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Densho

Site: https://densho.org

Densho documents the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished. Densho offers these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images, historical documents, and teacher resources, to explore principles of democracy and promote equal justice for all.

Densho's collections contain oral histories and primary sources that document the Japanese American experience from immigration starting in the late 1800s through redress in the 1980s, with a strong focus on World War II incarceration. The archives are growing as Densho continues to record oral histories and digitize historical materials.

394 Collections
Sata Family Collection (ddr-densho-371)
Collection Sata Family Collection (ddr-densho-371)
The Sata Family Collection consists of a painting of Gila River by Dick Sata, one photograph of Gila River, and a presidential apology from Bill Clinton.
American Concentration Camps Volumes 1-9 Collection (ddr-densho-372)
Collection American Concentration Camps Volumes 1-9 Collection (ddr-densho-372)
The documents printed here in these nine volumes trace and explicate not only the decision to submit a whole people to internal exile but also delineate the execution and modification of the policy during the course of the war. The documents were drawn largely from the archives of the government department chiefly responsible, the War department, …
Ozaki Family Collection (ddr-densho-373)
Collection Ozaki Family Collection (ddr-densho-373)
Collection of 75 Ozaki family photographs from 1930s-1960s with images from Poston, pre-war LA, WWII deployment in India and Myanmar, post-war Chicago, Georgia, and Florida.
Masao and Doris Abe Collection (ddr-densho-374)
Collection Masao and Doris Abe Collection (ddr-densho-374)
Scrapbook containing clippings and ephemera related to the wartime service of Japanese American soldiers from Hawaii, one copy of Yank Magazine from 1944, and pamphlet from 1983 exhibit on The Japanese-American soldier in World War II at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Kikoshima Family Collection (ddr-densho-375)
Collection Kikoshima Family Collection (ddr-densho-375)
Collection containing 1943 Hunt High School yearbook and 'memory books' from Hunt High School Reunions in Seattle from 1983 to 2003.
Kaneji Domoto Architecture and Landscape Photograph Collection (ddr-densho-377)
Collection Kaneji Domoto Architecture and Landscape Photograph Collection (ddr-densho-377)
The Kaneji Domoto Architecture and Landscape Photograph Collection consists of slides, negatives, and photographic prints documenting the career of Kaneji Domoto. The majority of the images come from between the 1960s and 1980s, showing projects he designed both in process and completed.
Kanzaki Family Collection (ddr-densho-378)
Collection Kanzaki Family Collection (ddr-densho-378)
The Kanzaki Family Collection consists of 5 family photo albums from 1922-1939, a five year diary from 1939-1942, select pages from a 1942 baby book and 78 additional photographs from 1920s-1960s.
Sumida Family Collection (ddr-densho-379)
Collection Sumida Family Collection (ddr-densho-379)
The Sumida Family Collection contains material about Chimata and Masako Murakami Sumida and their six children, Alice Yuriko Endo, Grace Rayko Nagai, Emmy Ito, Marshall Masaru Sumida, Theodore Tetsuro Sumida, Marjorie Yohko Matsumoto, and their families. Before World War II, Chimata Sumida owned a music store located in Los Angeles’ Japanese Town that sold music, instruments, …
Hibiya Family Collection (ddr-densho-381)
Collection Hibiya Family Collection (ddr-densho-381)
The Hibiya Family collection consists of War Relocation Authority administrative documents, a series of photographs from the Allied bombing of Tokyo, and personal documents and photographs from the Hibiya family. Disclaimer: this collection contains graphic materials from the aftermath of the Tokyo bombings.
Fukutaki Family Collection (ddr-densho-382)
Collection Fukutaki Family Collection (ddr-densho-382)
The Fukutaki Family Collection, from the 1940s, includes Gila River concentration camp newspapers, documents, survey map, high school yearbook, and photographs. It also features documents and newspaper articles from war-time Minneapolis and photographs from post-war Pasadena -- including a panoramic congregational photo from 1962 Pasadena Union Presbyterian Church.
Tokuda Family Collection (ddr-densho-383)
Collection Tokuda Family Collection (ddr-densho-383)
The Tokuda Collection consists of three accessions. Accession 1 of the Tokuda collection contains a photograph album of George Tokuda's from his time as a student at the University of Washington in Seattle. Other subjects in the album include summers working in Alaska, and friends and family growing up in Mukilteo. This collection also includes other …
Mizu Sugimura Collection (ddr-densho-384)
Collection Mizu Sugimura Collection (ddr-densho-384)
The Mizu Sugimura Collection consists of photographs documenting the first Day of Remembrance which took place in Seattle, Washington on November 25, 1978. Mizu Sugmiura and Yasushi Satomi recorded their participation by taking these photographs. The images show the beginning of the event where participants gathered at the site of the former Sick's Stadium. From there …
Morikawa Family Collection (ddr-densho-385)
Collection Morikawa Family Collection (ddr-densho-385)
Fujio Morikawa kept a journal while incarcerated at Lordsburg U.S. Army internment camp. In his journal included translations of letters, news articles, and announcements; notes on English grammar and mathematics; essays on different topics; and calligraphy. The collection includes selections of this journal. The collection also includes a roster of Lordsburg inmates; a daily paper from …
Yotsu Iwata Collection (ddr-densho-387)
Collection Yotsu Iwata Collection (ddr-densho-387)
Collection consists of photograph of collector, her Manzanar Mass Hall card, two work assignments for mess halls at Manzanar, and three booklets titled "Gathas and Service" published and distributed by the Manzanar Buddhist Church.
Patricia Shigeno Collection (ddr-densho-388)
Collection Patricia Shigeno Collection (ddr-densho-388)
Collection contains 27 photographs of hops farms in Oregon, community activities, and family pictures.
Matsuoka Family Collection (ddr-densho-390)
Collection Matsuoka Family Collection (ddr-densho-390)
The Matsuoka Family collection consists of personal family documents, photographs, books, and objects belonging to the Matsuoka family. The collection is primarily made up of photographs, Harry's family history, and Walter's high school experience. Also included are materials from the Amache concentration camp where the family was incarcerated and reunions that the family was involved with. …
Yoshioka Family Collection (ddr-densho-391)
Collection Yoshioka Family Collection (ddr-densho-391)
Collection of 69 photographs and 4 documents from the Yoshioka family. The photographs are of Kiyoko Yoshioka nee Maeda's life, mainly pre-war California and Japan, some from Poston, and some in post-war California.
Kenneth Nobuji Iyeki Collection (ddr-densho-392)
Collection Kenneth Nobuji Iyeki Collection (ddr-densho-392)
The Kenneth Nobuji Iyeki Collection consists of photographs of the Iyeki Family and documents telling the story of their life before, during, and after World War II. The bulk of the collection is made up of pencil sketches done by Kenneth Nobuji Iyeki while he was incarcerated in Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz concentration camp. These …
Ron Ikejiri Collection (ddr-densho-393)
Collection Ron Ikejiri Collection (ddr-densho-393)
Ronald Ikejiri worked on the creation of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Incarceration of Citizens (CWRIC) as a representative for the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) to Washington, DC. The collection consists of photos and correspondence from that period as well as several family photos.
Tatsuo and Lili Inouye Family Collection (ddr-densho-394)
Collection Tatsuo and Lili Inouye Family Collection (ddr-densho-394)
The Tatsuo and Lili Inouye Family Collection contains correspondence, photographs, programs and manuscripts centered around the Inouye family.
Bitow Family Collection (ddr-densho-395)
Collection Bitow Family Collection (ddr-densho-395)
The Bitow Family Collection consists of one scrapbook containing 111 photographs. The collection is primarily photographs of weddings and other community events attended by Seiso Bitow and his wife Kimiko. The collection also includes several family portraits from the Bitow and Maeda families.
Matsui Family Collection (ddr-densho-397)
Collection Matsui Family Collection (ddr-densho-397)
Three photograph albums covering from 1943-1948. Two albums cover the the service that Takashi Matsui and Mitsue Matsui gave to Military Intelligence Service during World War II. The third album covers Takashi Matsui's military service during the United States's occupation of Japan after World War II.
Southern California Ehime Kenjinkai 75th Anniversary Book (ddr-densho-398)
Collection Southern California Ehime Kenjinkai 75th Anniversary Book (ddr-densho-398)
In 1985, the Ehime Nanka Kenjinkai celebrated their 75th anniversary. To commemorate the event, the Kenjinkai compiled an anniversary book to document and preserve the history of the Ehime people in America. The book contains a collection of personal essays written by the Issei and Nisei, photographs of Ehime Prefecture, and interviews with officers of the …
Sumi Family Collection (ddr-densho-399)
Collection Sumi Family Collection (ddr-densho-399)
Photos and documents (passports) from three generations of the Sumi family in San Francisco, during internment at Topaz camp, post WWII in New York, and in Europe during Yuichi "Lou" Sumi's military service after the war.
South Bay JACL Oral History Collection (ddr-densho-400)
Collection South Bay JACL Oral History Collection (ddr-densho-400)
This collection consists of interviews conducted by the South Bay Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League as part of the South Bay History Project. The project seeks to preserve the history of Japanese American settlement in the greater South Bay community, a Southern California region south of Playa Del Rey and north of Long Beach. …