Quiet Americans is a digital storytelling project about Japanese American history — stories of injustice, resilience, and resistance. We explore the lessons we’ve learned and the ones we failed to, from the past.
This project is inspired by the life of one Nisei (a second-generation Japanese American) who went from incarceration camps to volunteering for the U.S. Army. He served in the Pacific, worked in post-war Japan as a Military Intelligence Service officer, and later fought in the Korean War. Yet, like so many in his generation, he rarely spoke about it. He carried his story quietly. We’re here to tell these stories, so we never forget.
Latest Stories
Santa Anita Assembly Center
On March 27, 1942, Santa Anita Racetrack was converted into a detention site for Japanese Americans. At its peak, more than 18,000 people were held there — over 8,500 lived in horse stalls. It was called “protection.”
James Sakamoto
After losing his eyesight from boxing, Jimmie Sakamoto founded the first all-English Japanese American newspaper and helped lead the JACL.
Manzanar War Relocation Center
On March 21, 1942, 82 Japanese American men arrived in California’s Owens Valley as “volunteers” to help build what the government called a “reception center.” Within weeks, it became Manzanar, one of America’s first concentration camps.
Dr. Mary Oda
She lost three members of her family in an incarceration camp. She then spent her life bringing new ones into the world. March 15, 1920: Mary Sakaguchi Oda, a physician whose medical training was interrupted by World War II incarceration, was born in North Hollywood, California. Her life would become a story of remarkable resilience.
Taky Kimura
Bruce Lee changed martial arts forever. His films, philosophy, and revolutionary approach to combat made him one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. But one of the most important people in Lee’s life never chased the spotlight. Taky Kimura chose to teach.
Operation Meetinghouse
March 9, 1945: The firebombing of Tokyo became the deadliest air raid in history, killing an estimated 100,000 people and destroying much of the city.
Trending Stories
Kanaye Nagasawa
Kanaye Nagasawa was the first Japanese national to live permanently in the United States and became the first Wine King of California. His legacy tells a story of ambition, success, and an American dream that could not be passed on because of discriminatory laws.
Japanese Canadian Incarceration
January 14, 1942 marked the beginning of a seven-year exile for Japanese Canadians. More than 27,000 people were removed, incarcerated, and barred from returning home until 1949.
Angel Island Immigration Station
Angel Island Immigration Station opened in 1910 to enforce anti-Asian immigration laws. Asian immigrants were detained, interrogated, and excluded by design, turning immigration enforcement into incarceration decades before WWII.