Asian American and Pacific Islander Records

World War II Incarceration of Japanese and Japanese Americans: Introduction

“I am an American” sign hung by the storefront owner of Japanese descent the day after Pearl Harbor, photograph by Dorothea Lange. (National Archives Identifier: 537833)

The World War II experiences of Nikkei (Japanese emigrants and their descendants) in the United States are extensively documented in federal records. From surveillance conducted decades before the attack on Pearl Harbor to mass incarceration to post-war reparations, records at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provide a rich and complex portrait of the U.S. government’s wartime actions and their impacts on the communities of Japanese descent. The following serves as a starting point for researchers interested in the history and treatment of Japanese Americans in the years preceding, during, and following the war.

World War II Incarceration - Resources for Genealogists

Conducting genealogical research on formerly incarcerated Japanese and Japanese Americans can present a challenge for even the most adept researcher. Additional details can be found under the World War II Japanese American Incarceration: Researching an Individual or Family page.

Research by Topic

Explore records at the National Archives related to World War II Japanese American Incarceration by subject area.

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Blogs and Articles

Milestone Documents: Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese American Incarceration (1942)

National Archives News: Japanese American Internment

National Archives News: "Correcting the Record on Dorothea Lange’s Japanese Internment Photos," 2017

Education Updates blog: "The Importance of Local Stories: Oregon Students Discover the Courageous Work and Life of Minoru Yasui," 2021

Education Updates blog: "Suspending the Right of Due Process: Japanese American Relocation during World War II," 2016

The Unwritten Record blog: "Fractured Ideals: Japanese American Internment through a Government Lens," 2017

Prologue magazine: "How an eagle feels when his wings are clipped and caged: Relocation Center Newspapers Describe Japanese American Internment in World War II,” 2009

Prologue magazine: "Return to Sender: U.S. Censorship of Enemy Alien Mail in World War II," 2001

Prologue magazine: “The Past Recaptured? The Photographic Record of the Internment of Japanese Americans,” 1980

The JFK Library Archives blog: "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: Solving an Archival Mystery," 2020

Forward with Roosevelt blog: "Images of Internment," 2017

Pieces of History blog: "Japanese American Internment: Righting a Wrong, 2017

Pieces of History blog: "The orphan called Tokyo Rose," 2010

The Text Message blog: "Japanese American Internment and Resistance at Heart Mountain," 2022

The Text Message blog: "Japanese American Evacuee Property Letters," 2017

The Text Message blog: "The Beginnings of the United States Army’s Japanese Language Training: From the Presidio of San Francisco to Camp Savage, Minnesota 1941–1942," 2017

The Text Message blog: "Documents of Loss: Dave Tatsuno’s Records in the San Francisco Branch Evacuee Property Files," 2017

The Text Message blog: "Halloween at the Tule Lake Relocation Center," 2012

Reference Information Papers

Please note: These publications have not been updated since their initial release. We recommend that you contact us prior to visiting to review original records.

Statistics and Statistical Materials in the Records of the War Relocation Authority, 1973 (Reference Information Paper 59)

A Finding Aid to Audiovisual Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to World War II, 1992 (Reference Information Paper 70)