Life Behind Wires

Japanese man holding a child. Shows the living conditions at the internment camps. 

What was daily life for the Japanese people within the internment camps?

One of the recurring themes that I managed to pull out was the importance of family within Japanese culture. The family unit was one of those aspects that were changed during the internment period. It wasn’t rare for families to be separated at the time of internment. Some families if they were lucky enough if stayed together throughout the internment process. But the central theme of family was still very prevalent in Japanese culture.   

  A few examples of how the family is portrayed in the internment camps is the close-knit living style in the barrack systems. Families shared barracks and the idea of private space was non-existent in the camps. In one of my sources that I read was that families were at times placed with complete strangers. This was common because of the number of internees who were at the camps was higher than a number of actual living spaces available. The camps took in more people than they could handle. Japanese families ranged from about 3 people; husband, wife and one child to as many as 5 or more. This could include the elderly in-laws, several children or other family relatives. To be placed in tight living quarters at times with complete strangers was not the ideal living situations for most people at the camps.

Japanese boy. Playing football at one of the internment camps.

America what is our sin/ on you our hopes we pin
Don’t let color lines be drawn
for, evil will be the spawn,
and victory for democracy
will lead to an autocracy
the rule of class, or wealth and race,
The rule of guns and bombs and mace
and endless years of constant wars
and dying men by countless scores.
Without a single thought of hate
a hundred thousand strong we wait
Waiting for the call to sound
saying – freedom has won its round.

~Young Man At Rohwer

Japanese children at one of the internment camps. Two young girls holding hands.

Our houses are only barracks -
walled with black tar-paper, so the big and little knot-holes
won’t show from the outer road
Outside there are no drifts of wholesome snow
but the dust piling up in dirt heaps
against the smeared black tar paper of our walls.

~ Young Girl at Camp