Discover Nikkei Logo

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/391/

Memories of dusty conditions at Minidoka incarceration camp

It was very, very dusty. The dust was powdery fine and if I recall, it was about 3 or 4 inches deep. So you just, every time you take a step, you would just have a puff of smoke -- I mean, of dust -- and if you have even the slightest breeze... wow, you're in, like a fog. And when you go to the mess hall to eat, of course, when you chew the food, you can... you can feel the grit of the sand. And it's amazing, even that, you get used to it. I gradually got used to the mixture of sand and food.


Idaho Minidoka (city) United States World War II World War II camps

Date: August 18, 1997

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Lori Hoshino, Stephen Fugita

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Nisei male. Born 1923 in Seattle, Washington. Spent prewar childhood in South Park and Belltown areas of Seattle. Incarcerated at Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, and Minidoka incarceration camp, Idaho. Refused to participate in draft, imprisoned at McNeil Island Penitentiary, Washington, for resisting the draft. Resettled in Seattle.

*The full interview is available Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

James Hirabayashi
en
ja
es
pt
James Hirabayashi

Life in camp as teenager

(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline

en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama

Didn't have rights that whites had

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama

Californians didn't know about evacuation

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama

Conditions of assembly centers

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama

Visit to assembly centers by E. Stanley Jones

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama

Hiding what happened in camp

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama

Issei are hard-working

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama

Arrest of father

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yuri Kochiyama

Camp as a positive thing

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

en
ja
es
pt
Archie Miyatake
en
ja
es
pt
Archie Miyatake

His father describes the importance of photographing camp life

(1924-2016) Photographer and businessman.

en
ja
es
pt
Yukio Takeshita
en
ja
es
pt
Yukio Takeshita

Involvement in JACL

(b.1935) American born Japanese. Retired businessman.

en
ja
es
pt
Grayce Ritsu Kaneda Uyehara
en
ja
es
pt
Grayce Ritsu Kaneda Uyehara

Importance of education in achieving redress for incarceration

(1919-2014) Activist for civil rights and redress for World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.

en
ja
es
pt
Wakako Nakamura Yamauchi
en
ja
es
pt
Wakako Nakamura Yamauchi

Her experience as a Japanese-American schoolchild in Oceanside, California, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor

(1924-2018) Artist and playwright.

en
ja
es
pt
Roy H. Matsumoto
en
ja
es
pt
Roy H. Matsumoto

Finding work in the assembly center

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

en
ja
es
pt
Roy H. Matsumoto
en
ja
es
pt
Roy H. Matsumoto

Train ride to Jerome Relocation Center

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

en
ja
es
pt

Discover Nikkei Updates

CALL FOR VIDEOS
Pass the Food!
Be in our video celebrating Nikkei worldwide. Click to learn how to submit! Deadline extended to October 15!
NIKKEI CHRONICLES #13
Nikkei Names 2: Grace, Graça, Graciela, Megumi?
What’s in a name? Share the story of your name with our community. Submissions close on October 31!
NIMA VOICES
Episode 17
November 12
5pm PDT | 7pm PET
Featured Nima:
Graciela Nakachi
Guest Host:
Enrique Higa

Presented in Spanish