Citations | Resettlement: Chicago Story

Visit Mary at School

This activity has 3 hyperobjects that reveal historical information.

Large black and white animated GIF image: a scene from the film of various students in the school's hallway. In the center, two students are dancing together.

American flag - Negotiating American Identity

Look tab: Responses to Americanization efforts in camp

Photograph: Dorothea Lange. Street Scene of Barrack Homes at This War Relocation Authority Center. Manzanar Relocation Center, California. March 7, 1942. Photograph. ARC # 538128, Local ID: 210-G-C840, Record Group: 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Citation: Photo by Dorothea Lange for the War Relocation Authority, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (1942)
Photograph: Students Reciting the American Pledge of Allegiance on Stage during Ceremony. Poston, Arizona. 1941-1945. Photograph. JC # JC12C:58, Japanese American Archival Collection. California State University, Sacramento Library. Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Citation: Courtesy of California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives (circa early 1940s)
Photograph: Girl Scouts, Minidoka Concentration Camp, Idaho. 1944. Photograph. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Mamiya Family Collection. Local ID: sac_jaac_2303, Japanese American Archival Collection. MSS-94/01
Citation: Courtesy of the Mamiya Family Collection - Densho Digital Repository (circa 1944)
Photograph: Department of the Interior. War Relocation Authority. The Sewing Class Teachers at Topaz Making the Service Flag. Topaz, Utah. April 24, 1943. Photograph. ARC # 537265, Local ID: 210-G-B716, Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Citation: Courtesy of the War Relocation Authority - National Archives and Records Administration (1943)
File: James Numata Evacuee Case File, File Numata, Shizuo, DOB 3/27/18, Box 4662, War Relocation Authority records, Record Group 210, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C.
Citation: Courtesy of the War Relocation Authority - National Archives and Records Administration (1943)
Photograph: Bill Manbo. Leaving Tule Lake. September 21, 1943. Photograph.
Citation: Photo by Bill Manbo, Courtesy of Bill Manbo, Jr. (1943)
Photograph: Setsuko Abe Hirano (Left) and Cousin, Edith Abey (Right) Dancing Japanese Buyo Dance, Topaz in Delta, Utah. 1944. Photograph. Local ID: sac_jaac_2303, Japanese American Archival Collection. California State University, Sacramento Library. Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Citation: Courtesy of California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives (circa 1944)
Photograph: Joe McClelland. Amache Boy Scouts Raising Flag to Half-Mast at Memorial Service for First Six Nisei Soldiers from This Center Killed in Action in Italy. The Service Was Held August 5, 1944, and Attended by 1500 Amache Residents. Amache, Colorado. August 5, 1944. Photograph. WRA # G-769, War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement. Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Citation: Photo by Joe McClelland for the War Relocation Authority - Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (1944)
Photograph: Frank Abe. Trial of the Heart Mountain Draft Resisters. Cheyenne, Wyoming. June 12, 1944. Photograph. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Frank Abe Collection.
Citation: Courtesy of Frank Abe - Densho Digital Repository (1944)
Photograph: Department of the Interior. War Relocation Authority. Colorado River (Poston) Relocation Center. The Hirano Family, Left to Right, George, Hisa, and Yasbei. Colorado River Relocation Center, Poston, Arizona. 1942-1945. Photograph. ARC # 535989, Local ID: 210-CC-S(26C), Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Citation: Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (circa early 1940s)

Read tab: Demonstrating loyalty through assimilation

Document: Assistant Secretary of War. “Leave Clearance Interview Questions.”, August 1943. Files of the Assistant Secretary of War, reproduced in Michi Weglyn’s Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps. New York: Morrow, 1976.

Watch tab: “I kind of turned my back on my culture”

Japanese American Service Committee (JASC). Kazuo Ideno - Excerpt 1, August 24, 2017. Video. Legacy Center Oral History Collection. The Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Courtesy of the Alphawood Gallery.

Supplementary Primary Sources

Document: “Loyalty Questionnaire,” 1943. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Ikeda Family Collection.
Speech: Myer, Dillon S. “THE TRUTH ABOUT RELOCATION: An Address Delivered by Dillon S. Myer, Director of the War Relocation Authority, before a Luncheon Meeting of the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, California.” August 6, 1943.
Interview: Oishi, Linda. Interview by Katherine Nagasawa featured in the web and audio story, “What Happened to Chicago’s Japanese Neighborhood?” WBEZ, August 13, 2017.
Document: War Relocation Authority. “Present Status of the Community Integration Program in Chicago.” 9 July, 1943. Courtesy of the Brethren Historical Library and Archives.
Document: War Relocation Authority. “Community School Forum.” Vol. I, nos. 1-4, 1943 1942. Local Call # BANC MSS 67/14 c, folder E2.63. Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement records. Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Secondary Resources

Burton, Jeffrey F., Mary M. Farrell, Florence B. Lord, and Richard W. Lord. “National Park Service: Confinement and Ethnicity.” National Park Service, July 2000.
Clark. “Amache (Granada).” Densho Encyclopedia, June 22, 2020. https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Amache_(Granada)/.
Drinnon, Richard. Keeper of Concentration Camps: Dillon S. Myer and American Racism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1989.
Estes, Don. “The Road to Poston : A Brief Historical Summary.” Poston Preservation Website. Accessed January 24, 2022.
Fujita-Rony, Thomas Y. “Poston (Colorado River).” Densho Encyclopedia, October 16, 2020.
Imai, Shiho. “Dillon Myer.” Densho Encyclopedia, October 16, 2020.
Mak, Stephen. “Crystal City (Detention Facility).” Densho Encyclopedia, October 5, 2020.
Matsumoto, Mieko. “Heart Mountain | Densho Encyclopedia.” Densho Encyclopedia, November 18, 2020.
Myer, Dillon Seymour. Uprooted Americans: The Japanese Americans and the War Relocation Authority during World War II. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1972.
Nagasawa, Katherine. “What Happened to Chicago’s Japanese Neighborhood?” WBEZ, August 13, 2017.
National Park Service. “Central Utah Relocation Center (Topaz) Site.” Accessed April 10, 2022.
National Park Service. “Granada Relocation Center, CO.” Accessed April 10, 2022.
National Park Service. “Heart Mountain Relocation Center.” Accessed April 10, 2022.
National Park Service. “Manzanar National Historic Site.” Accessed April 10, 2022.
National Park Service. “Minidoka National Historic Site.” Accessed April 10, 2022.
National Park Service. “Tule Lake National Monument.” Accessed April 10, 2022.
Niiya, Brian. “Manzanar.” Densho Encyclopedia, March 21, 2022.
Niiya, Brian. “Minidoka.” Densho Encyclopedia, December 16, 2021.
Niiya, Brian. “Topaz.” Densho Encyclopedia, December 16, 2021.
Takei, Barbara. “Tule Lake.” Densho Encyclopedia, October 16, 2020.
Thomas, Dorothy Swaine Thomas. The Salvage. Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.
Weglyn, Michi Nishiura, Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.

A color photo of the American flag with 48 stars on it.

JA teens with bomber jackets - Building a Young Adult Community

Listen tab: “It was really important that we were all together”

Interview: “It was really important that we were all together like that.” Interview by Katherine Nagasawa, October 2021. Full Spectrum Features.

Look tab: From beach volleyball to ballroom dancing

Photograph: Photograph of city-wide picnic at lake, circa 1960, Photograph. Box 10, folder 29, in Record Group 10: Audiovisual Resources, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Credit: Photo by James Numata, courtesy of the Numata Collection - Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center (circa 1960)
Photograph: Photograph of pass-the-lifesaver game at Shinyukai picnic. September 12, 1948. Photograph. Box 1, folder 21 in the Mary and James Numata photograph collection, Collection # 1999.002P, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Credit: Photo by James Numata, courtesy of the Numata Collection - Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center (1948)
Photograph: Streat of Dreams Dance, Lincoln Hall. September 3, 1947. Photograph. Courtesy of the Amino Family.
Credit: Courtesy of the Amino family (1947)
Photograph: Photograph of Eastern Young Buddhist League Conference. Circa 1945-1946. Photograph. Box 1, folder 1, in the Fred Yamaguchi photograph collection, Collection # 2007.018P, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Credit: Courtesy of the Fred Yamaguchi Collection - Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center (1945-1946)
Ephemera: Winter Wonderland Dance Invitation, December 18, 1948. Box 3, folder 12, in the Alyce Kadota Yamanaka papers and photographs, Collection # 2006.016, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Credit: Courtesy of the Alyce Kadota Yamanaka Papers and Photographs - Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center (1948)
Ephemera: Dance card for New Year's Frolic. 1948 December 31. Photograph. Box 3, folder 12, in the Alyce Kadota Yamanaka papers and photographs, Collection # 2006.016, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Credit: Courtesy of the Alyce Kadota Yamanaka Papers and Photographs - Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center (1948)
Photograph: Zephyrs 1948. 1948. Photograph. Courtesy of the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society.
Credit: Courtesy of the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (1948)
Photograph: Hay Ride. Circa 1940s-1950s. Photograph. Courtesy of the Amino Family.
Citation: Courtesy of the Amino family (circa 1950)
Ephemera: Marigold Arcade 225 Club Patch. Clothing Patch. Box 3, folder 11, in the Alyce Kadota Yamanaka papers and photographs, Collection # 2006.016, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Citation: Courtesy of the Alyce Kadota Yamanaka Papers and Photographs - Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center (circa 1950s-1970s)
Ephemera: Philos Girl’s Club Patch. Clothing Patch. Box 3, folder 11, in the Alyce Kadota Yamanaka papers and photographs, Collection # 2006.016, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Citation: Courtesy of the Alyce Kadota Yamanaka Papers and Photographs - Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center (circa 1950s-1970s)
Photograph: Photograph of First Annual Nisei Invitational Basketball Tournament, Welcome Dance. 1949. Photograph. Box 2, folder 123, in the Mary and James Numata photograph collection, Collection # 1999.002P, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Citation: Courtesy of the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center (1949)
Photograph: League Championship Game between Ting-a-Ling Girls Clubs The Serenes. Circa 1940s. Photograph. Courtesy of Bill Adachi via. Joyce Morimoto.
Credit: Courtesy of Bill Adachi and Joyce Morimoto (circa 1950)
Photograph: Chicago All Clubs Reunion, Las Vegas. 1992. Photograph. Courtesy of the Amino Family.
Credit: Courtesy of the Amino family (1992)

Watch tab: “[We] didn’t feel part of the white community”

Interview: Tanko Doi. Remembering Japanese American Social Clubs in Chicago. Interview by Anna Takada. Video, September 3, 2019. Densho Digital Repository Courtesy of the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS).

Supplementary Primary Sources

Interview: Amino, Pat Aiko (Suzuki). Pat Aiko (Suzuki) Amino REgenerations Oral History Project Interview. Interview by Mary Doi, March 30, 1998. REgenerations Oral History Project: Rebuilding Japanese American Families, Communities, and Civil Rights in the Resettlement Era : Chicago Region: Volume I. University of California Calisphere Digital Library, Courtesy of Japanese American National Museum and the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society.
Article: Nakamura, Jobo. “Nisei in Chicago: Girls Clubs of City Provide Color.” Scene the Pictorial Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 6, 47-49. October 1949. Object ID # ddr-densho-266-11, Scene and Nisei Vue Collection. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Japanese American National Museum.
Photos: Discover Nikkei. “Organized Sports Leagues and Teams in Chicago Photo Gallery,” June 28, 2021.

Additional Resources

Japanese American Service Committee (JASC). “Early Days of the Japanese American Service Committee: The Chicago Resettlers Committee.” Accessed February 18, 2022.
Matsumoto, Valerie J. City Girls: The Nisei Social World in Los Angeles, 1920-1950. Oxford: New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Murata, Alice. “Stardust and Street of Dreams: Chicago Girls Clubs.” Counselor Education Emeritus Faculty Publications, no. Spring 2001 (April 1, 2001): 21–35.
Wu, Ellen D. “Resettlement in Chicago.” Densho Encyclopedia, October 8, 2020.

A color photo of two Japanese American women wearing long dark skirts, tennis shoes, and bright blue bomber jackets with the letter “J” embroidered on them.

Multiracial cluster of students - Navigating a racially segregated city

Explore tab: Living “in between” Black and white communities

Map: Development, City of Chicago Department of Planning and. “Community Settlement Map for 1950.” Chicago: Department of Development and Planning, City of Chicago, 1976. City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chicago_Demographics_in_1950_Map.jpg.
Map: “New Street Number Guide Map of Chicago and Suburbs.” Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A: Rand McNally & Company, n.d. Forgotten Chicago. https://forgottenchicago.com/resources/maps/maps/.

Listen + Look: Growing up in a changing neighborhood

Interview: Ross Harano. Untold Stories - Ross Harano. Interview by Japanese American Service Committee, June 11, 2018. Japanese American Service Committee Legacy Center. https://vimeo.com/274598044.
Photograph: Ross Harano’s Kindergarten Class in 1948, Chicago. 1948. Photograph. Courtesy of Ross Harano.
Photograph: Ross Harano’s 5th Grade Class in 1953, Chicago. 1953. Photograph. Courtesy of Ross Harano.
Photograph: Ross Harano’s 7th Grade Class in 1955, Chicago. February 1955. Photograph. Courtesy of Ross Harano.
Photograph: Crowned by Experts, the January Prom King and Queen, Ross Harano and Barbara Hill, Receive Congratulations from Dr. Watters and Grace Sakuma, Chicago. 1959. Photograph. Courtesy of Ross Harano.
Photograph: Leading the Grand March Are Queen, Barbara Hill; King, Ross Harano; Prom Chairman, Celestine Hemphill; and Most Outstanding Senior, Pat Campbell. 1959. Photograph. Courtesy of Ross Harano.

Watch tab: Playing along “color lines”

Constance Yamashiro. Attending School, Participating in Church Activities. Interview by Anna Takada, August 10, 2018. Video. Densho Digital Repository Courtesy of Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) Oral History Project Collections. Accessed January 12, 2022.

Supplementary Primary Sources

Interview: Hasegawa, Allen. Allen Hasegawa - Growing Up in Chicago. Interview by Anna Takada, October 6, 2017. Video. The Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Courtesy of the Alphawood Gallery.
Hawley, Grace Sugita. Adjusting to Life in Chicago: "You could feel the bigotry." Interview by Megan Asaka, June 3, 2009. Video. Densho Digital Repository.

Additional Resources

Alinder, Jasmine, John Tain, and Julie Rodrigues Widholm. Yasuhiro Ishimoto : Someday, Chicago. First edition. Someday, Chicago. Chicago: DePaul Art Museum, 2018.
Briones, Matthew. Jim and Jap Crow: A Cultural History of 1940s Interracial America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012.
Charlotte Brooks, “In the Twilight Zone between Black and White: Japanese American Resettlement and Community in Chicago,” 1942–1945, Journal of American History, Volume 86, Issue 4, March 2000, Pages 1655–1687.
Doi, Elizabeth. “What Happens to a Dream Conferred? Japanese American Race, Space, and Place in Chicago, 1945-1965.” Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Chicago, 2016.
Fujibayashi, Virginia. “Occupational and Residential Changes of Chicago’s Japanese American Evacuees.” ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Master’s Thesis, The University of Chicago, 1965. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I (302199429).
Haines, Lindsey. “White Flight and Urban Decay in Suburban Chicago.” Honors Projects 112. April 23, 2010.
Harden, Jacalyn D. Double Cross: Japanese Americans in Black and White Chicago. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003.
Japanese American Service Committee (JASC). “Subject Guide: Chicago’s Japanese American Neighborhoods.” Accessed March 10, 2022.
Matsunaga, Erik. “Japanese Americans on Chicago’s South Side - Oakland/Kenwood 1940s-1950s - Part 1.” Discover Nikkei, December 1, 2015.
Nishi, Setsuko Matsunaga. “Japanese American Achievement in Chicago: A Cultural Response to Degradation.” Cultural Response to Degradation. Dissertation, University of Chicago, 1963.
Roediger, David R. “Racism, Ethnicity, and White Identity.” Encyclopedia of Chicago, 2004.
Chicago Public Library. “Housing and Race in Chicago,” April 30, 2003.

A Black teen boy and Black teen girl dance with each other in the foreground. Behind them are a group of white and Black students with book bags and books in their hands.

Visit Sam at the Cleaners

This activity has 3 hYperobjects that reveal historical information.

a still image from the film of Sam reading a newspaper by the front window of the cleaners

Photo of Sam’s Farm - Farming despite barriers

Look tab: Forming a Farming Community

Photograph: Kitako Izumizaki. Shades of Watsonville - Izumizaki Family Photo, Watsonville, CA. 1913. Photograph. Watsonville Public Library, Shades of Watsonville Collection.
Credit: Courtesy of the Shades of Watsonville Collection - Watsonville Public Library (circa 1913)
Photograph: Kitako Izumizaki. Shades of Watsonville - Town Outing, Watsonville, CA. 1913. Photograph. Watsonville Public Library, Shades of Watsonville Collection.
Credit: Courtesy of the Shades of Watsonville Collection - Watsonville Public Library (circa 1913)
Photograph: Charles E. Mace. This Fertile Valley in Santa Cruz County, of Which Watsonville Is the Center, Contains Much Acreage Owned by Evacuees. Watsonville, CA. June 9, 1945. Photograph. War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement, 1942-1945 circa 1941-1947. Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Credit: Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (1945)
Photograph: 1923 Championship between the Monterey Minatoes and the Watsonville Kasei. 1923. Photograph. Courtesy of Tim Thomas and the Monterey Peninsula chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.
Credit: Courtesy of Tim Thomas and the Monterey Peninsula Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) (1923)
Photograph: Dorothea Lange. Family of Japanese Ancestry Laboring in Their Strawberry Field at Opening of Harvest Season. Near Mission San Jose, CA. April 5, 1942. Photograph. War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement, 1942-1945 circa 1941-1947. Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Credit: Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (1942)
Photograph: Dorothea Lange. A Soldier and His Mother at a Strawberry Field. The Soldier, Age 23, Volunteered July 10, 1941, and Is Stationed. Florin, Sacramento County, CA. May 11, 1942. Photograph. ARC # 536475, Local ID: 210-G-A585, Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Credit: Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (1942)

Listen tab: “You couldn’t own land or rent land”

Paul Murata. California Strawberry Farming Industry Interviews Tape 1: Paul Murata. Interview by Visual Communications, 1990s. Audio recording. Courtesy of Visual Communications Archives.

Analyze: Anti-Japanese propaganda increases

Cartoon: Dr. Seuss. Waiting for the Signal from Home... February 13, 1942. Cartoon. Dr. Seuss Collection, Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.

Supplementary Primary Sources

Newspaper Article: Lompoc Review. “ALIEN RULING MOMENTOUS Alien Land Law of State Sustained, Declares Attorney General Webb,” November 24, 1922, Volume IV, Number 40 edition. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
Interview: Sakata, Bob Y. Selling Farm Equipment. Interview by Daryl Maeda, May 14, 2008. Video. Densho Digital Repository, Densho Visual History Collection.
Interview: Izumizaki, Kitako. Packing Practical Items for Camp, Watsonville, California. Interview by Megan Asaka. Video, July 28, 2008. Video. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of Watsonville - Santa Cruz JACL Collection.

Additional Resources

Anderson, Emily. "Anti-Japanese exclusion movement," Densho Encyclopedia (accessed Jan 21 2022).
Casey, Ralph D. “EM 2: What Is Propaganda?” American Historical Association, July 1944.
CrashCourse. Crash Course Media Literacy Preview. Media Literacy Series, 2018.
Nakane, Kazuko. Nothing Left in My Hands: An Early Japanese American Community in California’s Pajaro Valley. Seattle, Wash: Young Pine Press, 1985.
Sotirovic, Mira. “What Is Propaganda.” University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign (blog). Accessed February 23, 2022.
Niiya, Brian. “Executive Order 9066,” Densho Encyclopedia (Accessed January 24, 2022).
U.S. National Park Service. “A Brief History of Japanese American Relocation During World War II.” National Park Service, April 1, 2016.
Varner, Natasha. “The WWII Politics of Farms and Labor.” Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment, October 12, 2018.

A young Japanese American man and woman kneel in a strawberry field. The man is wearing a light-colored button-down shirt and trousers, and the woman wears a dark dress with a light-colored necklace. The woman holds a tray of strawberries in her hands.

Wooden vases - Surviving forced removal and incarceration

Read tab: An Order for Removal

Document: “Civilian Exclusion Orders, Nos. 1-108.” March 24, 1942. Compiler: Western Defense Command and Fourth Army of the United States. Presidio of San Francisco, California.

Watch tab: “I had salt coming out of my pores”

Interview: Mas Hashimoto. Moving to Poston, Arizona. Interview by Tom Ikeda, July 30, 2008. Video. Densho Digital Repository. Courtesy of Watsonville - Santa Cruz JACL Collection.

Look tab: Life in a desert prison

Photograph: Fred Clark. Living Quarters of Evacuees of Japanese Ancestry at This War Relocation Authorit, Poston, AZ. June 1, 1942. Photograph. ARC # 536153, Local ID: 210-G-A191, Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Credit: Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (1942)
Painting: Art Panel with Watercolor Paintings Depicting Scenes from Poston Relocation Center on Both Sides. Poston, AZ. 1946 1941. Watercolor painting. JC15A-07, From the Japanese American Archival Collection. MSS-94/01. California State University, Sacramento. Library. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.
Credit: Courtesy of the Japanese American Archival Collection - California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives (circa 1943-44)
Photograph: Clark Fred. Photograph of Men Unloading Beds at the Relocation Center on the Colorado River Indian Reservation. April 29, 1942. Photograph. Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority, 1941 - 1989. ARC # 536127, Local ID: 210-G-A160, Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Credit: Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (1942)
Photograph: Fred Clark. Poston, Arizona. Evacuees of Japanese ancestry are filling straw ticks for mattresses after arrival at this War Relocation Authority center. May 23, 1942. Photograph. ARC # 536114, Local ID: 210-G-A147, Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Credit: Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (1942)
Painting: Gene T. Sogioka. Dust Storm - Colorado River Relocation Center, Poston, Arizona. 1943. Charcoal painting. War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement. Metacollection: Voices in Confinement: A Digital Archive of Japanese-American Internees. Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Credit: Courtesy of Jean La Spina (1943)
Photograph: Fred Clark. Poston, Arizona. Jim Morikawa sprinkling in an attempt to settle the dust at this War Relocation Authority center for evacuees of Japanese ancestry. May 10, 1942. Photograph. ARC # 536133, Local ID 210-G-A167, Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Credit: Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (1942)
Painting: Harry Yoshizumi. Watercolor Depicting Boy in Front of Poston Relocation Center Barracks, Poston, AZ. 1943. Watercolor painting. JC15A-02, From the Japanese American Archival Collection. MSS-94/01. California State University, Sacramento. Library. Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Credit: Courtesy of California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives (1943)
Photograph: Fred Clark. Poston, Arizona. Military Sentry Keeping Civilians Away from Mess Hall at Poston 1. May 10, 1942. Photograph. ARC # 536072, Local ID: 210-G-A105, Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Credit: Courtesy of Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (1942)
Photograph: Francis Leroy Stewart. Poston, Arizona. Group of evacuee children enjoying game of Black Jack at this War Relocation Authority center. June 4, 1942. Photograph. ARC # 538527, Local ID: 210-G-D561, Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, MD.
Credit: Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (1942)
Painting: Art Panel with Watercolor Paintings Depicting Scenes from Poston Relocation Center on Both Sides. Poston, AZ. 1946 1941. Watercolor painting. California State University, Sacramento. Library. Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Credit: Courtesy of California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives (circa 1943-44)
Poem: “That Damned Fence.” Poem, 1942. Project ID: MS-840_0145, Local ID: MS-840_0145, California State University Japanese American Digitization Project. California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Credit: Author Unknown – Courtesy of the California Historical Society (CHS) Joseph R. Goodman papers on Japanese American Incarceration Collection (1942)

Supplementary Primary Sources

Document: War Relocation Authority. “Evacuee Property Report.” Sacramento, California, March 15, 1944. Courtesy of California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Document: “Poston Hi-Light, Poston, AZ,” 1945. Japanese American Archival Collection, California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Interview: Takehara, Joe. Joe Takehara Interview Segment 8. Interview by Anna Takada, November 15, 2017. Video. Courtesy of the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS).
Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Transcript of Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese.” The White House, 1942. Transcription Courtesy of the History Matters project.

Additional Resources

Estes, Don. “The Road to Poston : A Brief Historical Summary.” Poston Preservation Website. Accessed January 24, 2022.
Fujita-Rony, Thomas Y. “Poston (Colorado River).” Densho Encyclopedia, October 16, 2020.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. “Japanese | Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress.” Web page. Accessed January 24, 2022.
Niiya, Brian. “Ten Things That Made Poston Concentration Camp Unique.” Densho, October 8, 2019.
Ukai, Nancy. “50 Objects: Sogioka’s Paintings.” 50 Objects. Accessed February 23, 2022.
Wakida, Patricia. “Harry Yoshizumi.” Densho Encyclopedia, June 2, 2015.
Gene Sogioka page on 50 Objects – https://50objects.org/object/sogiokas-paintings/

Two rugged-looking wooden vases, one large and tall and the other short and stout, hold round yellow and purple flowers.

Chicago Shimpo - Holding on to Japanese culture

Look tab: Celebrating Japanese culture and community

Photograph: [Settlers’ Association Picnic], 1952. 1952. Box 8, Folder 29, in the Mary and James Numata Photograph Collection, Collection # 1999.002P. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Photograph: Go Tournament at CRC. Photograph. In The Guidebook, 102. Chicago: Chicago Publishing Corp., 1949. Courtesy of the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center.
Photograph: History of Ginza Holiday – Ginza Holiday. Photograph. Photo posted on the Midwest Buddhist Temple’s Ginza Holiday Website. Midwest Buddhist Temple. Accessed January 14, 2022.
Photograph: Raeburn Flerlage. Demonstration of Japanese calligraphy and drawing at Ginza holiday. 1961. Photograph. ICHi-117671, Horizon Bib. # 235679, P&P: Raeburn Flerlage photographs and papers, PPN-0405 (Negatives have contact sheets); Series: Business Materials; Subseries: Events. Chicago History Museum, Courtesy of Chicago Historical Society.
Photograph: Senior Work Center - Workers Assembling Fishing Reels. circa 1970. Photograph. Box 11, Folder 9, in Record Group 10, Audiovisual Resources. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Photograph: Senior Work Center Issei Picnic, 1976 August. August 1976. Box 7, Folder 41, in Record Group 10, Audiovisual Resources. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Photograph: Obon at the Midwest Buddhist Temple. Date unknown. Photograph. Courtesy of the Chicago Shimpo. Accessed January 14, 2022.
Photograph: Chicago Buddhist Church Obon, 1948. 1948. Box 5, Folder 30, in the Mary and James Numata Photograph Collection, Collection # 1999.002P. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Photograph: Chicago Obon Festival Hosted by Midwest Buddhist Temple. Date unknown. Photograph. Discover Nikkei, Courtesy of the Chicago Shimpo.
Photograph: Tse, Andrew. Members of Ho Etsu Taiko Perform at Ginza in 2018. 2018. Photograph. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center.

Read tab: Supporting community elders

Document: Jobo Nakamura. “Issei Bachelors Found Life Depressing.” Scene the Pictorial Magazine, Volume 1, Number 6 (October 1949): 36. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Japanese American National Museum.

Watch tab: Acts of resistance

Interview: Doi, Lisa. Reexamining Japanese American History. Interview by Anna Takada, September 6, 2019. Video. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) Oral History Project Collections.

Supplementary Primary Sources

Collection: Japanese American Service Committee (JASC). “Early Days of the Japanese American Service Committee: The Chicago Resettlers Committee.” Accessed February 18, 2022.
Film: Iko, Momoko, Issei Gerontology Project: Issei: A Final Say. 1975. A film by Maria Moraites, G. and Richard Sato, "Supported in part by S.R.A. Training Grant No. 94-P-760-33-5-01 from Social and Rehabilitation Service, Administration of Aging" Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Film: Issei Gerontology Project: Issei: A Quality for Survival. 1975. A film by Maria Moraites, G. and Richard Sato, "Supported in part by S.R.A. Training Grant No. 94-P-760-33-5-01 from Social and Rehabilitation Service, Administration of Aging" Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Film: Issei Gerontology Project: Seeking a Human Dimension. 1975. A film by Maria Moraites, G. and Richard Sato, "Supported in part by S.R.A. Training Grant No. 94-P-760-33-5-01 from Social and Rehabilitation Service, Administration of Aging" Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Film: Issei Gerontology Project: Values & Attitude: II. 1975. A film by Maria Moraites, G. and Richard Sato, "Supported in part by S.R.A. Training Grant No. 94-P-760-33-5-01 from Social and Rehabilitation Service, Administration of Aging" Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Video: Matsumoto, Jason. The Kansha Project. Video, 2014. Nikkei Chicago / 日系シカゴ, Courtesy of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Chicago Japanese American Council.
Video: Midwest Buddhist Temple. 2020 Virtual Ginza (Pt. 1 of 2) - Interconnections. Chicago: Midwest Buddhist Temple, 2020.

Additional Resources

Nagasawa, Katherine. “What Happened to Chicago’s Japanese Neighborhood?” WBEZ 91.5 Chicago, August 13, 2017.
Austin, Allan W. “Eastward Pioneers: Japanese American Resettlement during World War II and the Contested Meaning of Exile and Incarceration.” Journal of American Ethnic History 26, no. 2 (2007): 58–84.
Nakamura, Kelli. “Kenjinkai.” Densho Encyclopedia, June 10, 2015. https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Kenjinkai.

A stack of newspapers show articles in the Japanese language with the masthead “The Chicago Shimpo”

Visit Kimiye in her Office

This activity has 3 hyperobjects that reveal historical information.

A still image from the film of Kimiye looking upon her desk, which has a ledger, papers, a magazine, and mail.

Accounting book - Starting over from scratch

Watch tab: Striving for financial independence

Interview: Diana Morita Cole. Diana Morita Cole Interview Segment 11. Interview by Dana Hoshide. Video, September 30, 2019. Densho Visual History Collection. Densho Digital Repository.

Look tab: Japanese Americans at work

Photograph: Hidaka Cleaners. Circa 1940s-1950s. Photograph. Courtesy of Richard Hidaka.
Photograph: James Numata. Rainbow Food Market, 218 West North Avenue; George Takaki, Lilly Kaneko Takaki, 1949. 1949. Photograph. Box 21, Folder 16, in the Mary and James Numata Photograph Collection, Collection # 1999.002P. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Photograph: Co-Ed Beauty Salon, 1905 East 53rd Street; Kay Sakamoto and Shizuye Yamayoshi, Co-Owners, 1949. November 1949. Photograph. Box 21, Folder 14, in the Mary and James Numata Photograph Collection, Collection # 1999.002P. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Photograph: James Numata. Personal Radio Television Store; July 1951. 1951. Photograph. Box 2, Folder 174, in the Mary and James Numata Photograph Collection, Collection # 1999.002P. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Advertisement: “Gila River Restaurant Advertisement,” in the Japanese American Yearbook 1947. 1947. Call #: F548 .9 .J3C55 1947, Japanese American Yearbook 1947. Newberry Digital Collections (Newberry Library).
Photograph: Chick sexers, ca. 1949. 1949. Photograph. Box 1, Folder 79, in the Mary and James Numata Photograph Collection, Collection # 1999.002P. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Photograph: By 1960, There Were Nearly 40 Cleaners Owned by Japanese Americans in Chicago. Circa 1940s-1950s. Photograph. Courtesy of Richard Hidaka.
Advertisement: “Diamond Trading Co. Advertisement,” in the Japanese American Yearbook 1947. 1947. Call #: F548 .9 .J3C55 1947, Japanese American Yearbook 1947, Newberry Digital Collections (Newberry Library).

Read tab: “We will strike unless the Japs are removed”

Newspaper: “JAPANESE-AMERICAN WORKMAN.” in The Chicago Defender (National edition) (1921-1967); Chicago, Ill. August 26, 1944. ProQuest document ID#: 492657235, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender.

Supplemental Primary Sources

Interview: Hidaka, Richard. Richard Iwao Hidaka Interview Segment 13. Interview by Tom Ikeda. Video, June 16, 2011. Densho Visual History Collection. Densho Digital Repository.
Collection: National Archives and Records Administration. “Search the Compensation and Reparations for the Evacuation, Relocation, and Internment Index (Redress Case Files).” Archive, February 22, 2017.
Interview: Sakata, Bob Y. Bob Y. Sakata Interview Segment 8, Denver, Colorado. Interview by Daryl Maeda. Video, May 14, 2008. Densho Visual History Collection. Densho Digital Repository.
Document: War Relocation Authority. “WRA Digest of Current Job Offers for Period of Jan. 11 to Feb. 1, 1944, Chicago, Illinois,” January 11, 1944. Local ID: sac_jaac_0815, Japanese American Archival Collection. California State University, Sacramento, Department of Special Collections and University Archives.

Additional Resources

Abe, Frank. “Resistance, Resettlement, Redress.” Case Western Reserve Law Review 68, no. 4 (2018): 1085.
Hiarahara, Naomi. Clark and Division. Soho Crime, 2021.
Kashima, Tetsuden. “Japanese American Internees Return, 1945 to 1955: Readjustment and Social Amnesia.” Phylon (1960-) 41, no. 2 (1980): 107–15.
Nishi, Setsuko Matsunaga. “Japanese American Achievement in Chicago: A Cultural Response to Degradation.” University of Chicago, 1963.
Robinson, Greg. “Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act.” Densho Encyclopedia, October 2020.

A large black binder lays open to a page where business income and expenses are written in cursive in several rows and columns.

Chicago Pictorial Guidebook - Finding Home in Chicago

Watch tab: Facing housing discrimination and bed bugs

Interview: Ben Chikaraishi.Chikaraishi, Ben (10/31/2017). Interview by Anna Takada, October 31, 2017. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center Digital Collections.

Explore tab: Residential and business districts emerge

Map: Erik Matsunaga. “Clark & Division: Japanese Americans on Chicago’s Near North Side, 1940s-1960s.” Clark & Division, Chicago, IL, 2020. Discover Nikkei.
Map: Erik Matsunaga. “Japanese Americans 1940’s-1950’s Chicago Southside Oakland/Kenwood.” 2015. Discover Nikkei.

Read tab: A status report on resettlement

Document: “Progress Report - 1947.” Chicago, IL: The Analysis Committee, The Chicago Resettlers Committee, December 1947. found in Box 2, Folder 1 of the UIC-JASC Papers, Collection # 2006.018, Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center, Chicago, Illinois.

Supplemental Primary Sources

Interview: Mukushina, Susumu. Moving to Chicago. Interview by Anna Takada. Video, September 14, 2017. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) Oral History Project Collections.
Interview: One, Keith. Parents’ difficulties finding housing after the war. Interview by Anna Takada. Video, October 28, 2017. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) Oral History Project Collections.
Document: “Relocation through the Brethren Hostel.” 1945. Brethren Service Committee. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of Yuriko Domoto Tsukada Collection. Accessed February 24, 2022.
Guidebook: “When You Leave the Relocation Center.” Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Shosuke Sasaki Collection. Accessed February 24, 2022.

Additional Resources

Brooks, Charlotte. “In the Twilight Zone between Black and White: Japanese American Resettlement and Community in Chicago, 1942-1945.” The Journal of American History 86, no. 4 (2000): 1655–87.
Copeland, Jeffrey C., and Yan Xu. “In Harmony with American Democracy: The YMCA in California during Japanese American Internment and Resettlement.” In The YMCA at War : Collaboration and Conflict during the World Wars, 177. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018.
Doi, Elizabeth. “What Happens to a Dream Conferred? Japanese American Race, Space, and Place in Chicago, 1945-1965.” Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Chicago, 2016.
Discover Nikkei. “Erik Matsunaga,” November 2020.
Fujibayashi, Virginia. “Occupational and Residential Changes of Chicago’s Japanese American Evacuees.” ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Master’s Thesis, The University of Chicago, 1965. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I (302199429).

A dark navy blue book cover features an aerial photo of the Merchandise Mart building in downtown Chicago, with the title “The Guidebook Chicago 1949” written in both English and Japanese on top of bright orange rectangular blocks.

George’s Letter to Mary - The toll of incarceration on families

Watch tab #1: “I never did see him again”

Interview: Mizuta, Junko. Junko Mizuta interview. Interview by Anna Takada. October 4, 2017. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center.

Watch tab #2: “My father lost his self respect and self worth”

Interview: Mishima, Jean. My father lost his self respect and self worth. Interview by Katherine Nagsawa, October 2021. Full Spectrum Features.

Watch tab #3: “My father was very, very bitter”

Interview: Tsuchiya-Knox, Fumino. Parents' reactions to wartime incarceration. Interview by Anna Takada. Video, November 4, 2017.Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) and Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS).

Supplementary Primary Sources

Interview: Sasaki, May K.Breakdown of Family Structure in Camp. Interview by Lori Hoshino and Alice Ito. Video, October 28, 1997. Courtesy of Densho Digital Repository.
Interview: Fujiyoshi, Jane. Fujiyoshi, Jane (11/12/2017). Interview by Anna Takada. Video, November 12, 2017. Courtesy of Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center Digital Collections. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) Legacy Center Digital Collections.
Interview: Takeo Akagi, Nelson. Community Reactions to FBI Arrests. Interview by Tom Ikeda. Video, June 3, 2008. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Topaz Museum Collection.
Autobiography: Uchima, Keith. “Growing Up Sansei in Chicago.” Voices of Chicago, December 8, 2007.
Letter: DeWitt, John L. “Letter by John L. DeWitt: ‘Separation of Kibei from Nisei,” 23-Aug-42. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.
Letter: McCloy, John J. “Letter from John J. McCloy, Assistant Secretary of War, to Dillon S. Myer ,” 06-Nov-42. Densho Digital Repository, Courtesy of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.

Additional Resources

Asaka, Megan. “Resettlement.” Densho Encyclopedia, October 8, 2020.
Nagasawa, Katherine. “UPROOTED.” Web experience. UPROOTED. Accessed March 1, 2022.
Nakamura, Kelli. “Kenjinkai.” Densho Encyclopedia, June 10, 2015.
Niiya, Brian. “Resettlement in Chicago.” Densho Encyclopedia, October 8, 2020.
Leong, Karen. “Gila River.” Densho Encyclopedia, July 14, 2020.

Works Cited

Visit Mary at School

American flag - Negotiating American Identity

Look tab: Responses to Americanization efforts in camp

Read tab: Demonstrating loyalty through assimilation

Watch tab: “I kind of turned my back on my culture”

Supplementary Primary Sources

Secondary Resources

JA teens with bomber jackets - Building a Young Adult Community

Listen tab: “It was really important that we were all together”

Look tab: From beach volleyball to ballroom dancing

Watch tab: “[We] didn’t feel part of the white community”

Supplementary Primary Sources

Additional Resources

Multiracial cluster of students - Navigating a racially segregated city

Explore tab: Living “in between” Black and white communities

Listen + Look: Growing up in a changing neighborhood

Watch tab: Playing along “color lines”

Supplementary Primary Sources

Additional Resources

Visit Sam at the Cleaners

Photo of Sam’s Farm - Farming despite barriers

Look tab: Forming a Farming Community

Listen tab: “You couldn’t own land or rent land”

Analyze: Anti-Japanese propaganda increases

Supplementary Primary Sources

Additional Resources

Wooden vases - Surviving forced removal and incarceration

Read tab: An Order for Removal

Watch tab: “I had salt coming out of my pores”

Look tab: Life in a desert prison

Supplementary Primary Sources

Additional Resources

Chicago Shimpo - Holding on to Japanese culture

Look tab: Celebrating Japanese culture and community

Read tab: Supporting community elders

Watch tab: Acts of resistance

Supplementary Primary Sources

Additional Resources

Visit Kimiye in her Office

Accounting book - Starting over from scratch

Watch tab: Striving for financial independence

Look tab: Japanese Americans at work

Read tab: “We will strike unless the Japs are removed”

Supplemental Primary Sources

Additional Resources

Chicago Pictorial Guidebook - Finding Home in Chicago

Watch tab: Facing housing discrimination and bed bugs

Explore tab: Residential and business districts emerge

Read tab: A status report on resettlement

Supplemental Primary Sources

Additional Resources

George’s Letter to Mary - The toll of incarceration on families

Watch tab #1: “I never did see him again”

Watch tab #2: “My father lost his self respect and self worth”

Watch tab #3: “My father was very, very bitter”

Supplementary Primary Sources

Additional Resources