In Seattle, there is a project underway called the Densho Project. “Densho” means “to pass on to the next generation” in Japanese. By communicating to future generations the experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II, in their own voices, the Densho Project promotes basic human rights like freedom and equality. Besides several thousand documents—both personal and government-related—and photographs, the project uses the latest in digital technology to create video interviews that can be accessed and seen by anyone in the world via the Internet.

“Because of the significance of the internment experience, it is vitally important for anyone anywhere to be able to access this information,” said Tom Ikeda, 46, the executive director of the Densho Project. He says the project is a true collection of history, experience, and technology.

Taking a Hint from the Records of the Jewish Holocaust

The Densho Project began with Scott Oki, 54. A former Senior Vice President for Sales &Marketing at Microsoft, he is now a philanthropist and heads Oki Developments, Inc., which he founded in 1986. Oki watched some video interviews of Holocaust survivors in a collection called the Shoah Project. Oki spoke with Ikeda and the Densho Project was born. The Shoah Project (“Shoah” means “Holocaust” in Hebrew) was established soon after director Steven Spielberg released his motion picture “Schindler’s List” in 1993. To date, the project has conducted 50,000 interviews of Holocaust survivors.

The Densho Project website is split into four distinct parts. “Causes of Incarceration” examines the circumstances and background of how and why Japanese Americans were forced to relocate to internment camps. “Civil Rights &Internment” discusses the history of Japanese in America covering topics of immigration, discrimination, and expulsion to the more modern events of American compensation and apology. The “Archives” section holds several video interviews of Japanese Americans who experienced first-hand life in the internment camps. And finally, the “Other Resources” link is made up of vocabulary lists one can use to better understand Japanese American history, as well as links and introductions to other relevant websites where printed materials can be obtained.

The list of topics featured when one clicks on “Causes of Incarceration” are “History of Racism,” Wartime Hysteria,” “Economic Motives,” and “Failure of Leadership.” Using existing documents for verification, the Project strives to dig deeply into each of these matters.

For example, in order to prove that internment was caused by institutionalized racism, the project uses newspaper articles and court decisions which it attaches to their site. By reading the supporting documents, one is able to make an informed decision.

At that time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Naval Information Bureau, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) all agreed and reported that there was no overriding need for the forced internment of Japanese Americans.

Presently, there are video interviews of about 110 people (more than 200 hours of footage) in the project’s archives. They include:

Dr. Floyd Schmoe, Ph.D., who was born in 1896 on the outskirts of Seattle, and devoted his energies to the Japanese American community during and after World War II. He also contributed to the revitalization of Hiroshima.

Mr. Gordon Hirabayashi, who refused to be interned on such unfair and immoral grounds. He dedicated his life to human rights activities.

Senator Daniel Inouye (D-H.I.), who fought in the Japanese American Unit 422, overcame the loss of his right arm in battle, and went on to become one of the foremost leaders of the Japanese American community.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, racial discrimination against Arabs is on the rise, and we are reminded of the discrimination Japanese Americans experienced during World War II.

Ikeda says, “The decided difference between what happened 60 years ago and what is happening today is that politicians have evolved and they are saying that we must protect those of Arab descent who have pledged their allegiance to the United States. This is proof that the United States has learned a great deal from its history and will continue to value and nurture its diversity.”

The work of Ikeda and his staff is far from over, but they have made a start. For more information about the Densho Project, please see their website at www.densho.org.