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 (283)
Concentration camps (2384)
Living conditions (1897)

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1897 items

img Three children behind barracks (ddr-densho-34-118)

Left to right: Frank, Lilly, and Jane Kitamoto behind their barracks at the Minidoka concentration camp.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-34-118/

img Women decorating barracks room (ddr-densho-34-194)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-34-194/

img Barracks (ddr-densho-34-180)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-34-180/

img Family outside their barrack (ddr-densho-34-163)

The Takemoto family outside their barrack at the Manzanar concentration camp, California.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-34-163/

img Woman holding baby outside barracks (ddr-densho-464-23)

Clotheslines in the background

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-464-23/

img In Memory of Manzanar Plaque (ddr-densho-508-7)

Two sided plaque with Japanese characters on front. Inscription on back reads "IN MEMORY OF MANZANAR 1942"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-508-7/

img Tule Lake Plaque (ddr-densho-508-5)

Two sided plaque with Japanese characters on front. Inscription on back reads "TULE LAKE 1943"

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-508-5/

doc Short story: "Uprooted" (ddr-densho-468-74)

Assignment for English 211 course. Story consists of dialogue between a mother and her daughter, a second-grade student. The mother and daughter are Japanese-Americans incarcerated during World War II. The mother is trying to explain the situation while answering the daughter's questions.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-468-74/

doc Letter from Joseph Ishikawa to Eva (ddr-densho-468-99)

Letter written from Granada (Amache) describing life in the concentration camp compared to Santa Anita.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-468-99/

doc A Myopic Account of a Relocated Life during the Second World War (ddr-densho-468-97)

Personal recollections of life in an assembly center and relocation camp for Japanese descendants and various digressions

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-468-97/

doc Book of 70th Anniversary of Japanese Congregational Church (ddr-densho-446-455)

The Japanese Congregational Church's 70th Anniversary coincided with the 100th Anniversary of the Japanese Christian Mission in North America. This book traces the history of JCC within the larger setting of national and local events, and some of the photos and narratives may be of interest. Ai Chih Tsai was pastor at JCC from 1948 to …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-446-455/

doc Oral Memoirs of Joseph Ishikawa (ddr-densho-468-94)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-468-94/

doc Seattle Post-Intelligencer (ddr-densho-446-451)

Selected articles: Seattle woman's saga captured in photo (p.1-2); Club Asia (p. 2)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-446-451/

doc Hunt High School Reunion 1983 (ddr-densho-449-1)

33 pages of memories from living and learning at Minidoka in 1943 and 1944. The book contains pictures of Minidoka, the classes, reunion program, Hunt High song, poems, directory, and a memoriam for classmates who were not able to make the reunion.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-449-1/

img Kubota Family Album (ddr-densho-471-1)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-471-1/

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/

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/