Research Guides
Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest: World War II Era
A guide to select primary materials relating to the Japanese-American community in the Pacific Northwest available in Special Collections.
Image Collections
Image: Sketch of Camp Harmony by Eddie Sato, 1942
Some of the images in these collections have been digitized and are linked from the collection guide. Other digitized images relating to the Nikkei community can be found in the UW Digital Collections.
- Japanese Internment Camp Photograph Collection circa 1942-1946PH Collection 793. Small collection of photographs of Tule Lake. See digitized images.
- Forrest E. LaViolette Slides and Photographs Apr. 1 to Oct. 1, 1943PH Collection 522. Small collection of color photographs of Heart Mountain. See digitized images.
- Shigeru Osawa Collection of Minidoka Interlude Photographs 1942-1945PH Collection 745. Group portraits of Block residents and other groups in Minidoka. See digitized images.
- Eddie Sato Camp Harmony Sketchbook and Drawings 1942PH Collection 664. Collection of charcoal and pen and ink drawings of the Puyallup Assembly Center. Also see Eddie Sato Comic Strip and Camp Harmony Drawings, 1942-1985. See digitized images.
Oral Histories
The most extensive collection of oral history interviews dealing with the Nikkei experience during World War II are available online via Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project.
- Dee Goto Oral History Collection, 1970-1971Acc. 2647-001. Interviews with first-generation Japanese-Americans about their lived experiences in Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest before, during, and after World War II.
- Gordon K. Hirabayashi Oral History Interviews 1981-1990Acc. 3159. 8.5 hours of interviews with transcripts.
- Oral history interview with George Iseri, 1971Acc. 2467-001. Interview dealing with Iseri's incarceration at Tule Lake.
- Robert W. O'Brien InterviewAcc. 2420. One hour interview of the UW staff member who worked with transferring Nikkei students to other colleges.
- Floyd Schmoe InterviewInterview focuses on Schmoe's work with Japanese Americans during World War II.
Other Material Available in the UW Libraries
The UW Libraries has an extensive collection of secondary sources and published primary sources dealing with the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II including camp newspapers, digitized, printed and microfilmed collections of WRA (War Relocation Authority) documents, and memoirs. For additional material see the Japanese Americans During World War II.
- Japanese-American Relocation Camp Newspapers: Perspectives on Day-to-Day Life This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Selected Archival Collections: Personal Papers
These collections of personal papers contain substantial material on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Additional collections can be found by searching Archives West. Selected material in some collections are available online.
- Emery E. Andrews Papers 1925-1969Acc. 1908. Papers of the Seattle Japanese Baptist Church pastor who followed his congregation to Idaho during the war.
- Arthur G. Barnett Papers 1920-1997Acc. 1598. Papers (including correspondence, interviews, and clippings) documenting the lawyer's support of Japanese Americans including Gordon Hirabayashi. See digitized documents.
- Ella Evanson Scrapbooks 1941-1974Acc. 2402. Scrapbooks contain letters and essays written by Nikkei junior high students following Pearl Harbor. These letters form the basis of the book, Wherever I Go, I Will Always Be a Loyal American: Schooling Seattle's Japanese Americans during World War II. See digitized documents.
- Mary Farquharson Papers 1931-1981Acc. 0397-005. Papers of the civil rights activist, includes correspondence and material on Gordon Hirabayashi. See digitized documents.
- Yoshito Fujii Papers 1942-1945Acc. 1582-002. Papers of the Minidoka Relocation Center's Community Council chairman include minutes, memos, reports and correspondence dealing with everyday working of the camp.
- Toshiyuki Fukushima Correspondence and PapersAcc. 5554-001. Correspondence of a UW student related to WWII Japanese American student relocation during his incarceration at Minidoka.
- Betty Fukuyama Papers 1940-1992Acc. 4411. Papers of the writer and minister's wife includes correspondence between Betty and her future husband Tom Fukuyama while he served as a minister in Minidoka.
- Harry R. Hatate Papers, 1943-1952Acc. 4513. The papers document complaints of Issei residents at the Minidoka Relocation Center and a meeting with the National War Relocation Authority Director, Dillon Myer. Also included are minutes and correspondence concerning a labor dispute of maintenance workers in late 1943 and early 1944.
- Higano Family Papers 1934-1963Acc. 2870. Collection includes family correspondence in Japanese and in English while some members were incarcerated in Minidoka. See digitized documents.
- Gordon K. Hirabayashi Papers, 1934-2012Acc. 3159. Papers include oral history interviews, correspondence and other material dealing with his incarceration during WWII, the US Supreme Court case, Hirabayashi v. United States, postwar life and the Coram Nobis case. See digitized documents and photographs.
- Hiroyuki Ichihara Papers 1942Acc. 4761. Microfilmed collection of papers dealing with the day to day management of the Puyallup Assembly Center.
- Joseph Koide Papers, 1941-1943Acc. 4223. Reports and ephemera relating to the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II. Includes camp newspapers and reports, particularly those from the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. See digitized documents.
- Iwao Matsushita papers, 1895-1979Acc. 2718. Papers include correspondence between Matsushita and his wife during WWII; selected correspondence translated and published in the book, Imprisoned apart: the World War II correspondence of an Issei couple. See digitized documents.
- Minoru Masuda papers, 1935-1984Acc. 2925-004. Papers including correspondence of a Nikkei medic who served in the 442nd Combat Unit; selected letters published in the book, Letters from the 442nd: the World War II correspondence of a Japanese American medic. Postwar papers cover activities in the JACL and more.
- S. Frank Miyamoto Collection, 1942Acc. 2485-001. Ephemera related to the incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West Coast in 1942. See digitized documents.
- Ring Family Papers ca. 1941-1985Acc. 4241. Papers of the civil rights activists include correspondence with many Nikkei including Gordon Hirabayashi. See digitized documents.
- James Y. Sakamoto Papers 1928-1955Acc. 1609. Papers of the publisher of the Japanese American Courier, JACL president and "Chief Supervisor" of the Puyallup Assembly Center. See digitized documents.
- Floyd Wilfred Schmoe Papers and Oral History Interviews, 1903-1999Acc. 0496-008. Papers of the park ranger, UW forestry instructor and humanitarian; during WWII Schmoe worked with the American Friends Committee to aid Nikkei to leave the camps and find jobs or transfer to colleges.
- Charles Theodore Takahashi Papers 1903-1959Acc. 3542. Papers document the local Nikkei businessman's attempt to maintain is businesses while incarcerated. See digitized documents.
Selected Archival Collections: Organizational Records
These collections of organizational records contain substantial material on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Additional collections can be found by searching Archives West. Selected material in some collections are available online.
- American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Records, approximately 1917-2019Acc. 1177-013. Records of the ACLU include those regarding Japanese American legal cases during WWII.
- American Friends Service Committee, Midwest Branch, Advisory Committee for Evacuees 1942-1963Acc. 4791-001. Records of the Quaker organization that aided Nikkei leaving the incarceration camps (relocation centers) to find jobs and attend college.
- Church Council of Greater Seattle Records 1913-2003Acc. 1358; Records of the group include those opposing the incarceration and providing support to incarcerated Nikkei. See digitized documents.
- Japanese-American Citizens League, Seattle Branch Records 1921-2010Acc. 0217. Records include those of the Emergency Defense Council, the JACL group created in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor that worked with the War Relocation Authority when incarceration became inevitable. See digitized documents.
- Records of the United States War Relocation Authority Central Utah Project 1941-1945Acc. 0056. Topaz Relocation Center reports include internal memos, correspondence and an almost complete run of the Topaz Times.
- United States, Wartime Civil Control Administration records, 1942Acc. 0977, 1416, 5411. Documents and posters including an extensive run of Exclusion Notices and Instructions for the evacuation and relocation of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast from 1942.