The Kizuna Project was launched in the spring of 2024 to document the history of Tucson’s Japanese community through oral histories. Each family’s story links the past to the present and to the Japanese community as a whole — forging bonds through recognition and support, embodying the meaning of kizuna.
During WWII on the West Coast and in Arizona, over a hundred thousand Japanese, a number that included 79,000 U.S. citizens, were ordered from their homes and imprisoned in camps from early 1942 until the last camps closed in late 1945.
Many destroyed their “too Japanese” personal items that could suggest a lack of loyalty to the United States. Cameras were banned in camps. After their release, people wouldn’t speak of their experience. Textbooks made no mention. History was being erased.
April 5, 1942. Persons of Japanese ancestry arrive at the Santa Anita Assembly Center from San Pedro, California. Evacuees lived at this center before being moved inland to relocation centers. Thank you to the National Archives for this photo.
But those who were there, or knew someone who was there, have that story to tell. The Kizuna Project is gathering these stories from Tucsonans.
Some firsthand stories describe experiences in the incarceration camps, some in the U.S. military. Others took place in Japan. Post-war stories focus on the effort to start businesses and Japanese cultural organizations in Tucson.
These stories testify to the resilience of the Japanese spirit and their desire to contribute to the community. Many descendants of the incarcerated pursued careers and life paths directly shaped by their parents’ wartime experiences, becoming advocates, organizers, and leaders in ways that honored and responded to that difficult history.
