733 items
733 items
Narrator May Y. Namba
Nisei female. Born May 12, 1922, in Seattle, Washington. Spent brief time in Japan as a young child, then returned to Seattle. Worked as a clerk in the Seattle School District until the onset of World War II, then was forced to resign under pressure from parent groups. Removed with family to Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, …
Narrator George Morihiro
Nisei male. Born September 19, 1924, in Tacoma, Washington, and spent childhood in Fife, Washington. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, removed to the Puyallup Assembly Center and Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Drafted into the army in 1944 and joined the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Europe. Awarded the Purple Heart for actions in the Battle …
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Minoru Yasui Interview (ddr-densho-1012-3)
Nisei male. Born October 19, 1916, in Hood River, Oregon. Earned a law degree from the University of Oregon law school and was practicing law prior to World War II. In 1942, deliberately defied the curfew imposed upon Japanese Americans in Portland, Oregon, and was arrested. His case was tried, and he was sentenced to one …
Narrator George Fugami
Kibei male. Born August 1, 1915, in Portland, Oregon. Sent with siblings to be educated in Japan when ten years old. Returned to the United States in 1935. During World War II, was incarcerated at the Portland Assembly Center, Oregon, and Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Active in Seattle's postwar Japanese American community as a member and …
Narrator Yasashi Ichikawa
Issei female. Born 1907 in Shimonoseki, Japan. Attended school in Japan, and was encouraged by father to study English. Married a Buddhist minister and immigrated to the United States. Lived in Fresno, California, then returned to Japan for two years. Moved to Seattle, Washington, where husband was a minister at the Seattle Buddhist Temple. During World …
Narrator Ruby Inouye
Nisei female. Born November 17, 1920, in Seattle, Washington. Grew up in Seattle, and graduated salutatorian from Broadway High School. Was enrolled in the pre-medical program at the University of Washington on December 7, 1941. During the war, removed to the Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, and the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Left camp to attend the …
Narrator Art Ishida
Nisei male. Born June 2, 1921, in Fresno, California. Grew up in the Gardena area of Los Angeles, California, before moving to Japan with parents in 1929 and returning to California in the 1930s. During World War II, removed to the Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, and the Jerome concentration camp, Arkansas. Gave a qualified answer …
Narrator Kikuno Goi
Kibei Nisei couple. Kikuno was born in the United States, then moved to Japan with her family after her father passed away. In the lead up to World War II, her uncle sent Kikuno and her brother back to the United States, where they were raised in foster care in northern California. During World War II, …
Narrator Mitsuo Goi
Kibei Nisei couple. Kikuno was born in the United States, then moved to Japan with her family after her father passed away. In the lead up to World War II, her uncle sent Kikuno and her brother back to the United States, where they were raised in foster care in northern California. During World War II, …
Narrator Yone Bartholomew
Nisei female. Born July 15, 1906, in Bedderavia, California. Was given for adoption by her parents to a couple who could not have children of their own. Grew up on a family farm and was one of the oldest Nisei in the Santa Barbara area of California. Incarcerated at the Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, and Minidoka …
Narrator Tosh Yasutake
Nisei male. Born June 10, 1922, in Seattle, WA. Father was employed by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service as interpreter for twenty years, until he was separated from family on December 7, 1941, and interned as an enemy alien. Graduated 1941, Cleveland High School, and attended University of Washington before being removed from Seattle with …
Narrator Sue Takimoto Okabe
Nisei female. Born September 5, 1928, in Tacoma, Washington, moved with her family to Seattle at age four. At age six, began singing, taking voice lessons and performing on stage for Japanese American community events. In 1942, was incarcerated with her family at Puyallup Assembly Center and Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho, where she continued to sing …
Narrator Betty Fumiye Ito
Nisei female. Born March 29, 1918, in Seattle, Washington, and spent childhood in Medina and Bellevue, Washington. While in high school was a member of the Bellevue Strawberry Festival's Queen's Court. In 1939 married Kenji Ito, a prominent Japanese American lawyer who practiced in Seattle. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, recounts her experiences as her …
Narrator Yae Aihara
Nisei female. Born August 18, 1925 in Tacoma, Washington. Raised in Seattle, Washington, where family operated a grocery store. Attended Washington Grammar School and Garfield High School in Seattle. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, father was arrested by the FBI and sent to Missoula internment camp, Montana. Family was removed to Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, …
Narrator Minoru Yasui
Nisei male. Born October 19, 1916, in Hood River, Oregon. Earned a law degree from the University of Oregon law school and was practicing law prior to World War II. In 1942, deliberately defied the curfew imposed upon Japanese Americans in Portland, Oregon, and was arrested. His case was tried, and he was sentenced to one …
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Mitsuye May Yamada Interview Segment 2 (ddr-densho-1000-137-2)
Living and working in an American Friends' hostel in Cincinnati after leaving Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho
Mitsuye Yamada was interviewed together with her two surviving brothers, William Toshio Yasutake and Joseph Yasutake, in group sessions on October 8-9, 2002. She was interviewed individually on October 9-10, 2002.
Before being contacted by Densho, the Yasutake siblings had …
Narrator Bob Suzuki
Nisei-han male. Born January 2, 1936, in Portland, Oregon, where father worked for the railroad. During World War II, removed to the Portland Assembly Center, Oregon, and the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. After leaving camp, family moved to a small community outside of Spokane, Washington, to farm. Went to UC Berkeley and Caltech, then taught at …
Narrator Mitsuye May Yamada
Female, child of Issei parents. Born July 5, 1923, in Fukuoka, Japan while her mother and two older Nisei brothers visited relatives. Named Mitsuye Mei Yasutake at birth. From age 3, grew up in Seattle, WA. Father employed by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service as interpreter for twenty years, until separated from family on December …
Narrator Frank Sato
Nisei male. Born March 16, 1929, in Puyallup, Washington. Grew up in the Sumner, Washington, area, where parents had a produce business. During World War II, removed with family to the Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, and the Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. After the war, attended the University of Washington and the University of Southern California. Established …
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Mitsuye May Yamada Interview (ddr-densho-1000-137)
Female, child of Issei parents. Born July 5, 1923, in Fukuoka, Japan while her mother and two older Nisei brothers visited relatives. Named Mitsuye Mei Yasutake at birth. From age 3, grew up in Seattle, WA. Father employed by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service as interpreter for twenty years, until separated from family on December …
Narrator Tsuguo "Ike" Ikeda
Nisei male. Born August 15, 1924, in Portland, Oregon. Incarcerated at the North Portland Assembly Center and Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Kept a diary beginning December, 1941, and through incarceration. Beginning as a teenager, was exceptionally active as a volunteer leader, first within a Japanese American church in Portland, later in camp with Federated Christian Church, …
Narrator Henry Miyatake
Nisei male. Born April 28, 1929, in Seattle, Washington. Incarcerated at Puyallup Assembly Center and Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Had some key childhood experiences with discrimination that made him a self-described, "independent thinker," and later, an influential figure in the Japanese American community. While a teenager in camp, he wrote and defended an essay criticizing the …
Narrator Nobu Suzuki
Nisei female. November 25, 1909, in Seattle, Washington. Father established one of the largest oyster companies in the United States prior to World War II. Graduated from Garfield High School, the University of Washington, and then the Pacific School of Religion where she earned a master's degree in religious education. At the outbreak of WWII, assisted …
Narrator Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto
Nisei female. Born December 30, 1927, in Seattle, Washington. Lived in Japan for fifteen months as a child, before returning to Seattle to attend junior high school. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, father was picked up by the FBI and taken to the Department of Justice camp at Missoula, Montana. Removed to the Puyallup Assembly …
Collection
Terakawa Collection (ddr-densho-357)
The Terakawa Collection consists of four photograph albums created by Hanako Terakawa. Hanako's parents, Tadaichi and Yoni Yoshioka, immigrated from Japan and settled in Hayward, California in the early 1900's. In Hayward, they started a family and had five children. They owned a nursery and maintained several greenhouses built around 1913. The earliest photograph album primarily …