Densho's mission is to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before
their memories are extinguished. We offer these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images and teacher
resources, to explore principles of democracy and promote equal justice for all.
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After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt cited military necessity as the basis for
incarcerating 120,000 Japanese Americans--adults and children, immigrants and citizens alike. Decades
later a congressional commission found the justification of military necessity to be false. Learn the true
reasons for this unprecedented denial of civil liberties.
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Visit the Learning Center to find extensive readings and lessons about an overlooked episode in American
history. For upper elementary to undergraduate students, Densho provides multidisciplinary lessons
featuring firsthand accounts and compelling images of the forced removal and detention.
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The Densho Digital Archive contains more than 800 hours of interviews, visual histories of Japanese Americans and others affected by the World War II incarceration. Also included are over 10,700 historical images documenting Japanese American history. Learn here how to get free web access to this archive of primary sources.
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A timeline and an explanation of the terminology used on this website are provided here. Also listed are
links to useful websites and recommended printed materials and video resources pertaining to Japanese
American history and civil liberties.
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Densho is a Japanese term meaning "to pass on to the next generation," or to leave a legacy. The legacy we
offer is an American story with continuing relevance. Find out more about Densho and its programs in this
section.
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Find out why Densho uses the term "Japanese American Incarceration" instead of "Japanese Internment."
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internment
internment camp
japanese american internment
japanese american internment camp
incarceration
japanese american incarceration
japanese american incarceration camp
japanese american removal
removal
japanese american exclusion
exclusion
Japanese ancestry
e.o. 9066
executive order
executive order 9066
9066
manzanar
tule lake
topaz
minidoka
granada
amache
heart mountain
jerome
gila river
poston
rohwer
manzanar internment camp
tule lake internment camp
topaz internment camp
minidoka internment camp
granada internment camp
amache internment camp
heart mountain internment camp
jerome internment camp
gila river internment camp
poston internment camp
rohwer internment camp
manzanar california
tule lake california
topaz utah
minidoka idaho
granada colorado
amache colorado
heart mountain wyoming
jerome arkansas
gila river arizona
poston arizona
rohwer arizona
Denson, Arkansas
McGehee, Arkansas
temporary assembly center
assembly center
camp harmony
Puyallup
tanforan
WWII
World War II
forcible relocation
forcible internment
1942
110,000 Japanese nationals
Japanese Americans
housing facilities
War Relocation Camps
War relocation authority
Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor
West Coast
Hawaii
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
authorized the internment
Executive Order 9066
February 19, 1942
military areas
exclusion zones
any or all persons may be excluded
Japanese ancestry
excluded
entire Pacific coast
California
Oregon
Washington
1944
Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality
exclusion orders
1988
President Ronald Reagan
signed legislation
apologized for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government
government actions
race prejudice
war hysteria
$1.6 billion
reparations
surviving internees
heirs
pearl harbor
120,000 japanese american
president roosevelt
franklin roosevelt
hirabayashi
gordon hirabayashi
no-no
no-no boy
resistor
draft resistor
McNeil Island Penitentiary
Catalina Federal Honor Camp
Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary
Heart Mountain's Fair Play Committee
nisei soldier
442nd
go for broke
congressional commission
relocation
japanese american relocation
resettlement
japanese american resettlement
redress
japanese american redress
reparations
japanese american reparations
oral history
japanese american oral history
visual history
japanese american visual history
digital history
japanese american digital history
interview
interviewee
issei
nisei
sansei
yonsei
gosei
first generation
second generation
third generation
fourth generation
fifth generation
densho
densho project
legacy
next generation
civil rights
civil liberties
justice
asian
asian american
archive
digital archive
audio
video
photo
photograph
historical photograph
document
historical documents
immigration
exclusion
asian exclusion act
video archive
visual archive
k-12 curriculum
social studies
history
u.s. history
multidisciplinary lessons
firsthand accounts
compelling images
forced removal
detention
primary source
nonprofit
documenting oral histories
education
preserve
collaborate
action for equity
digital technology
make accessible
primary source material
historic value
exploring issues of democracy
intolerance
wartime hysteria
civil rights
citizenship
global society
diverse history
critical thinking
ethical decision-making
democratic principles
Incarceration Camp
War Relocation Authority Relocation Centers
War Relocation Authority Incarceration Camps
Incarceration Camps
War Relocation Authority
incarcerees
transferred by
self-contained communities
barbed wire
guard towers
grid system of blocks
tar paper-covered barracks
mess hall
latrine
recreation hall
single droplight
army cots
coal, gas, or wood heater
confinement
monotony
harsh conditions
pro- and anti-camp administration residents
disempowered issei
U.S.-born nisei
Temporary Assembly Center
Wartime Civil Control Administration Assembly Centers
Wartime Civil Control Administration Assembly Centers
Temporary Assembly Centers
Wartime Civil Control Administration
Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA)
assembly centers
Japanese ancestry
Executive Order 9066
California
Oregon
Washington
Arizona
horse racetracks
fairgrounds
migrant worker camps
abandoned Civilian Conservation Corps camp
livestock yard
barbed-wire fences
armed military police
animal stalls
barracks
communal bathrooms
mess halls
Puyallup (Camp Harmony) Assembly Center, Washington
Immigration Detention Station
Immigration Detention Stations
Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service
Japanese nationals
Japanese immigrants (issei)
denied citizenship
discriminatory laws
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) detention stations
Department of Justice (DOJ) internment camps
Alien Enemy Hearing Board
Sharp Park and Tuna Canyon, California
Dept of Justice Internment Camp
Department of Justice Internment Camps
Japanese Latin Americans
Seagoville
Crystal City
Old Raton Ranch
Fort Missoula internment camp, Montana
U.S. Army Internment Camp
U.S. Army Internment Camps
Camp Lordsburg in New Mexico
Stringtown, Oklahoma
Department of Justice (DOJ) internment camps
U.S. Army internment sites
Alien Enemy Hearing Board
Camp Forrest internment camp, Tennessee
Citizen Isolation Center
War Relocation Authority Citizen Isolation Centers
Citizen Isolation Centers
Troublemakers
citizen isolation center
Civilian Conservation Corps
Moab, Utah
kibei
camp directors
Leupp, Arizona
enemy aliens
Department of Justice and U.S. Army internment camps
Additional Facility
War Relocation Authority Additional Facilities
Antelope Springs, Utah
Cow Creek and Tulelake, California
dissenters
U.S. Federal Prison
Federal Prisons
U.S. Federal Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
draft resisters
1947
President Harry S. Truman
full pardons to
Selective Service Act
McNeil Island Penitentiary, Washington
Japanese relocation
Japanese American relocation
relocation center
evacuation
Japanese American evacuation
evacuation orders
evacuated Japanese Americans
curfew
Japanese American concentration camps
civil liberties
Civil Liberties Act
CWRIC
Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
Bainbridge Island
Terminal Island
120,000 Japanese Americans
Lost Battalion
MIS
Military Intelligence Service
101st Infantry Battalion
Gothic Line
Battle of Cassino
522nd Field Artillery Battalion
Fred Korematsu
Korematsu decision
coram nobis