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Densho

@denshoproject.bsky.social

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Preserves and shares history of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans to promote equity and justice today.

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Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · Aug 21

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...

Photo of a Japanese American man holding a young child and pointing to a barbed wire fence at the former Tule Lake concentration camp in 1974. Text reads, 'Safeguarding our collective memory.'

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 4h

Our first community scanning day outside of Washington was a great success in making connections, having good conversations, and broadening the scope of stories we share. We look forward to bringing community scanning to more cities across the country!

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 4h

Using our new mobile digitization set-up, we were able to scan three collections that included photographs, government documents, and even a modern handmade quilt. We were also able to connect with many families who could not bring materials to San Antonio to preserve their family histories in DDR.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 4h

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

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 2d

Images:

1) Poston camp. 1942-1945. Frank Miwa Collection, Densho & JANM.
2) Henry Welsh. 1942. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, Densho.
3) Gila River camp. 1942. Courtesy of Sata Family Collection, Densho.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 2d

By acknowledging these legacies, we commit not only to remembrance but to action.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 2d

Indigenous Peoples’ Day reminds us that our shared history is not just something to reflect on—it is a call to action. Let’s honor this day by learning about these intersecting histories, supporting Indigenous communities and campaigns, and engaging in critical education work.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 2d

Overlapping histories of displacement, confinement, and forced assimilation reflect broader patterns of systemic racism and settler-colonial violence. These histories also occurred at some of the same sites: Fort Sill—a former Native boarding school and WWII confinement site for Japanese Americans.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 2d

We honor the original stewards of this land and recognize how wartime camps used to incarcerate Japanese Americans were built on Native lands, including several Indigenous reservations. Indigenous peoples — including Alaska Natives with mixed Japanese ancestry—were also incarcerated during WWII.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 2d

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.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 4d

Discover how our DDR helps keep memory alive — one story, one record, one search at a time. Read more about this topic: densho.org/catalyst/edu...

An Educator’s Guide to Searching the Densho Digital Repository - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment

October is American Archives Month, which means it’s a perfect time to highlight how educators and students can use Densho’s archive to teach and learn about Japanese American wartime…

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 4d

Ready to dig in?
1️⃣ Use “Search” (with keywords) for something specific
2️⃣ Use “Browse” to explore broad themes
3️⃣ Navigate easily with oral history segments — watch, read, or download
4️⃣ Use the preferred citation and/or “courtesy line”
5️⃣ Check permissions and licensing

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 4d

As Sara explains: “AI is only as smart as the information it scrapes. If it scrapes something inaccurate, it can repeat it as fact. Garbage in, garbage out . . . AI is a tool, but it can’t replace careful research.”

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 4d

You can access hundreds of oral histories, photographs, diaries, and other archival materials to teach, learn, and discover voices from the past in DDR. It isn’t just about finding information — it’s about building critical thinking and media literacy skills in an age of AI and misinformation.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 4d

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.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 5d

Join us for Densho’s Fall Fundraiser Remembering Resistance to hear more from Kathy Masaoka, as well as Don Tamaki and traci kato-kiriyama, as they reflect on the legacy of Redress and its lessons for today. Register at densho.org/remembering-...

Remembering Resistance

November 5, 2025 @ 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 5d

Listen to Kathy’s full oral history to learn more about her involvement in the Redress Movement—how she coordinated rides for Issei community members to attend the hearings and prepared her own testimony by calling relatives to learn more about her family’s history.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 5d

In this oral history clip, Kathy reflects on attending the hearings and witnessing community members break decades of silence. She recalled, “Everybody was very serious about it… you knew it was very important. People were speaking for the first time, so it was very momentous.”

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 5d

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.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 6d

Read more from guest contributor Rob Buscher for 10 little-known facts that uncover the hidden history of America’s last WWII concentration camp: densho.org/catalyst/lit...

10 Little-Known Facts About the Crystal City Family Internment Camp - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment

Guest post by Rob Buscher Located in South Texas about 80 miles southwest of San Antonio and 40 miles east of the Mexican border, Crystal City Family Internment Camp opened...

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 6d

From its German beer hall to its layered history of wartime incarceration, migrant labor, and the Chicano Movement, Crystal City holds stories that few Americans know.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 6d

Conceived of as a “family internment camp,” some of the Issei arrested under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 were eventually transferred and reunited with their families here.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 6d

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.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 9d

Our mission is rooted in our name. Densho is a Japanese term meaning “to pass on to the next generation,” or to leave a legacy. Our legacy is an American story with ongoing relevance: during World War II, the United States government incarcerated innocent people solely because of their ancestry.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 9d

Examples include but are not limited to Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor Was Divine and George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy. Also, don't forget Scholastic’s attempt to remove all mentions of racism from the author’s note within Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall.

Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 9d

The stories facing the highest rates of censorship are those that center Black, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, and other marginalized experiences, and the history of Japanese American wartime incarceration has not slipped unscathed by this fearful and xenophobic censorship.