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 (1435)
Living conditions (1764)

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1764 items

img Canteen (ddr-densho-471-41)

A person stands in front of a canteen.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-471-41/

doc Incident in Topaz Internment Camp (ddr-densho-292-53)

Seiji Kaibe recounts a time when he and several other young men tried to steal building materials from the Topaz Hospital construction site in order to better their own barracks. The men were caught by armed guards and Kaibe was almost shot. Bill T. Sakai also adds that they only received a reprimand the next day …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-292-53/

doc Clothing allowance reciept (ddr-densho-292-13)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-292-13/

doc Letter from Rayko (Grace) Sumida to Kats Nagai (ddr-densho-379-391)

Letter from Rayko (grace) Sumida to Kats Nagai explaining that she has to accompany her mother, Masako Sumida, to her new job at a hostel run by the Brittons in Cincinnatti, Ohio. Also she completed a 6 hour interview with the Civil Service Commission asking a lot of questions about her past in Los Angeles.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-391/

doc Letter from Torao Takahashi to Chimata Sumida and family (ddr-densho-379-208)

Letter from Torao Tahahashi to Chimata Sumida "and others" at Ft. Missoula after his transfer from Ft. Missoula to Manzanar Relocation Center.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-208/

img Frank Aiji Endo holding infant son inspecting rattle snake at Rohwer Relocation Center (ddr-densho-379-688)

The caption in the photograph album reads "Rattlesnake". Frank Aiji Endo holding infant son Todd Isao Endo observing rattlesnake.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-379-688/

img Man and boy at Manzanar (ddr-densho-359-1448)

Jitsuzo and Wayne Nakata pose for a photograph next to a sprinkler at Manzanar Concentration Camp in California.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-359-1448/

img Three boys at Manzanar (ddr-densho-359-1445)

Don, Bob, and Wayne Nakata

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-359-1445/

doc Letter from Phil Okano to Alice Okano (ddr-densho-359-1213)

Phil writes to his wife, Alice Okano, concerning his travel from Amache Concentration camp to Denver. He couldn't convince his father to leave Amache. Phil writes that many people were biding their time in the camp to see how the war in the Pacific would pan out before making any decisions about leaving camp. Phil is …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-359-1213/

img Group photograph at Manzanar (ddr-densho-359-1443)

Nakata family:back row, left to right: John and Pauline Nakata, Sachan Nakata, Yonchan and Kyoichi Iwasa, Ken Nakata; front row, left to right: Shima Nakata with Ralph Iwasa, Wayne Nakata, Bob Nakata, Don Nakata, Jitsuzo Nakata

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-359-1443/

doc Letter from Phil Okano to Alice Okano (ddr-densho-359-1212)

Phil writes to his wife, Alice Okano, concerning life in the Amache Concentration Camp including activities at the high school and social gatherings. He also mentions an upcoming trip to Denver and trying to convince other families to leave the camp.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-359-1212/

img Child at Manzanar (ddr-densho-359-1444)

Wayne Nakata plays in front of the barracks at Manzanar Concentration Camp.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-359-1444/

img Woman at Manzanar (ddr-densho-359-1447)

Sachan Nakata. The photograph is signed "To Aya Lova Sa".

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-359-1447/

img Family portrait at Manzanar (ddr-densho-359-1442)

Left to right: Shima Nakata, Don Nakata, Jitsuzo Nakata wih Wayne Nakata in front of him, Bob Nakata

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-359-1442/

img Poston block photo (ddr-densho-475-46)

Black and white photograph of a large group of men, women, and one child at Poston.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-46/

img Stage (ddr-densho-475-12)

Black and white photograph of an outdoor stage with a painted backdrop that includes kanji and katakana. Crude wooden railings in the dirt line the front of the stage. A man stands under a large tree.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-12/

img Poston (ddr-densho-475-5)

Black and white overhead photo of Poston concentration camp buildings and garden.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-5/

img Poston (ddr-densho-475-9)

Black and white overhead photo of buildings at the edge of Poston concentration camp. Riverside Mountains are visible in the background and a road in the foreground curves along the right side of the image.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-9/

img Children eating (ddr-densho-475-427)

Black and white photograph of children gathered at large tables eating inside a mess hall.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-427/

img Poston (ddr-densho-475-4)

Black and white overhead photo of Poston concentration camp buildings with Riverside Mountains visible in the background.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-4/

img Women eating at mess table (ddr-densho-475-425)

Black and white photograph of a group of five unidentified women sitting at a mess hall table eating a meal.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-425/

img Barracks - overhead (ddr-densho-475-441)

Black and white photograph of the overhead view of barracks at Poston.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-441/

img Barracks (ddr-densho-475-439)

Black and white photograph of barracks on the edge of Poston.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-439/

img Poston block building (ddr-densho-475-8)

Black and white photograph of wooden barracks building with a sign that says "BLOCK 22 MEN" (related object: ddr-densho-475-240)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-8/

img Poston no. 1 (ddr-densho-475-3)

Black and white overhead photo of Poston concentration camp buildings. On the backside is an inscription in pencil, "Poston, Arizona Internment Camp, No. 1"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-3/