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 (277)
Concentration camps (1771)
Living conditions (1870)

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1870 items

img Barracks in the snow (ddr-densho-159-177)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-177/

img Approaching sand storm (ddr-densho-159-186)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-186/

img Concentration camp in the snow (ddr-densho-159-43)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-43/

img Concentration camp after a sand storm (ddr-densho-159-199)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-199/

img Guard tower and barbed wire (ddr-densho-159-11)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-11/

img Guard tower (ddr-densho-159-12)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-12/

img Concentration camp in the snow (ddr-densho-159-46)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-46/

img Barracks and water tower (ddr-densho-159-48)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-48/

img Camp warehouses in the snow (ddr-densho-159-198)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-198/

img Sand storm (ddr-densho-159-188)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-188/

img Japanese Americans in the snow (ddr-densho-159-40)

Namiye Kinoshita in the foreground.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-40/

img Concentration camp during the winter (ddr-densho-159-196)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-159-196/

vh An Oral History with Sumiye Takeno, Part II (ddr-csujad-29-60)

An oral history with Sumiye Takeno, a current resident of Denver, Colorado. This interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. The purpose of this interview was to gather information regarding Takeno's incarceration and resettlement experience during World War II. Specifically, the interview covers her childhood in Florin, California, …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-60/

av Oral history with Alice Nishimoto (ddr-csujad-29-395)

An oral interview with Alice Nishimoto, incarceree at the Crystal City detention facility. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0970. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 3916_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-395/

av An oral history with Elva Wallace (ddr-csujad-29-46)

An oral interview with Elva Wallace, a child civilian at the Tule Lake incarceration camp. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0148. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 2654_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-46/

av An oral history with Ken Hayashi (ddr-csujad-29-26)

An oral interview with Ken Hayashi, an incarceree at the Pinedale Assembly Center and the Tule Lake incarceration camp. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0100. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 1323.1_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-26/

img [Barracks of Manzanar Children's Village] (ddr-csujad-29-328)

Barracks of Manzanar Children's Village. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: P271

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-328/

av An oral history with Mitsuyo N. Nakai (ddr-csujad-29-45)

An oral interview with Mitsuyo N. Nakai, incarceree at the Manzanar incarceration camp. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0146. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 2546_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-45/

av Oral history with Rodney Kaihara (ddr-csujad-29-374)

An oral interview with Rodney Kaihara, incarceree at the Poston incarceration camp. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0928. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 1277_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-374/

av Oral history with George Nakagawa (ddr-csujad-29-387)

An oral interview with George Nakagawa, incarceree at the Tule Lake camp. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0954. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 1959.1_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-387/

av Oral history with George T. Fukasawa (ddr-csujad-29-365)

An oral interview with George T. Fukasawa, incarceree at the Manzanar incarceration camp. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0910. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 1336_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-365/

av Oral history with Ed. H. Runcorn (ddr-csujad-29-364)

An oral interview with Ed. H. Runcorn, a worker for the War Relocation Authority during World War II. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0908. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 1332_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-364/

av Oral history with June Igauye (ddr-csujad-29-386)

An oral interview with June Igauye, incarceree at the Poston War Relocation Center. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0952. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 1769_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-386/

av Oral history with Takeo Yamada (ddr-csujad-29-375)

An oral interview with Takeo Yamada, incarceree at the Poston incarceration camp. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0930. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 1279_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-375/

av Oral history with Roy Nagai (ddr-csujad-29-373)

An oral interview with Roy Nagai, incarceree at the Granada camp. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0926. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 5285_T01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-29-373/