Visiting Manzanar National Historic Site

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Everyone should visit Manzanar. The lessons within its borders are necessary.

I didn’t know Japanese Internment during World War II was something that happened until well after high school graduation. I’d never heard the slightest murmur of such things all through high school, and I took advanced history classes.

At 22, I’d moved to Front Royal, Virginia, a small town about an hour from Washington, D.C. One December day in 1997, I had the opportunity to visit the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History. Fortunately, I’d visited twice before as a child and a teenager. It was a favorite of mine, and I looked forward to seeing the First Ladies’ exhibit and the pop culture section. Imagine my confusion when I stumbled into a portion of the museum that looked like a neighborhood in California. Shops and restaurants in this replica San Francisco street were closed and boarded up, Upon further inspection, I saw the signs indicating the Japanese weren’t welcome. I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing.

As I continued to explore the exhibit, it became clear. Japanese Americans had been rounded up by our own government and sent to camps during World War II. It didn’t matter if they’d been born here. It didn’t matter if they’d never done anything to indicate an allegiance to Japan. Japanese families were upended, forced to give up everything they’d worked for without compensation, and moved to camps away from the coast, including two camps in Arkansas. I was stunned. Sad. Then outraged.

A few summers ago. I had the opportunity to visit the Manzanar National Historic Site on one of our road trips I wanted to learn more, and I wanted my daughter to learn about Japanese internment, too.

Read More About It

If you’re looking for some personal accounts of experiences in Manzanar, here are a couple I’ve read. Both authors were children during Japanese internment.

One is Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuti Houston and James D. Houston. It’s an easy read that’s intended for students in grades 3-7. Jeanne’s story begins right before internment and continues into the years that follow; her experience had effects on her adolescence and young adulthood.

Another is To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek’s Mr. Sulu. The first part of the book is about Takei’s experience in the camps, including Camp Rohwer in Arkansas. In recent years, Takei has found a voice as a human rights advocate and has spoken about being brought to the camps in interviews. In 2015 Takei starred in the musical, Allegiance, based on his experience. He’s also written a children’s book called My Lost Freedom.

History of Manzanar

The Manzanar War Relocation Center was a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants who were ineligible for citizenship. Built at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California near Lone Pine and Independence, the camp was constructed by the first Japanese Americans to arrive in 1942.

Named for the Spanish word for apple orchards by white settlers to the area in the 1860s, Manzanar would see over 11,000 occupants from 1942 to 1945.

Over the years, improvements were made in the camp. Children attended school and activities, while adults grew gardens, created clubs and organizations, and published a newspaper, all while taking on roles in various jobs or managing a household.

In 1943, the residents of Manzanar were given a loyalty questionnaire. This document caused many Japanese Americans to choose answers that would lead to eventual deportation, due to confusion over the consequences of their answers. The wrong answer could also cause people to be ostracized by community members.

One of the questions on the questionnaire asked if they’d volunteer for the United States military; another asked them to swear allegiance to the United States and to forswear allegiance to the emperor of Japan. This sounds logical in theory, but there is an implication that there had been allegiance to the emperor at some point. For those born in the United States, this caused concern in how to answer.

If they tried to give more details or refused to answer one way or another, their questionnaires were flagged. The government sent many people who’d been flagged to the Tule Lake camp, which was mainly a camp for those the government found to be disloyal or a risk for organized disobedience. This camp was more heavily reinforced and guarded than the other camps. Being sent to Tule Lake also implied that those sent there were problematic or troublemakers. This implication followed some Japanese Americans into the years after the war.

After the war, many Japanese Americans needed legal counsel to remain in the United States due to the answers on the questionnaire.

In November of 1945, the last group of Japanese Americans left Manzanar. Japanese Americans returned to their home cities to find their homes, jobs, and any left possessions no longer belonged to them. They faced discrimination and hostility as they tried to rebuild their lives from scratch with few resources given to them by the country that had stripped everything from them.

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Our Visit to Lone Pine

On our road trip, we stopped at Lone Pine for the evening after a day in Death Valley  National Park. This small town at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas became famous during the Golden Age of Hollywood as a filming location for Westerns and other films. The desert climate and Alabama Hills in the Owens Valley made a great backdrop for films set on other planets.

But this desert climate was also harsh for the people who were relocated to Manzanar. The scenery is gorgeous, but varying temperatures and high winds made life difficult.

After a great stay at the famous Dow Villa Hotel, we spent the morning at the Manzanar National Historic Site before heading back into town to see the Museum of Western Film History.  We also spent some time checking out the Alabama Hills with the majestic Mount Whitney in the background. I wish we could’ve spent longer in the area, but our next stop was Sequoia National Park, and we had a reservation that night at Wuksachi Lodge.

As a side note, be sure to check out Alabama Hills Cafe and Bakery for breakfast. Yum! The previous evening, we ate at Totem Cafe for dinner. It was perfect for picky eaters and those who want something a little different from standard diner food.

But onward to our visit…

Arriving at Manzanar

Manzanar National Historic Site is about a 20-minute drive from Lone Pine. Below is a map. You can see how we came from Death Valley National Park to stay the night in Lone Pine. The drive is a long one; I’m not sure I’d recommend it. But when you’re on a road trip, and you’re trying to get a taste of the national parks out west, well, whatcha gonna do?

If you take a peek to the west, you’ll see Mount Whitney labeled. And a wider lens shows you how close Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are, though the drive from Lone Pine is anything but direct.

We started our journey at the Visitor Center.

One great thing about Manzanar–it’s free to visit! Donations are always welcome, and there is a gift shop. Also, be sure to check the hours for the Visitor Center. Currently, it’s open Friday through Monday. 

How Did Japanese Internment Happen?

As with most Visitor Centers, the exhibits here give some basic information about what you’re about to see. As with many bleak times in our country’s history, you have to start with the climate of the times. First, racial prejudices allow for the “othering” of Japanese Americans and immigrants.

Throw in the fear initiated by Pearl Harbor, and you have the perfect storm. Also, it seems that Japanese Americans and immigrants were good at growing crops in areas that were difficult for those who’d lived in the area for generations—or at least they were better at it than the locals. The envy of the literal fruits of the Japanese Americans’ and immigrants’ labor contributed to anti-Japanese feelings.

Of course, these weren’t isolated reasons for what happened to the Japanese Americans and immigrants. These feelings had been festering since the turn of the century. Historians trace anti-Japanese sentiment to prejudices against the Chinese in the late 1800s during the Gold Rush and the building of the Union Central Pacific Railroad. When Chinese immigration was limited by a bill in 1882, the prejudice experienced by the Chinese crossed over to the Japanese, whose immigration had increased.

Tensions Rise

In 1906, San Francisco schools implemented segregation. This angered officials in Japan, who saw it as a violation of the 1894 Treaty of Friendship. President Theodore Roosevelt intervened by restricting the California legislature’s ability to make laws that discriminated against Japanese Americans and immigrants while placating Japan with the Gentlemen’s Agreement, which limited further Japanese immigration.

It’s worth noting that first-generation Japanese immigrants, or Issei, could not become United States citizens. They often became farmers or small business owners when they immigrated here. The next generation, or Nisei, born in the United States, would have citizenship. The Issei could pass down their property to the Nisei and Sansei, or third-genertation.

Eventually, immigration would be halted by the Immigration Act of 1924. This occurred after California’s Alien Land Law of 1913 and the Alien Land Act of 1920. The Alien Land Act made it impossible for non-citizens to own land.

Another issue that contributed to anti-Japanese sentiment was the victory of Japan over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War from 1904-1905. This victory marked the first time an Asian country defeated a European one in modern times. This event seems to have triggered some fears in those who subscribe to white supremacy.

As you can see, many events led to the “othering” of the Japanese here in America making Japanese internment possible. As Japan won victories in Guam, Malaya, and the Philippines, fears in the United States grew. There were also rumors that the Japanese government was receiving information about the United States from Japanese Americans and immigrants that could help Japan.

Japanese Internment, the Constitution, and an Apology

Three Japanese Americans resisted orders and were arrested; their cases found their way to the Supreme Court. Gordon Hirabayashi, Min Yasui, and Fred Korematsu lost their court cases, with justices upholding that the United States acted constitutionally under the document’s war powers. In 1942, Mitsuye Endo won her case and was granted liberty.

In 1948, Congress did grant some reparations to the internees after they’d been released from the camps at the end of World War II. By then, those in internment camps had already started their lives over from scratch with little to get them started. The money awarded was only a small drop in the bucket of what was lost. It’s estimated that Japanese Americans lost $400 million in property. The reparations paid were only $38 million.

President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 after the report from the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians published its findings in 1982 known as Personal Justice Denied. This report showed that there was no evidence of disloyalty among those sent to internment camps. Japanese American congressmen Robert Matsui and Norm Mineta took the findings and created legislation, with bipartisan support, that formally apologized to Japanese Americans and offered reparation payments of $20,000 to those who qualified.

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Self-Guided Walking Tour of Manzanar

After checking out the visitor center, we explored some of the grounds on foot. You can see replicas of the barracks and learn more about what life was like at the camp. This area of the historic site is known as the Block 14 buildings. You’ll also get more views of these gorgeous mountains.

When families first arrived, the living quarters were quite primitive and crowded. Often, several couples or multiple families resided in the same unit, and privacy was nonexistent.

Still, people made do with what they could and tried to live lives as normally as possible. Over time, the residents of Manzanar made improvements.

Standing in the barracks helped us to understand a little bit about what life there was like.

Though the mountains are beautiful, the environment often added another layer of difficulty for the residents.

I found it interesting that the residents of Manzanar worked so hard to make life as “normal” as possible. There were schools for the young people there. Classes in the arts were also offered by those skilled in those areas.

Below is an exhibit concerning the loyalty questionnaires that the residents were forced to answer.

Self-Guided Driving Tour of Manzanar

You can also drive on the roads in Manzanar.

This gives you an even better idea about the size of the camp.

The cemetery monument is an important stop on the drive. One hundred and fifty people died while living at Manzanar. To adhere to Buddhism, many were cremated. Some were buried just outside the fence of the grounds. Nine of those were moved after the war; the National Park Service has confirmed that six graves remain.

Resident gardener and talented stonemason Ryozo Kado oversaw the monument’s construction. Kado, along with Shinjo Nagatomi, designed the monument. Nagatomi is credited with painting the inscriptions on all sides. Since Kado was a gardener, he led the creation of several ponds and gardens in Manzanar, at the request of an army officer. Merrit Park was one of those gardens. You can visit this park as part of the tour.

The monument, Manzanar Ireito, is simply beautiful. According to the National Park Service, “the three characters on the front (east side) of the cemetery monument literally translate as “soul consoling tower.”

I believe the picture below shows archeological work on the “Ironing Room” foundation. From what I’ve read, there were ironing room buildings built at the end of the barracks as a response to the residents ironing in their private rooms and blowing fuses. Apparently, after they were built, these rooms weren’t used for ironing. Rather, they became barber shops, salons, markets, and meeting places.

Ryozo Kado also built this sentry post at the entrance of the camp.

A replica of the original Manzanar sign is pictured below. The artist for the original was  Manzanar resident and commercial artist Akio Matsumoto. While Ansel Adams was visiting the camp, he photographed Matsumoto, among other subjects.

Below is a picture of Mount Williamson, the mountain that provides the stunning backdrop to Manzanar.

Thoughts of Manzanar

I hope I’ve captured the importance of remembering Manzanar. If I didn’t learn about it in school, others probably didn’t either. We can’t pretend that the unpleasant parts of American history didn’t happen; we must remember and do better.

You know, in middle school and high school, we learned about the Holocaust so that it would “never happen again.” As an adult, I’ve seen that limiting rights, discrimination,  and, genocide continue to happen. We haven’t learned. Myanmar, Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia,–the list continues, and genocide continues today.

The United States is not immune. Besides the internment of Japanese Americans, we need only look at the genocide of Native Americans or slavery and Jim Crow. Or maybe violence against Latinos and the LGBTQIA community. When we “other” a group, they become at risk. Why does the “great melting pot” have such difficulty with diversity? Why not embrace what people bring to the table?

“Othering” is a process, and we must recognize the steps. Blaming a group for economic hardships is a common tactic. Oppressing a group to gain political power is another. If someone is playing on your fear and anxiety in order to discriminate against an entire group of people, perhaps it’s time to look carefully at the rhetoric being used and what the desired outcome is of the person spewing it.

I try to examine my own beliefs and actions, and I know I am a work in progress. But guess what? I can learn. I can change. Thank goodness!

And isn’t that how change for the better begins? One changed mind at a time?

So, I challenge you. Learn about the past. See how the past shapes the present. Look for patterns. Chances are, we’ve seen this story unfold before. After all, Mark Twain tells us that “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Analyze the literature and show your work. America, I’m counting on you.

Click below to read about some of our other adventures:

Boone Hall Plantation—Charleston, South Carolina

National Civil Rights Museum–Memphis, Tennessee

Monument Valley Dreamcatcher Tour