks at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-3)

Two men in front of a building at Manzanar. One man is standing with a broom in his hand, the other is sitting on a rock. The men appear to be having a conversation. There is a fence made of sticks and a wooden arbor in front of the building. A partially obstructed sign on the …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-3/

img Sumi Seki wears a white shirt and plaid skirt while standing in front of barracks (ddr-csujad-52-45)

Sumi Seki, wearing a white blouse under a plaid skirt, leans against the railing in front of barracks. This is a photograph of a photograph, taken by Tom Shaw of the Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram. The caption used in the newspapers reads, "Sumi Seki was a junior at San Pedro High School when she and her …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-45/

img Tanforan Assembly Center barracks (ddr-csujad-52-20)

Caption above image reads, "TANFORAN INTERNMENT CAMP--Looking from the grandstand of the old Tanforan Race Track, some 170 barracks can be seen that housed Japanese-Americans during World War II. The Tanforan internment camp was located near present-day San Bruno. A government report has been released recently and it blames the internment on prejudice and hysteria." See …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-20/

img First arrivals at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-19)

A large group of people stand outside of barracks. The caption next to the image reads, "SPENDING THE WAR BEHIND BARBED WIRE--In this 1942 file photo, first arrivals at the Japanese evacuee community in Manzanar, California, are assigned to quarters in the barracks. 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were" (caption cut off). See this object in …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-19/

img Two men in front of a residential barracks at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-2)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-2/

img Barracks at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-52-21)

A few people scattered amongst the barracks at Manzanar. Caption above image reads, "FORGOTTEN PHOTOS--This picture is one of nearly 240 photos taken by photographer Ansel Adams at the Manzanar Japanese-American internment camp in 1943. It was here that Adams, a renowned scenic photographer, made his first and only attempt to shoot a photo documentary. The …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-52-21/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, August 21, 1943 (ddr-csujad-56-51)

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_9049. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-049

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-51/

img [Nakamura screen printing] (ddr-csujad-56-221)

Dorothy Nakamura works on a screen print in the camp printing shop. Page 7 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book Two. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-030

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-221/

doc Letter from Lea Perry to Kazuo Ito, August 1942 (ddr-csujad-56-4)

Letter from Lea Perry to Kazuo 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_9002. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-002

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-4/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, December 8, 1942 (ddr-csujad-56-29)

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: nbea08-01-027

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-29/

img [Crop land] (ddr-csujad-56-169)

Field of crops with some trucks on a road in the distance. Photo provided by Tak Kameoka. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-02-036

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-169/

img [Digging] (ddr-csujad-56-240)

Young Japanese American man with shovel full of sand from the banks of the Arkansas River near Camp Amache. Page 26 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book Two. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-049

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-240/

img Cow-poly (ddr-csujad-56-223)

Young Japanese American incarcerees pose around a sign reading 'We miss you Cow-Poly'. Page 9 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book Two. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-032

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-223/

doc Letter from Lea Perry to Frank Ito and family, May 10, 1944 (ddr-csujad-56-79)

Letter from Lea Perry to Frank 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. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-077

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-79/

doc Letter from Lea Perry to Kazuo Ito, May 2, 1947 (ddr-csujad-56-127)

Letter from Lea Perry to Kazuo 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. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-125

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-127/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, January 4, 1943 (ddr-csujad-56-33)

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: nbea08-01-031

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-33/

img [Amache in the snow] (ddr-csujad-56-186)

Camp Amache photo in the snow. Photo provided by Tak Kameoka. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-02-053

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-186/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, January 27, 1943 (ddr-csujad-56-36)

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: nbea08-01-034

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-36/

img [Ladies group photo] (ddr-csujad-56-210)

Group portrait of young Japanese American women incarcerated at Camp Amache. Page 19 of Kawase Family Photo Album, Book One. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-03-019

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-210/

doc Letter from Kazuo Ito to Lea Perry, December 19, 1944 (ddr-csujad-56-98)

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: nbea08-01-096

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-98/

doc Letter from Lea Perry to George Ito, January 7, 1943 (ddr-csujad-56-34)

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_9032. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nbea08-01-032

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-56-34/