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243 articles
Looking After Minidoka: An American Memoir (book)
- Books
- Memoir
- Change versus tradition, Coming of age, Displacement, Female roles, Growing up - pain or pleasure, Immigrant experience, Love and sacrifice, Overcoming - fear, weakness, vice, Power of tradition, Will to survive
- Available
A third-generation Japanese American shares the multi-generational story of both sides of his family, from immigration to the aftermath of Pearl Harbor and wartime incarceration, to resettlement and his own childhood.
Looking Like the Enemy: My Story of Imprisonment in Japanese-American Internment Camps (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Memoir, Children's
- Evils of racism, Facing darkness, Family – blessing or curse, Injustice, Loss of innocence, Power of the past
- Widely available
Incarceration memoir of life at Pinedale Assembly Center , Tule Lake , and Minidoka , by Mary Matsuda Gruenewald, a seventeen-year-old Nisei at the time of her and her family's forced removal from their Washington state farm. First published in 2005 by NewSage Press, it was followed by a young reader's edition in 2010.
Lucky Ears: The True Story of Ben Kuroki, World War II Hero (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5
- Children's, Biography
- Patriotism – positive side or complications, Role of men, Heroism – real and perceived, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
- Widely available
Biography of Nisei war hero Ben Kuroki , written for a fourth grade audience.
The Lucky Baseball: My Story in a Japanese-American Internment Camp (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 3-5
- Historical fiction, Children's
- Coming of age, Displacement, Identity crisis
- Available
A Japanese American boy is forcibly removed from his home in Southern California and incarcerated in a concentration camp but learns important life lessons through continuing to play baseball.
Made in Japan and Settled in Oregon (book)
- Books
- Memoir
- Coming of age, Displacement, Evils of racism, Facing reality, Growing up - pain or pleasure, Isolation
- Available
An Oregon-born Nisei woman shares her family's story, including her parents' efforts to establish a farm in Hood River, her childhood, and the impact of being taken from their home and incarcerated during World War II.
Manzanar and Beyond (book)
- Books
- Memoir
- Coming of age, Disillusionment and dreams, Displacement, Importance of community, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal
- Available
Prominent Nisei attorney recounts his life, including his experiences as the administrator of the hospital at Manzanar concentration camp and his role in landmark legal battles advocating for redressing injustices experienced by Japanese Americans.
Manzanar Daze and Cold Nights (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Memoir
- Desire to escape, Importance of community, Reunion
- Available
Posthumously published memoir by a Nisei man about his years at Manzanar during World War II.
Manzanar Rites (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Fiction, History
- Coming of age, Evils of racism, Rights - individual or societal, Vulnerability of the strong
- Limited availability
Coming of age novel by William Hohri about two teenage boys from West Los Angeles who end up at Manzanar with their families.
Mei Ling in China City (book)
- Books
- Widely available
Mei Ling In China City (2008) by Icy Smith tells the story of 12-year-old Chinese American Mei Ling Lee who lives in China City, an "old Chinatown" in Los Angeles which does not survive today. Mei Ling is lonely because her best friend Yayeko Akiyama was sent to Manzanar . The girls write to each other over the course of the war—the book includes handwritten correspondence between them—but they lose touch after the war is over. The main focus of the story is Mei Ling's determination to raise the most funds for the United China Relief campaign, which sought funds for food and medical supplies for war victims in mainland China. Her wish is to present the grand prize to Yayeko upon her return to China City. Based on a true story, the real Mei Ling still hopes to find her friend Yayeko again someday.
Memoirs of a Certain Nisei (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Memoir
- Empowerment, Patriotism – positive side or complications, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Available
Posthumously published memoir by Kibei war hero Thomas Taro Higa , translated from its original Japanese and published in 1988. The vast majority of the book covers events taking place during World War II.
Missing in Action (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8
- Historical fiction
- Coming of age, Companionship as salvation, Displacement, Forgiveness, Identity crisis
- Available
A part-Navajo teenager moves with his mother to her hometown of Delta, Utah, and his struggle to find his own identity is aided by his friendship with Ken, a Japanese American teenager, who refuses to allow his family's incarceration at nearby Topaz defeat his spirit.
Morning Glory, Evening Shadow: Yamato Ichihashi and His Internment Writings, 1942-1945 (book)
- Books
- Non fiction
- Disillusionment and dreams, Family - blessing or curse
- Available
The incarceration experiences of Yamato Ichihashi , the first endowed chair of East Asian Studies at Stanford University, and his wife, Kei, as told through their own words.
The Moved-Outers (book)
- Books
- Widely available
Landmark novel for teenagers by Florence Crannell Means about a Japanese American family's forced removal and incarceration that was published in 1945 by Houghton Mifflin. One of the most popular and acclaimed writers of children's books at that time, Means' book was a runner up for the John Newbery Medal in 1946, the most prestigious award for children's literature.
Roy Sato, New Neighbor (book)
- Books
- Widely available
Children's book published in 1955 centering on Roy Sato, a ten-year-old Sansei , in the months after his move from Little Tokyo in Los Angeles to a nearby suburban area. Despite its descriptions of racism and its publication just ten years after the end of World War II, the book makes no mention of the wartime exclusion and confinement of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast, presumably including the Sato family.
Nisei Odyssey: The Camp Years (book)
- Books
- Memoir
- Displacement, Facing reality, Injustice, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Limited availability
Nisei's recollections of his experiences incarcerated in an assembly center and concentration camp during World War II as well as a recounting of various stories he remembers hearing from others both before and during the war.
My Life with a Thousand Characters (book)
- Books
- Memoir
- Coming of age, Expression through art, Overcoming - fear, weakness, vice
- Available
The creator of numerous Hanna-Barbera characters including those from Scooby Doo tells his life story, including his childhood as a Nisei in Los Angeles and his experience incarcerated at Manzanar concentration camp.
My Name Is Yoshiko (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Memoir
- Names – power and significance, Optimism – power or folly, Role of women, Working class struggles
- Available
Memoir of an ordinary Nisei woman that includes her wartime incarceration in American concentration camps. Yoshiko Kawaguchi (born in 1921) was the eldest daughter in a farm family in Downey, California. After attending sewing school, World War II hits and the family ends up in the horse stalls of Santa Anita , then in the Rohwer , Arkansas, concentration camp. Resettling in Michigan, she eventually gets a job at a fancy restaurant. She meets and marries a Nisei from Kaua'i and settles in Chicago, where her sisters and parents also eventually settle. Her husband becomes a mail carrier, and they adopt a girl. Later, they move to back to Downey and retire in Kaua'i.
Passing It On--A Memoir (book)
- Books
- Memoir
- Coming of age, Overcoming - fear, weakness, vice, Rebirth, Rights - individual or societal
- Available
Leading human rights activist reflects on her life, including her insulated childhood and the wartime incarceration experience that awakened her lifelong commitment to advocacy for all marginalized peoples.
Reluctant Samurai: Memoirs of an Urban Planner (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Memoir
- Family – blessing or curse, Fulfillment, Importance of community, Progress – real or illusion
- Limited availability
Memoir by a Nisei man that recounts his agricultural upbringing, his time in American concentration camps, and his postwar career as an urban planner who was a key figure in the redevelopment of downtown Los Angeles.
Stanley Hayami, Nisei Son (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Memoir
- Evils of racism, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Role of men, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
Book built around the wartime diary and letters of Stanley Hayami that document his incarceration at the Heart Mountain , Wyoming, concentration camp and his military service in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team .
Hello Maggie! (book)
- Books
- Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
- Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
- Children's, Picture Book
- Companionship as salvation, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Loss of innocence
- Widely available
Autobiographical children's picture book about a pet bird who enlivens a Japanese American family's confinement in a World War II concentration camp.
Home of the Brave (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
- Children's
- Injustice, Knowledge versus ignorance, Power of the past, Progress – real or illusion
- Widely available
Children's picture book by Allen Say inspired by the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Heroes (book)
- Books
- Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
- Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
- Children's, Picture Book
- War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Growing up - pain or pleasure, Heroism - real and perceived
- Widely available
Children's picture book by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee about a young boy facing Asian stereotypes and bullying in the postwar years. Donnie Okada is continually made to play the part of the "enemy" in war games with friends, even as he tries to explain that his father and uncles served on the American side. A school visit by Donnie's father and uncle in their uniforms and medals changes the way he and his friends view their histories.
America's Betrayal (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8
- Fiction, History
- Coming of age, Companionship as salvation, Everlasting love, Evils of racism, Female roles, Losing hope, Will to survive
- Limited availability
Young adult novel by Jodi Icenoggle written in the first person voice of Margaret Yamaguchi, a high school sophomore and aspiring writer in Valle Verde in coastal California. Her father runs a successful orchard and oversees a happy family that includes Margaret's mother, an older brother Robert, and younger brother Timmy. She has also started going steady with John Wilson, star athlete of Valle Verde High. But her happy life is slowly torn apart by the outbreak of war. As anti-Japanese sentiment rises after the attack on Pearl Harbor, so do tensions at the high school, particularly for an interracial couple like John and Margaret. Inevitably, the Yamaguchis get sent first to the Salinas Assembly Center , then to Poston , while John gets drafted. As family tragedies ensue, Margaret comes of age in the concentration camp, starting a camp newspaper and waiting for John to come back. But will …
Remembering Manzanar: Life in a Japanese Relocation Camp (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8
- Grades 7-8
- Young Adult, History
- Evils of racism, Injustice, Power of the past, Reunion, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
Book for younger children about the Manzanar concentration camp.