Internet Resources

The websites below provide a helpful starting point for learning more about the wartime incarceration of Japanese and Japanese Americans at Puyallup and elsewhere. Each has a wide range of historical materials and educator resources, as well as suggestions for further reading and research.

Densho

Densho is a nonprofit organization that documents the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II. In addition to a name registry covering incarcerees of the ten permanent concentration camps, as well as lesson plans and other educational materials, Densho has developed several unique digital resources:

• Densho Digital Repository is an online archive with thousands of historic photographs, documents, newspapers, letters and other primary source materials that give insight into the experience of Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans immigration to the WWII incarceration and its aftermath. The website also features a large collection of video interviews with survivors and others making it possible to hear about forced removal and wartime incarceration from those who lived it.
• Densho Encyclopedia covers key concepts, people, events, and organizations that played a role in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans   during World War II. The website includes over 1,700 articles, enhanced with photos, documents and video.
• Sites of Shame is an interactive map for exploring the detention facilities that held the more than 125,000 Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated and the journeys of families from their homes to these sites.

The National Park Service

The Japanese American Confinement project of the National Park Service (NPS) provides a range of educational resources, as well as links to the websites for specific camps that are now National Historic Sites under the auspices of the NPS. The webpages for each site include educational materials and suggested readings and videos.

The National Archives

The National Archives hosts a wide range of digital materials on the incarceration of Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War II. In addition to videos, educator resources, and government records, the website also features a searchable database for researching individuals and families to find out where they were living before the war and which concentration camps they were sent to. Through the website, visitors can also find additional guidance and support for carrying out genealogical research.

Books

Below is list of books that deal specifically with the experience of Washington residents of Japanese descent. It is by no means an exhaustive or definitive list, and we encourage you to explore other recommendations to gain a more balanced perspective of this dark chapter in America’s history. While most of the books deal with the Japanese community in Seattle, and therefore incarceration at Puyallup and Minidoka, they also address experiences in other communities – including the Puyallup and Yakima Valleys – and wartime experiences of other temporary and permanent concentration camps, including Portland, Heart Mountain, and Tule Lake.

For additional suggestions, Densho’s website has a curated list of age-appropriate books about Japanese incarceration.

• WE HEREBY REFUSE: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration, graphic novel, 2021, by Frank Abe and Tamiko Namura The graphic novel profiles three individuals – Jim Akutsu, Hiroshi Kashiwagi, and Mitsuye Endo – who each resisted wartime incarceration in different ways, standing up for their constitutional rights in the face of wartime hysteria and racial prejudice. It deals with themes of draft refusal, legal challenges to wartime incarceration, and resistance to the loyalty oath. Jim Akutsu was himself born in Seattle and was a student at the University of Washington when the war broke out. As such, his story deals with incarceration at both Puyallup and Minidoka.

• No-No Boy, novel, 1957, by John Okada The novel tells the story of a protagonist who was a so-called ‘No-No Boy’, answering ‘no’ to questions 27 and 28 of the War Relocation Authority’s loyalty questionnaire. Beginning with the protagonist’s return to Seattle after two years in a concentration camp, followed by two years in federal prison for refusing to be drafted into military service, the novel deals with themes of civil rights as well as family dynamics in the aftermath of the war. The author, John Okada, was himself incarcerated at Puyallup and Minidoka before being drafted to serve in the war.

• Cho’s Story: From the Eyes of a Nisei Son, memoir, by Choichi Shimizu Born and raised in the Puyallup Valley and incarcerated at both Puyallup and Minidoka as a young child, Shimizu’s memoir deals with life in the region before the war, experiences at both concentration camps, as well as what it was like returning to the area after the war.

• Those Who Helped Us, graphic novel, by Ken Mochizuki and Kiku Hughes The authors tell the story of incarceration from the perspective of a 14-year-old child forced to leave her home in Seattle to be incarcerated with her family at Minidoka. Although a fictional story based on real events, the book profiles several real-life individuals and their acts of charity and solidarity with their Japanese friends and neighbors.

• Baseball Saved Us, graphic novel, by Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee Inspired by actual events, the graphic novel deals with incarceration at Minidoka from an 8-year-old child’s perspective. It gives readers a sense of how children experienced the trauma of incarceration, how it affected their sense of identity, and how they found ways to cope with imprisonment through activities to boost morale in the concentration camp.

• We are Not Strangers, graphic novel, by Josh Tuininga A fictional story inspired by events that involved his family, Tuininga’s graphic novel takes place in Seattle during World War II, with the story centering on the relationship between two men who were both immigrants – one Japanese, the other a Sephardic Jew. The story gives insight into the acts of kindness and bonds between Japanese and other immigrant communities, providing an example of the personal sacrifices and risks that some people took to look after their friends’ property and businesses in the face of social pressure. These exceptional acts often made a significant difference for families, making it possible to return to their homes and rebuild their lives after years spent in concentration camps.

• Bouncing Back: Community, Resilience, and Community, memoir, by Isao Fujimoto The book provides insight into the experiences of families living in Central Washington, specifically the Yakima Valley, where Fujimoto and his family farmed land in Wapato, on the Yakama Indian Reservation. The book deals with his experiences of being incarcerated with his family as an 8-year-old, at both Heart Mountain and Tule Lake, as well as reflections on life after the war and how the family started anew.