Manzanar

https://www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzanar Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten American concentration camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed during World War II from December 1942 to 1945. In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where the US government incarcerated Japanese immigrants ineligible for citizenship and Japanese American citizens during World War II. Manzanar is located on the west side of U.S. Highway 395, 9 miles north of Lone Pine, California and 6 miles south of Independence, CA. Manzanar Visitor Center The Manzanar visitor center offers extensive exhibits, a 22-minute park film, a bookstore, a Junior Ranger program, and an information desk. The Manzanar visitor center is located on the west side of U.S. Highway 395, 9 miles north of Lone Pine, California and 6 miles south of Independence, CA. Barracks in 1942, Manzanar People walk to barracks framed by mountain peaks. 1942 image of barracks at Manzanar Block 15 Barrack 7 Garden Lantern, Manzanar Japanese stone lantern with mountains in background Block 15 Barrack 7 Garden Lantern, Manzanar Historic Entrance Sign, Manzanar Wooden sign with "Mananar War Relocation Center" written on it Historic Entrance Sign, Manzanar Manzanar Guard Tower guard tower with fog and hills in background Reconstructed Manzanar Guard Tower Merritt Park, Manzanar wooden bridge and stonework in foreground with mountains behind Merritt Park, Manzanar Manzanar Cemetery Monument white obelisk with black Japanese characters with stormy mountains beyond Manzanar Cemetery Monument Manzanar Pear Orchard and Mount Williamson flowering pear trees with mountains in background Manzanar Pear Orchard and Mount Williamson Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage crowd surrounds white obelisk with mountains beyond Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage Manzanar Sentry Post stone building with stormy mountains beyond Manzanar Sentry Post 2015 Recipients: George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service Six people and programs received the 2015 Harzog Award for their exceptional volunteer service. Check out their amazing contributions! Young volunteer giving a thumbs up sign Japanese American Life During Incarceration Overseen and operated by the National Park Service, the sites at Manzanar, Tule Lake, and Minidoka were examined by NPS archeologist Jeff Burton and his team between 1993 and 1999, along with the seven other camps and isolation and assembly centers associated with Japanese American incarceration and relocation. Archeologists excavate at Manzanar 2019 Freeman Tilden Award Recipients Congratulations to all the two 2019 recipients of the national Freeman Tilden Awards. Learn more about all their innovative interpretive programs. Three rangers at Manzanar NHS The Barracks Exhibit at Manzanar The Barracks Exhibit at Manzanar National Historic Site is an outstanding example of historical thinking that blends original research with community engagement and public outreach. Laundry hangs on a line over cots in this recreation of a barracks at Manzanar Gerry Enes Gerry Enes has been a Preservation Gardener and Arborist with the NPS since 2004. Since that time, he has cared for the historic vegetation at Manzanar National Historic Site, including more than 60 original fruit trees. The orchards are a critical part of the landscape's story, beginning from the time of the pioneer orchadists to the care of the Japanese-American internees. A man with safety gear prunes a fruit tree. Shaping the System under President George H.W. Bush President George H.W. Bush was an ardent supporter of the national parks. Explore some the parks that are part of the legacy of the presidency of George H.W. Bush, who served as the 41st president of the United States from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993. President George H.W. Bush shaking hands with a park ranger at the World War II Memorial A Brief History of Japanese American Relocation During World War II On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066 empowering the U.S. Army to designate areas from which "any or all persons may be excluded." No person of Japanese ancestry living in the United States was ever convicted of any serious act of espionage or sabotage during the war. Calisthenics at Manzanar Manzanar - A Site of Conscience In 1942, the United States government ordered over 110,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry to leave their homes in California and parts of Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. Under the guise of “military necessity,” the U.S. Army established 10 military-style camps to house the people in remote areas, under guard, for the duration of the war. One of the camps was at Manzanar, in the Owens Valley of eastern California. Manzanar entrance sign Celebrating soils across the National Park System First in a series of three "In Focus" articles that share insights into the near-universal and far-reaching effects of soils on the ecology, management, and enjoyment of our national parks. Fossil soils at Cabrillo National Monument reveal marine deposits JROTC and NPS Collaboration – Expanding Our Stories Over the course of the 2018-19 academic years, the National Park Service’s Washington, DC Office of Interpretation, Education and Volunteers (WASO IEV), with support from Kutztown University, has overseen a series of pilot programs aimed to facilitate unique, place-based learning experiences in national parks for military youth throughout the United States. Using Their Voices: Founding Women of National Parks As we commemorate both the centennial of the 19th Amendment and the 104th birthday of the National Park Service, we’re highlighting a few women who harnessed their public voices to protect powerfully important American places. NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Manzanar National Historic Site, California Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports. monument and mountains A Taste of Home in a Hostile Place Manzanar National Historic Site is the best-preserved of the Japanese American War Relocation Centers operated by the U.S. Government between 1942 and 1945. Incarcerees endured harsh living conditions and created a self-sustainable community by transforming the extreme desert environment into a more livable landscape. Today, historic fruit trees survive from the period as an indication of the resiliency of the incarcerated individuals who cared for them. Leafy fruit trees in an orchard at Manzanar, with tall mountains in the background. Timeline: Japanese Americans during World War II Timeline: Japanese Americans during World War II three black and white photos Executive Order 9066 This is the exact wording of EO 9066. black and white image of Franklin D Roosevelt signing document Glossary of terms related to Japanese American Confinement Glossary of terms related to Japanese American Confinement poster with black writing Timeline: Manzanar 1942-1945 Timeline: Manzanar 1942-1945 black and white image of sign Manzanar Camp Layout Manzanar Camp Layout graphic of a barrack War Relocation Centers War Relocation Centers map of western two thirds of US with confinement sites noted Terminology and the Mass Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II Terminology and the Mass Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II Japanese American man reads newspaper Alice Piper Manzanar is most frequently associated with Japanese incarceration; however, its story stretches back thousands of years as part of the homelands of the Owens Valley Paiute and other Native peoples. Just thirty-four miles from Manzanar, Alice Piper, a 15-year-old Paiute student, made history in 1924 by successfully suing the Big Pine School District to integrate their classrooms and allow Indigenous students to attend their newly built school. Large group of Owens Valley Paiute in front of one-room wooden building in shrubby landscape. Shino Bannai Shino Bannai was incarcerated at Manzanar. Joan Beyers Joan Beyers lived at Manzanar. LaPriel Strong Bush LaPriel Strong Bush lived at Manzanar. Kazuko Tsubouchi Fujishima Kazuko Tsubouchi Fujishima was incarcerated at Jerome and Rohwer. Sue Kunitomi Embrey Sue Kunitomi Embrey was incarcerated at Manzanar. Frederick P Causey Jr Frederick P. Causey, Jr. lived at Manzanar. Paul Bannai Paul Bannai was incarcerated at Manzanar. George Izumi George Izumi was incarcerated at Manzanar. Midori Kunitomi Iwata Midori Kunitomi Iwata was incarcerated at Manzanar. Kazuko Oyamada Iwahashi Kazuko Oyamada Iwahashi was incarcerated at Topaz. Margaret D'Ille Gleason Margaret D'Ille Gleason worked at Manzanar. Fumi Manabe Hayashi Fumi Manabe Hayashi was incarcerated at Topaz. William Hohri William Hohri was incarcerated at Manzanar. Yayoi Okuno Hirashiki Yayoi Okuno Hirashiki was incarcerated at Manzanar. Masaji Mas Inoshita Masaji "Mas" Inoshita was incarcerated at Gila River. Grace Kato Izumi Grace Kato Izumi was incarcerated at Jerome. Eiichi H.E. Kamiya Eiichi H.E. Kamiya was incarcerated at Rohwer. Rosie M. Kakuuchi Rosie M. Kakuuchi was incarcerated at Manzanar. Kazuko Toji Kato Kazuko Toji Kato was incarcerated at Manzanar. Sho Maruyama Sho Maruyama was incarcerated at Manzanar. Ayako Nomura Machida Ayako Nomura Machida was incarcerated at Manzanar. Ralph Lazo Ralph Lazo lived at Manzanar. Tetsuo Kunitomi Tetsuo Kunitomi was incarcerated at Manzanar. Rose B. Kitahara Rose B. Kitahara was incarcerated at Manzanar. Grace Shinoda Nakamura Grace Shinoda Nakamura was incarcerated at Manzanar. Mitsuru J. Nakamura Mitsuru J. Nakamura was incarcerated at Manzanar. Claire Ayako Harada Nakashima Claire Ayako Harada Nakashima was incarcerated at Manzanar. Lillian I. Matsumoto Lillian I. Matsumoto was incarcerated at Manzanar. Bill Nishimura Bill Nishimura was incarcerated at Poston and Tule Lake. George H. Morishita George H. Morishita was incarcerated at Manzanar. Joe Nagano Joe Nagano was incarcerated at Manzanar. Momo Nagano Momo Nagano was incarcerated at Manzanar. Raymond E. Muraoka Raymond E. Muraoka was incarcerated at Manzanar. Aiji Nagano Aiji Nagano was incarcerated at Manzanar. Gloria Hisako Tamura Morita Gloria Hisako Tamura Morita was incarcerated at Tule Lake. Frank Mori Frank Mori was incarcerated at Gila River. Atsufumi Archie Miyatake Atsufumi Archie Miyatake was incarcerated at Manzanar. Albert Mizuhara Albert Mizuhara was incarcerated at Topaz. Mariagnes Aya Uenishi Medrud Mariagnes Aya Uenishi Medrud was incarcerated at Minidoka. Helen Sugiyama Mishima Helen Sugiyama Mishima was incarcerated at Gila River. Shirley Meeder Shirley Meeder lived at Manzanar. Phyllis Yeiko Hirata Mizuhara Phyllis Yeiko Hirata Mizuhara was incarcerated at Poston. Rose Matsui Ochi Rose Matsui Ochi was incarcerated at Rohwer. Joyce Okazaki Joyce Okazaki was incarcerated at Manzanar. Jun Okimoto Jun Okimoto was incarcerated at Manzanar. Robert Katsumasa Okazaki Robert Katsumasa Okazaki was incarcerated in Canada. Sam H. Ono Sam H. Ono was incarcerated at Manzanar. Wilbur Sato Wilbur Sato was incarcerated at Manzanar. Saburo Sasaki Saburo Sasaki was incarcerated at Manzanar. Bo T. Sakaguchi Bo T. Sakaguchi was incarcerated at Manzanar. Mary M. Teramoto Mary M. Teramoto was incarcerated at Jerome and Rohwer. Tadashi Tatsui Tadashi Tatsui was incarcerated at Manzanar. Hikoji Takeuchi Hikoji Takeuchi was incarcerated at Manzanar and Tule Lake. Bill Susumu Taketa Bill Susumu Taketa was incarcerated at Manzanar. Hayao Hy Shishino Hayao Hy Shishino was incarcerated at Gila River. Lawrence Kiyoshi Shinoda Lawrence Kiyoshi Shinoda was incarcerated at Manzanar. Mas Segimoto Mas Segimoto was incarcerated at Manzanar. Daisy Uyeda Satoda Daisy Uyeda Satoda was incarcerated at Topaz. Arthur Loren Williams Arthur Loren Williams lived at Manzanar. Kinichi Watanabe Kinichi Watanabe was incarcerated at Manzanar and Tule Lake. Hank Umemoto Hank Umemoto was incarcerated at Manzanar. Yaeko Munemori Yokoyama Yaeko Munemori Yokoyama was incarcerated at Manzanar. Harry Kiyoto Yasumoto Harry Kiyoto Yasumoto was incarcerated at Gila River. Homer Yasui Homer Yasui was incarcerated at Tule Lake. Lilian Bannai Yamamura Lilian Bannai Yamamura was incarcerated at Manzanar. Kazuyuki Yamamoto Kazuyuki Yamamoto was incarcerated at Manzanar. Jun Yamamoto Jun Yamamoto was incarcerated at Manzanar. Shigeru Yabu Shigeru Yabu was incarcerated at Heart Mountain. Buddhism Under Japanese Incarceration During WWII Religion is crucial to the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Many Japanese Americans turned to their beliefs for comfort in a time of upheaval. Buddhists faced particular challenges. Many American authorities considered Buddhism to be alien, suspicious, and potentially disloyal. Nevertheless, Buddhists held on to their traditions. Their beliefs helped support them through the hardship and injustice of their wartime experience. White obelisk with Japanese characters in front of mountains Series: Women's History in the Pacific West - California-Great Basin Collection Biographies from Northern California, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Nevada Map of northern California, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Nevada 10 Camps, 10 Stories: "Beyond the Barbed Wire" This series will look beyond the historical facts relating to E.O. 9066 and explore the human side of the story. One incarcerate from each of the 10 camps with be highlighted in this year long series. Incarcerated Japanese Americans at Death Valley A lesser-known part of Japanese American history took place right here in Death Valley National Park where the government moved 60 people from the incarceration camp at Manzanar – about 100 miles west – into the abandoned Civilian Conservation Crew (CCC) camp at Cow Creek. Women and children on the steps of a makeshift infirmary. Testing Treatments for Mitigating Climate-Change Effects on Adobe Structures in the National Parks In the US Southwest, climate change is making it harder to preserve historic adobe structures for future generations. Using adobe test walls and rainshower simulators, staff at the Desert Research Learning Center are evaluating the potential for increased erosion, and testing the effectiveness of different treatments methods to protect against it. The results will help park managers tailor their preservation methods to better protect culturally valuable resources. American flag viewed through the remains of an adobe doorway. 2022 Freeman Tilden Award Recipients View recipients of the National Park Service Freeman Tilden Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to the practice of interpretation and education by NPS employees. Two women work with a tree while a young man records audio. Series: Questions of Land, Labor, and Loyalty: Japanese Incarceration and the Munemitsu Family The Munemitsu family’s story intertwines Japanese incarceration, questions of labor and loyalty, and a Mexican American family's fight for equal rights. During World War II, the Munemitsu family was forcibly removed and sent to an incarceration camp. Because the family leased their farm to Gonzalo Mendez, the lead plaintiff of Mendez et al. v. Westminster, et al. (1947), the Munemitsus retained ownership of the farm. To learn more, check out the rest of the Entangled Inequalities project. Black and white photo of Japanese American family gathering to pound rice to make mochi cakes Imagine a Museum Behind Barbed Wire Under the watchful eyes of military police, visitors marvel at desert flora, minerals, insect specimens, and other local objects on display. A visual library with approximately four thousand pictures, models, slides, and diagrams adds to the attraction. Outside the museum, children play at a small zoo complete with local fauna, picnic tables, and a barbeque pit. Five individuals standing outside a wooden building with steps made of wood boards. The Oasis Newsletter: Spring 2022 In this newsletter, you will find our recent project summary on Desert Springs monitoring, staffing updates, highiights and links for an Inventory and Monitoring Division Scientists' training, a feature on fossil monitoring in Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, and our spring and summer field schedule. Two scientists use a leveling rod and a digital level to read water channel elevation. Growing a Legacy: Restoring Manzanar’s Historic Landscapes After Tropical Storm Hilary Dave Goto, arborist at Manzanar National Historic Site. Dave has been awarded a Regional Cultural Resource Award for his role in restoring the historic Japanese and rose gardens at Merritt Park and the adjacent Wilder Apple Orchard. A grandson of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated at Manzanar, Dave sees his work as an important legacy. While he is working to care for the garden that incarcerees built, and the same fruit trees they tended, he is also setting up a legacy. 2023 regional Awards for cultural resources. National Park Service. Pacific West Region. Eiko Yamada's Storage Basket In 1920, Eiko Yamada crossed the Pacific with her two-year old daughter and an ordinary wicker basket that stored her prized silk wedding kimono. She journeyed from Japan to the U.S. to find a new home. Over twenty years later, she carried that basket to Manzanar War Relocation Center. Fearing the government would confiscate it, she cut the kimono into strips and hid it in the basket. The basket reflects the Yamada family's courage in the face of so much loss. Wicker basket with handles and tags, portrait of Japanese American girl. Series: Home and Homelands Exhibition: Loss What does it mean to lose a home or homeland? What are the consequences? The story of the Pacific West is of competing visions of home, and the women who built and sustained the dreams held by their communities. The stories in this thread touch upon many of the darker moments in American history, including colonialism, forced removal, incarceration, war, and death. They show women bravely fought back at the cost of their own lives. Some had no choice but to endure. Thick white paper peeled back to reveal collage of women. Reads Interweaving Living Stories and the Unburied Past: Community Archeology at Manzanar National Historic Site Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps where the US government forcibly relocated people of Japanese descent during World War II. At its peak, Manzanar imprisoned more than 10,000 Japanese Americans of all genders and generations. Although in operation for only a few years, the stories entrenched in the camp’s landscape through cultural materials are profuse, and more and more come into detail with each archeological project undertaken at the site. Overhead view of archeological excavation

Manzanar Manzanar National Historic Site California National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior We could only carry what we could carry, and my suitcase was full of diapers and children’s clothes. Fumiko Hayashida (right) We were judged, not on our own character . . . but simply because of our ethnicity. Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga ONE CAMP • 10,000 LIVES ONE CAMP • 10,000 STORIES is like th h toys it ar’s w n a d laye Manz Kids p ight) in ve), the (r k n a o small t ge (ab ps. n’s Villa 10 cam Childre anage in all he t efore rph hans b only o p r e o h t e r we ult of Many s a res ned thers a ll were confi war, o A . n . io t y ra estr incarce eir anc e of th ECTION; NPS / MANZ LL becaus CO MOTO MATSU LILLIAN In spring 1942, the US Army turned the abandoned townsite of Manzanar, California, into a camp that would confine over 10,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants. Margaret Ichino Stanicci later said, “I was put into a camp as an American citizen, which is against the Constitution because I had no due process. . . . It was only because of my ancestry.” For decades before World War II, politicians, newspapers, and labor leaders fueled anti-Asian sentiment in the western United States. Laws prevented immigrants from becoming citizens or owning land. Immigrants’ children were born US citizens, yet they too faced prejudice. Japan’s December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor intensified hostilities toward people of Japanese ancestry. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, authorizing the military to remove “any or all persons” from the West Coast. Under the direction of Lt. General John L. DeWitt, the Army applied the order to everyone of Japanese ancestry, including over 70,000 US citizens. DeWitt said, “You just can’t tell one Jap from another. . . . They all look the same. . . . A Jap’s a Jap.” They were from cities and farms, young and old, rich and poor. They had only days or weeks to prepare. Businesses closed, classrooms emptied, families and friends separated. Ultimately, the government deprived over 120,000 people of their freedom. Half were children and young adults. Ten thousand were incarcerated at Manzanar. From this one camp came 10,000 stories. TWO FAMILIES • TWO STORIES PIECES FROM THE PAST The photos above evoke life at Manzanar. Left to right: Jerry Fujikawa volunteered for the US Army while confined in Manzanar. • The Takemoto family was among the first to arrive. • Manzanar’s stark landscape inspired artists and poets. • Men, women, and children endured the same living conditions. • Playing with marbles was a popular children’s pastime. • Every person wore a numbered tag to camp. • Fumiko Hayashida carried her daughter Natalie during their forced removal to Manzanar. • Both Japanese and American sports, like judo and baseball, were popular at Manzanar. Before the war, the Miyatake and Maruki families lived near each other in Los Angeles. In Manzanar, they lived in neighboring blocks, yet their experiences were far apart. The Miyatakes’ eldest son Archie met and fell in love with Takeko Maeda. They later married and spent over 70 years together. The Marukis’ eldest daughter Ruby came to Manzanar married and pregnant. She died in the camp hospital on August 15, 1942, along with the twin girls she was delivering. Decades later, Ruby’s youngest sister Rosie said, “My mother never got over it. It just broke her heart.” COURTESY HIKOJI TAKEUCHI; MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND IN- Hundreds attended the Buddhist funeral of Ruby Maruki Watanabe and her twin girls, Diane and Sachiko. DUSTRY, SEATTLE; NPS / MANZ; NATIONAL ARCHIVES / FRANCIS NPS / MANZ, MARUKI FAMILY COLLECTION COURTESY FUJIKAWA FAMILY; NATIONAL ARCHIVES / DOROTHEA LANGE; NPS / MANZ; NATIONAL ARCHIVES / DOROTHEA LANGE; NATIONAL ARCHIVES / FRANCIS STEWART; NPS / MANZ; STEWART; TOYO MIYATAKE / COURTESY ALAN MIYATAKE Among the hardships of Manzanar, the wind and dust storms were some of the most unforgiving and unforgettable. Artist Kango Takamura captured this windy street scene in March 1943. NPS / MANZ, TANAKA FAMILY COLLECTION CONFLICT REMEMBRANCE APOLOGY Why didn’t the government give us the chance to prove our loyalty instead of herding us into camps? Joseph Kurihara It was shocking to your soul, to your spirit, and it took many years for people to talk about it. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston America is strong as it makes amends for the wrongs it has committed . . . we will always remember Manzanar because of that. Sue Kunitomi Embrey People’s diverse reactions to incarceration and conditions in Manzanar often led to conflict, erupting on December 6, 1942. A large crowd gathered to protest the jailing of Harry Ueno. The confrontation escalated and military police fired into the crowd, killing two men and injuring nine others. Soon the consequences of what came to be known as the Manzanar ”riot” reverberated through all ten camps. Government officials issued a controve