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 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/

img Barracks - overhead (ddr-densho-475-443)

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

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-443/

img Three children eating (ddr-densho-475-426)

Black and white photograph of three unidentified children eating at a mess hall table.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-426/

img Barracks - overhead (ddr-densho-475-442)

Black and white photograph of the overhead view of barracks at Poston; Riverside Mountains are visible in the background.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-475-442/

doc Letter to Tomoye and Henri Takahashi from Martha Masako Nozawa (ddr-densho-410-49)

Asking about work outside of camp, conditions inside camp, thoughts on the future

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-410-49/

doc Letter from Tomoye Takahashi to Henri Takahashi (ddr-densho-410-409)

Shares news she heard second hand about Helen's plans to marry someone named Kay in Salt Lake City without telling anyone, plans to wait and have the baby in camp while she still had health care. Note on back of envelope that Mrs. Harada wants to get married (to Tomoyuki Nozawa) in the Spring with Martha …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-410-409/

doc Card from Tomoye to Henri Takahashi (ddr-densho-410-189)

Claims to be having a mental breakdown from anxiety and worry, wants him to find work (not OWI) right away

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-410-189/