Christian-Joseph Macahilig is an Outreach Coordinator with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center’s Foundations and Futures AAPI digital textbook project.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Remembering Resistance—our 2025 virtual fundraiser honoring the legacy of the Japanese American Redress Movement. Thanks to your presence and generosity, the program was a tremendous success! 💛

🚨 Don’t miss out! Registration closes soon for our virtual program on the Japanese American Redress Movement — happening Wednesday, November 5th at 5pm PT / 8pm ET. Learn this history and its relevance to today. Register at densho.org/events/ to save your spot!

Happy Halloween! Step back in time with these archival photos that show how Halloween and costume wearing brought joy and connection to Japanese American communities across generations. See more snapshots of the past in Densho’s Digital Repository (at ddr.densho.org)!

In 1981, over 750 Japanese American former incarcerees and descendants testified in public hearings about their experiences of forced removal and incarceration during World War II—many speaking out for the very first time.

Calling all educators! Join Densho Education for a 2-hour virtual professional development workshop on the significance of Japanese American wartime incarceration and its relevance for today’s classrooms.

It’s Media Literacy Week (Oct 27–31)! At Densho, we believe that media literacy is essential to preserving memory, challenging bias, and ensuring that history is told with care and truth.

Reflecting on the federal government’s apology and reparations to Japanese Americans in 1988, Harvey Watanabe called the payments “a token,” and said the apology left him “a little bit wanting.”

This week, our staff gathered in Seattle for our annual staff retreat! We embraced the opportunity to engage in lively group discussions, reflecting on Densho’s past, and strategizing how to continue safeguarding WWII incarceration history for the future.

We are excited for our upcoming fall fundraiser, and so are our speakers! We asked them, “Why do you think it’s important to learn about the Redress Movement, especially now?” Swipe to read their responses!

It’s #AskAnArchivistDay! In honor of this day, we’re reflecting on what educators can learn from Densho’s archival approach to teaching difficult histories with care.

Take a look at some photos from the Densho Staff who attended the Crystal City Pilgrimage 2025! The Crystal City Pilgrimage Committee was kind enough to host a Densho Community Scanning Day during the pilgrimage, allowing Densho to complete its first community scanning day outside of the state of WA

Indigenous Peoples’ Day offers an important reminder that every chapter of US history—including the WWII incarceration of over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry—took place on occupied Indigenous lands.

Recently, Courtney Wai, Education and Public Programs Manager, and Sara Beckman, Digital Archivist, sat down to talk about the importance of Densho’s Digital Repository (DDR) — especially for educators, students, and anyone curious to explore primary sources of Japanese American history.

In 1981, Kathy Nishimoto Masaoka testified before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC). These CWRIC hearings became a turning point in the movement for Japanese American Redress—built through everyday acts of organizing, testimony, and community care.

Ahead of the Crystal City Pilgrimage this weekend, we explore the history of this lesser-known site of WWII incarceration. Tucked away in South Texas, Crystal City imprisoned over 4,000 people of Japanese, German, & Italian ancestry—including thousands abducted from Latin America—from 1942 to 1948.

Banned Books Week brings into sharp relief a truth we see in our work every day: stories are powerful. In the 2024–2025 school year alone, there were 6,870 instances of book bans — a sharp and alarming increase over the past two years, signaling a “disturbing normalization of censorship.”

With Taylor Swift releasing The Life of a Showgirl, we honor the story of a real showgirl: Mary Mon Toy. Born Mary Teruko Watanabe, she rebuilt her life after surviving incarceration at Minidoka and an oophorectomy (removal of her ovaries).

When Don Tamaki and his team reopened Fred Korematsu’s WWII case, they uncovered evidence proving the forced removal and incarceration of 125,000+ Japanese Americans wasn’t just wartime hysteria or an accident.

The imagery of barbed wire fences, guard towers, and armed sentries is nearly ubiquitous in popular retellings of the story of Japanese American WWII incarceration. But did you know that many of the camps didn’t actually have a complete fence when Japanese American incarcerees arrived in 1942?

Join Densho on November 5th at 5pm PT / 8pm EST for an evening of storytelling, poetry, and reflection on the Japanese American Redress Movement. Your support sustains Densho’s mission of preserving community memory for generations to come. Register for this event at densho.org/remembering-...

While many Japanese Americans returned to the West Coast after incarceration, Marian’s story shows a less common path: one of resilience, courage, and community in the post-WWII South.

To celebrate the #FallEquinox, we’ve harvested this crop of autumn leaves, fall fruit, and the cuties who enjoyed them from the Densho Archives. 🍂

We are excited to welcome Miya Schilz as Densho’s new Digital Content Coordinator! Miya (she/her) is committed to creating engaging, community-centered digital storytelling that promotes Japanese American history, amplifies community voices, and connects past and present.

This #ConstitutionDay, Gordon Hirabayashi—whose legal challenge to the forced removal of Japanese Americans during WWII made it all the way to the Supreme Court—offers a reminder that the Constitution is a living, contested document that requires constant vigilance to defend.

As students start heading back to the classroom this fall, we offer a glimpse of what #BackToSchool looked like for Japanese American children during WWII. 🧵

On August 23, people across the country came together for a day of action with NPCA to stand against attempts to erase marginalized histories like Japanese American WWII incarceration from our National Parks.

Densho Content Director and historian Brian Niiya shares how Densho safeguards the history of Japanese American incarceration, and why this work is especially important in our current moment "as federal funding is endangered at the same time that demand for Densho’s resources grows."

Jaci Jones of the @constitutionctr.bsky.social reflects on her path into civic education, how to approach teaching the Constitution with honesty and care, and the lessons it offers for understanding Japanese American incarceration and other moments when rights were denied: densho.org/catalyst/edu...

The Gila River concentration camp, built on the ancestral land of the Akimel O'otham and Pee Posh peoples in Arizona, was one of the largest of the concentration camps where Japanese Americans were confined during WWII, with a peak population of 13,348. densho.org/catalyst/sto...

9月24日（水）午後１２時、Denshoの日本語ウェブサイトのリニューアルにあたり、その内容をオンラインで紹介させて頂きたいと存じます。Nikkeijin.densho.orgは、第二次世界大戦中の強制立ち退きと収容を含めた、日本からの移民とそれに続く世代のアメリカ合衆国での経験と歴史を追い、豊富な資料を提供するサイトです。今まで扱っていなかった学術的な題材も含み、アメリカ日系人の歴史をより多くの方々に知って頂きたいと思っております。 bit.ly/Densho_Nikkeijin

Join us on 9/24 for the unveiling of Densho’s newly expanded Japanese-language website! Get a preview of forthcoming Japanese-language content that will help deepen cross-cultural connections & understandings of Japanese American history. This event will be held in Japanese. bit.ly/Densho_Nikkeijin

Fumiko Uyeda Groves was a child when she was incarcerated with her family at Minidoka during WWII. In this clip, she remembers a “shocking” encounter on a city bus after returning to Seattle at age eleven, in which a woman blamed young Fumiko for the death of her son and spit at her.

When @longlead.com was fact-checking THE AGE OF INCARCERATION, entire swaths of government websites with information on Japanese American Incarceration were pulled down. Thankfully the records at @denshoproject.bsky.social endured and shored up our work. The facts remain. Read our story here:

"We always used to say that it's important to know this (history) so that we can prevent things from ever happening again,” Brian Niiya of @denshoproject.bsky.social said. “But perhaps we can't say that anymore.” Fort Bliss, a “cog” in Japanese internment, will be the largest U.S. detention center:

Join Densho and @splcenter.org for a free webinar on how K–12 educators can help students navigate rampant misinformation and disinformation, equipping them with tools to evaluate digital sources, recognize bias, and think critically about both past and present information: bit.ly/densho_9_17

In recent weeks, the Smithsonian museums have come under political review and critique. Some of the nation’s most visible historical institutions are being pressured to change how US history is presented, including which stories are told and how they are framed. This matters. 🧵

Harry Yoshikawa and his family were among nearly 2,000 Japanese Americans who moved from California to Colorado during a “voluntary evacuation” period that allowed them to avoid WWII incarceration—but, as Harry recalls here, this supposedly "voluntary" journey was not without its perils.

Eighty years ago, during WWII, Fort Bliss, Texas housed dozens of Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants targeted for detention under the Alien Enemies Act. Today, Fort Bliss is home to the nation’s largest immigrant detention site.

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 marked a pivotal moment in U.S. history in which the government offered reparations for Japanese American WWII incarceration. Use these Densho resources to explore crucial lessons of the Japanese American Redress Movement.

Nisei writer Hisaye Yamamoto was born #OTD in 1921. She submitted her first written piece at 14 and became a regular contributor to the Kashu Mainichi. At 21, she was incarcerated at Poston in Arizona, where she became a writer for the camp newspaper. encyclopedia.densho.org/Hisaye%20Yam...

This is a crucial moment to safeguard our collective memory, especially as efforts to erase our histories grow stronger. Become a monthly donor and ensure stories of Japanese American WWII incarceration—and the lessons they carry—remain visible, powerful, and protected. densho.org/historykeepe...

David Sakura was 6 years old when he was forcibly removed to the Puyallup Assembly Center and Minidoka concentration camp with his parents & younger siblings. He describes the traumatic impact of this experience on his 3yo brother: “I remember him crying constantly. My mother couldn’t console him.”

Painter, animator, and illustrator Chris Ishii was born #OTD in 1919. He worked at Walt Disney Studios on animated films such as Fantasia and Dumbo, as well as on Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse shorts—until Executive Order 9066 and WWII incarceration. encyclopedia.densho.org/Chris_Ishii/

Happy #NationalBookLoversDay from the readers of the Densho archives! 📚

Join a community-led town hall in Seattle on 8/19 to share your stories of the lasting impacts of Japanese American WWII incarceration, and demand our government act now—in ways they never did in 1941—to protect vulnerable communities. Learn more and RSVP at bit.ly/SeattleJATownHall

“The events of WWII are increasingly becoming a part of a distant past. It will be up to members of future generations to ensure this history and the stories of those who survived are not forgotten.”

On this 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, we honor the victims, survivors, and stories that must never be forgotten.

Last month, Densho Development & Communications Manager Jennifer Noji joined nearly 250 fellow pilgrims in returning to the Minidoka incarceration site to commemorate the past and critically interrogate the present. densho.org/catalyst/ret...

Looking for some summer reading to share with the little bookworms and history buffs in your life? Check out these recently published children’s books that touch on the history of Japanese American WWII incarceration: densho.org/catalyst/sum...