The donor's father made this lamp while in Manzanar Relocation Center. Many internees made furniture and other interior decorations from the limited materials available to them at the camps. This particular object was constructed out of orange boxes, twigs from trees growing around Manzanar, burlap scraps from the camouflage net factory at the camp, and glass from a broken windowpane.
This Butsudan-Buddhist altar was made from scrap lumber in Jerome Relocation Center in Arkansas. Buddhism was among the religions that was practiced in the internment camps. However, it was not formally recognized in the camp or marked with a specific house of worship within the internment camp grounds. This altar would have been kept in the barracks and used privately.
Despite the harsh treatment, incarcerated Japanese Americans still participated in American society. Buying savings bonds were one way that these imprisoned individuals could show their support.
This carving demonstrates the artistic skill that many incarcerated Japanese American possessed. Internees found a way to express their emotions through their talents. Many objects made in the internment camps revealed and represented the resilience of these imprisoned people.
This object is an example of kobu art, in which roots and trunks of trees provide natural sculptures. Some artists left the kobu looking natural, while others carved or painted the piece to use for other purposes. This particular kobu functioned as a vase.
This pin was made in Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas. Crafts like this pin served to create or reinforce connections and relationships between people imprisoned at the camps. On the back of this pin, featuring two lovebirds perched on a heart, are the initials "HGK/45". Perhaps in 1945, someone gave this pin to their sweetheart as a token of love and affection.
The Rohwer High School National Honor Society created these posters to advertise a war stamp and bond drive they were hosting. Although these people were being imprisoned by the government, they still held events to support the war effort and promote their patriotism.
Although most Japanese American families spent Christmas behind barbed wire, the internment camp communities tried to keep some semblance of normal life by creating Christmas decorations for their homes and for each other. This card was made in Topaz Relocation Center in Utah.
These identification cards were issued to residents of the internment camps. In order to exercise control and maintain surveillance over the population, internees were given family numbers and their physical characteristics were recorded.
In 1943, Akio Ujihara along with another internee found a large meteorite just 16 miles west of Topaz Relocation Center at the Drum Mountains. The pair was searching for rocks to use in jewelry when they discovered the 1,164 pound meteorite. Ujihara, who had received a degree from Polytechnic Engineering College at Oakland prior to internment, asserted that this was a unique find that should be studied by the Smithsonian Institution. The meteorite was shortly thereafter delivered into the museum’s possession, and is today in the Natural History Museum’s Collections.
In order to understand the circumstances of the rejection letter, Kinji wrote to a friend already at Yale University. The friend’s reply on August 13, 1945 stated that for the moment, Kinji’s chances of acceptance to Yale were dismal. Although the Chairman of Admissions personally did not agree with the extreme measures affecting Kinji, he had to comply with them. However, the letter contained suggestions from the Dean of Yale on how to work around these severe impediments.
This Relocation Notice documents the heavily restricted life that internees had behind barbed wire. Fresno Assembly Center was in use from May 6 to October 30, 1942, with a peak population of 5,120.
Rigid structures of control were in place during the incarceration of thousands of Japanese Americans. Every movement inside the barbed wire fences of relocation centers were watched by guards, while movements outside of the camps were heavily documented and reinforced with strict time allowances.
Despite his large efforts to get into Yale University, Kinji ultimately chose to study at Harvard University. On October 25, 1945, he formally wrote Yale to withdraw his name from the applicants list.