Densho
@denshoproject.bsky.social
Preserves and shares history of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans to promote equity and justice today.
Coming up on 30 years, Densho is grateful for your ongoing support allowing us to safeguard our shared history. Preserving historical materials, like these photos, would not be possible without you.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Densho Staff!
Happy Thanksgiving from the Densho Staff!
November 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Coming up on 30 years, Densho is grateful for your ongoing support allowing us to safeguard our shared history. Preserving historical materials, like these photos, would not be possible without you.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Densho Staff!
Happy Thanksgiving from the Densho Staff!
Together, we can ensure that family stories are preserved for future generations.
Join now: densho.org/historykeepers
Join now: densho.org/historykeepers
History Keepers Society - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
densho.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Together, we can ensure that family stories are preserved for future generations.
Join now: densho.org/historykeepers
Join now: densho.org/historykeepers
If you sign up to make a monthly donation before the end of the year, we’ll send you a special thank-you gift: a custom sticker set designed by artist Kiku Hughes, featuring all ten War Relocation Authority camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated.
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
If you sign up to make a monthly donation before the end of the year, we’ll send you a special thank-you gift: a custom sticker set designed by artist Kiku Hughes, featuring all ten War Relocation Authority camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated.
Help us document and share family stories like Gene’s by joining our History Keepers Society.
History Keepers Society - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
densho.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Help us document and share family stories like Gene’s by joining our History Keepers Society.
With the help of friends, his family was also able to go on picnics in their cars, which contributed to these lasting family memories. These family experiences imparted on Gene a deep sense that cultivating strong family connections is extremely valuable.
November 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
With the help of friends, his family was also able to go on picnics in their cars, which contributed to these lasting family memories. These family experiences imparted on Gene a deep sense that cultivating strong family connections is extremely valuable.
Your gift now helps us keep historical education free, accessible, and rooted in truth.
Help us meet our goal before GivingTuesday — give today at densho.org/givingtuesday.
Help us meet our goal before GivingTuesday — give today at densho.org/givingtuesday.
Join Densho for GivingTuesday to protect our shared history! - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
GivingTuesday is a global movement that empowers people and organizations to transform their communities, and it also launches Densho’s end-of-year giving campaign! Join us on December 2, 2025 for…
densho.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Your gift now helps us keep historical education free, accessible, and rooted in truth.
Help us meet our goal before GivingTuesday — give today at densho.org/givingtuesday.
Help us meet our goal before GivingTuesday — give today at densho.org/givingtuesday.
This past year, we launched a new training program with Minidoka National Historic Site to support NPS park rangers and interns using Densho’s archival materials and educational resources. We’re eager to continue this program with other National Historic Sites.
November 25, 2025 at 5:33 PM
This past year, we launched a new training program with Minidoka National Historic Site to support NPS park rangers and interns using Densho’s archival materials and educational resources. We’re eager to continue this program with other National Historic Sites.
With ongoing staffing and funding cuts across the National Park Service (NPS), Densho is stepping in to make sure educators can continue telling the full, accurate story of WWII incarceration. That’s why we’re aiming to expand our educational programming for NPS staff and other public educators.
November 25, 2025 at 5:33 PM
With ongoing staffing and funding cuts across the National Park Service (NPS), Densho is stepping in to make sure educators can continue telling the full, accurate story of WWII incarceration. That’s why we’re aiming to expand our educational programming for NPS staff and other public educators.
Explore some key moments of the 2025 Crystal City Pilgrimage in this photo essay written by Densho Education & Public Programs Manager Courtney Wai and Executive Director Naomi Ostwald Kawamura.
Read the full article at densho.org/catalyst
Read the full article at densho.org/catalyst
Catalyst - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
densho.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Explore some key moments of the 2025 Crystal City Pilgrimage in this photo essay written by Densho Education & Public Programs Manager Courtney Wai and Executive Director Naomi Ostwald Kawamura.
Read the full article at densho.org/catalyst
Read the full article at densho.org/catalyst
The gathering honored those imprisoned at Crystal City, a Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) facility, including Japanese Latin Americans who were forcibly taken from their homes and who, to this day, have not received redress.
November 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The gathering honored those imprisoned at Crystal City, a Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) facility, including Japanese Latin Americans who were forcibly taken from their homes and who, to this day, have not received redress.
The story is based on an oral history with Aiko Tengan Tokunaga, who offers one interpretation of a complex period of historical violence in which US and Japanese militarism, and centuries of Japanese colonialism, intersect to oppress, subjugate, and destroy Okinawan and Ryukyuan communities.
November 22, 2025 at 12:53 AM
The story is based on an oral history with Aiko Tengan Tokunaga, who offers one interpretation of a complex period of historical violence in which US and Japanese militarism, and centuries of Japanese colonialism, intersect to oppress, subjugate, and destroy Okinawan and Ryukyuan communities.
Together, we can ensure that #UntoldStories like Aiko’s are part of the historical record.
Join now: densho.org/historykeepers
Join now: densho.org/historykeepers
History Keepers Society - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
densho.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Together, we can ensure that #UntoldStories like Aiko’s are part of the historical record.
Join now: densho.org/historykeepers
Join now: densho.org/historykeepers
If you sign up now before the end of the year, we’ll send you a special thank-you gift: a custom sticker set designed by artist Kiku Hughes, featuring all ten War Relocation Authority camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated.
November 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
If you sign up now before the end of the year, we’ll send you a special thank-you gift: a custom sticker set designed by artist Kiku Hughes, featuring all ten War Relocation Authority camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated.
Help us document and share critical stories like this one by making a monthly gift to Densho and joining our History Keepers Society.
History Keepers Society - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
densho.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Help us document and share critical stories like this one by making a monthly gift to Densho and joining our History Keepers Society.
Her family’s survival underscores the resilience of those who endured one of the deadliest battles in the Pacific during WWII, and Aiko’s testimony reveals the importance of preserving these lived histories before they fade.
November 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Her family’s survival underscores the resilience of those who endured one of the deadliest battles in the Pacific during WWII, and Aiko’s testimony reveals the importance of preserving these lived histories before they fade.
Through these layered memories—some her own, many inherited—Aiko paints a stark portrait of the terror, sacrifice, and impossible choices that defined daily life for Okinawan civilians during the war.
November 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Through these layered memories—some her own, many inherited—Aiko paints a stark portrait of the terror, sacrifice, and impossible choices that defined daily life for Okinawan civilians during the war.
Her mother washed diapers only at night in nearby paddies, carrying Aiko on her back while navigating landscapes littered with bodies—“three bodies in every square yard.” Aiko’s sister, age three at the time, vividly remembered fire bazookas shot into caves.
November 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Her mother washed diapers only at night in nearby paddies, carrying Aiko on her back while navigating landscapes littered with bodies—“three bodies in every square yard.” Aiko’s sister, age three at the time, vividly remembered fire bazookas shot into caves.
Her mother feared Aiko would cry, but Aiko was too weak to cry. She recounts devastating stories of parents forced to smother infants or leave them outside to protect others.
November 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Her mother feared Aiko would cry, but Aiko was too weak to cry. She recounts devastating stories of parents forced to smother infants or leave them outside to protect others.
Aiko was an infant during this large-scale air raid and the subsequent Battle of Okinawa, so she shares memories passed down from her mother and sister. During the attacks, her family hid in tombs and deep caves, where crying babies could endanger entire groups by attracting soldiers.
November 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Aiko was an infant during this large-scale air raid and the subsequent Battle of Okinawa, so she shares memories passed down from her mother and sister. During the attacks, her family hid in tombs and deep caves, where crying babies could endanger entire groups by attracting soldiers.
See all openings at densho.org/get-involved/volunteer-jobs
Volunteer & Jobs - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
densho.org
November 19, 2025 at 8:18 PM
See all openings at densho.org/get-involved/volunteer-jobs