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A man stands in the doorway of his hotel, located on Yesler Avenue in Seattle's Nihonmachi or Japantown, circa 1913.

Seattle’s Japantown Was Once Part of a Bustling Red Light District — Until Its “Troublesome” Residents Were Pushed Out

In Seattle from the Margins: Exclusion, Erasure, and the Making of a Pacific Coast City historian Megan Asaka examines the erased histories of the communities who built Seattle. In this…

Members of the Hirabayashi, Korematsu and Yasui legal teams pose for a group photo at a celebration in Seattle. Gordon Hirabayashi stands at the center of the group.

The Women Who Led the Fight to Overturn the WWII Supreme Court Japanese American Incarceration Cases

Lorraine Bannai was part of the legal team that in 1983 successfully overturned Fred Korematsu’s conviction for his wartime civil disobedience. Along with similar wins for fellow resisters Gordon Hirabayashi…

Portrait of Shizuko and Shigenori Oiye. Shizuko is seated wearing a flower in her hair, and Shigenori is standing beside her.

Tying a Family Together: My Grandmother’s Wedding Obi

Growing up I was always fascinated by the blue trunk in our sunroom. When opened, it reeked of mothballs but contained all the treasures my grandmother saved over the course…

Activist Stan Shikuma speaking at a rally outside the Northwest Detention Center. In front of him are posters with photos of Japanese American incarceration camps that say "NWDC is a US concentration camp" and "No more US concentration camps."

Photo Essay: A Day of Remembrance and Resistance

Last weekend marked the 82nd anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced removal and incarceration of more than 125,000 Japanese Americans during World War II….

This 150 Year Old Bonsai Holds the Incredible History of One Japanese American Family

The Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, Washington connects people to nature through the living art of bonsai. The Densho communications team recently had the chance to visit the museum…

Photo of Erna Harris smiling and wearing a black beret circa 1970s, over a newspaper background

Meet Erna P. Harris: Writer, Dissident, and Ally

Through stories of remarkable people in Japanese American history, The Unknown Great illuminates the diversity of the Nikkei experience from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day….

Reflections from Densho Artist-in-Residence Matthew Okazaki

In his recent work as one of Densho’s 2022/23 artists-in-residence, Matthew Okazaki used archival photos, sculptural pieces, and excerpts from his grandfather’s post-war diary to capture the resilient spirit reflected…

Black and white photograph of a toddler in a high chair with a large birthday cake with two candles that reads "Happy Birthday Marian"

Meet the Nisei Notables Who Would Have Turned 100 in 2024

As we celebrate the arrival of 2024, it’s time for our annual roundup of prominent Nisei who would have turned one hundred years old in the year to come. We…

With talking stick in hand, UTTC President Leander R. McDonald presides over the ground blessing ceremony for the Snow Country Prison Japanese Internment Memorial.

Memorializing a Shared History Between Native and Japanese American Communities at Fort Lincoln

In September, I had the privilege of attending the ground blessing ceremony for the Snow Country Prison Japanese American Internment Memorial on the campus of United Tribes Technical College (UTTC)…

Print Garden by Kanon Shambora. The artwork features several acrylic plates with laser cut drawings of fruits, vegetables, flowers and fish cultivated and caught by Japanese American agricultural workers prior to World War Two incarceration.

Kanon Shambora on the Making of Print Garden

Artist-in-residence Kanon Shambora used her time at Densho to explore the roots of Japanese American identity. Their culminating Print Garden pays homage to early Issei and Nisei, as well as…

Three Japanese American women and two girls standing behind a fence at Puyallup Assembly Center in 1942.

Justifying the Unjustifiable: Why Japanese Americans Must Stand with Palestine

Guest opinion essay by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. Densho publishes guest opinion essays that draw meaningful connections between the incarceration story and the present, and that promote equity and justice today. Learn…

Barracks at Minidoka concentration camp under construction in 1942

Ask a Historian: When Did America Start Building Its WWII Concentration Camps?

Densho Content Director Brian Niiya answers a question about the origin of the concentration camps where Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II.

Paul Kikuchi playing drums

Community Curator Spotlight: Paul Kikuchi on Finding Ancestral Connections through Music

Percussionist, composer, and interdisciplinary artist Paul Kikuchi speaks with Densho Community Curator Erin Shigaki about the influences of his ancestors, identity, and community on his art. Kikuchi shares, “How easily…

Densho staff with speakers and performers at the 2023 virtual fundraiser. They are gathered on a stage in front of a background that reads Our Voices Will Not Be Silenced.

Highlights from Densho’s 2023 Virtual Fundraiser: Our Voices Will Not Be Silenced

Thank you to everyone who tuned in on October 5 for Densho’s 2023 virtual fundraiser, Our Voices Will Not Be Silenced! 

Kaneji Domoto pruning a bonsai

How Kaneji Domoto’s “Compassionate Architecture” Highlights The Contradictions Of Camp

As an intern at Densho, I have spent this past summer and fall processing new additions to the Kaneji and Sally (Fujii) Domoto Collection. During that time, I enjoyed getting…

Page from a photo album with several images of the Fukayama family and extended family

Intern Spotlight: Kelsie Flack on Learning History from Those Who Lived It

Kelsie Flack gained a love of archival work during her undergraduate degree when she worked in special collections at the University of Utah’s J.W. Marriott Library. This experience pushed her…

A line of tents at the Slocal internment camp circa 1942

Photo Essay: Japanese Canadian Internment Field School 

In this photo essay, Densho’s communications and public engagement director Natasha Varner shares images and some of what she learned during a two-week immersive learning experience about Japanese Canadian internment…

Japanese American teens gathered around a table reading at Minidoka

15 Books About Japanese American WWII Incarceration For Readers Of All Ages

Looking for some summer reading for the students—and learners of any age—in your life? Densho Content Director Brian Niiya recommends some graphic novels and youth-friendly books with plotlines related to…

Japanese Americans walking in a street between barracks at Heart Mountain concentration camp. Heart Mountain is visible in the distance.

Frozen Hair, Work Stoppages, and Other Lesser-Known Stories from Heart Mountain

Perhaps you know the Heart Mountain, Wyoming, concentration camp for stories of boyhood-friends-turned-congressmen Norman Mineta and Alan Simpson, for the draft resistance of the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee, for…

A photomontage created by Dean K. Terasaki from two images. One is a detail of the Poston Concentration Camp Monument. The other is a request for inkstone, ink and brushes in a Japanese-language letter sent to T.K. Pharmacy.

Community Curator Spotlight: Dean Terasaki on Memory and Mystery

Erin Shigaki, Seattle-based artist and Densho’s inaugural Community Curator, caught up with photographer Dean Terasaki to learn how he’s turned his lens toward an 80 year old family mystery.

A Japanese American family standing in front of barracks at Minidoka.

Intern Spotlight: Kathleen Singleton on the Power of Archives

Kathleen Singleton is a mixed Yonsei, born and raised in Seattle, Washington. They graduated from Central Washington University with a BA in Professional and Creative Writing with a minor in…

A page in a photo album with several photos of a Japanese American family.

Intern Spotlight: Ron Martin-Dent on Hidden Connections in the Archives

Densho Archives Intern Ron Martin-Dent shares some lessons learned and surprises uncovered during his time adding new collections to the Densho Digital Repository.

Six kibei siblings in Japan. They are standing in a row, one wearing dark colored hakama and haori, another in a western suit, and the four younger siblings in school uniforms.

The Kibei Story Is “The Biggest Unexplored Episode In The History Of Japanese Americans.” Here’s Where To Learn More About It.

A recent episode of NPR’s Code Switch explores an often forgotten chapter of Japanese American history: the Kibei story. Kibei were Japanese Americans who were born in the US to…

Japanese Americans reading in the library at Tanforan Assembly Center.

Counting Down Our Top 5 Most-Read Densho Encyclopedia Articles

Since launching the Densho Encyclopedia in 2012, we’ve published 1,500 articles on Japanese American history written by expert scholars and public historians — making it the go-to resource for many…