Post WWII Japanese American Community

This entry centers around the experiences of Japanese Americans during the post-war era of the 1950s in Detroit, Michigan with a highlight of one of the areas in which many families lived. Hundreds migrated to the city after the end of World War II as they were released from the internment camps they were forced into after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese Americans and immigrants that were taken away from their homes and businesses in California, Oregon, and Washington state had nowhere to go back to after three years spent in the camps.¹ Therefore, many elected to get away from the traumatic memories of the west coast and settle in Detroit, where work was easier to come by. This city brought a new wave of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes to the Japanese residents, who made up a small portion of the population and had not built a solid community yet. With help from one another and their formation of the Japanese American Citizens League in 1946, most Japanese Americans decided to do their best to start new lives in Detroit. 

^[1] Kiska, “No-No Boy and the Japanese-American Migration to Detroit,” Detroit History Podcast. 

America in the 1940s was a time of fear and hysteria toward Japanese Americans as the United States declared war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. People worried that spies were among the Japanese American community, and so in response to this fear, those living in the three states lining the west coast were forced from their homes. Overall, roughly 120,000 Japanese immigrants and Americans were placed into ten concentration camps located in the rural west and southwest in several different states.² Communities were scattered and dissolved as families were assigned to camps, as well as when the camps ended and families migrated throughout the United States. The narratives of post-war Japanese American communities such as the one that came to Detroit, Michigan in the late 1940s tell the story of how Executive Order 9066 impacted them, the effects of stereotypes and prejudice in Detroit, and how Japanese Americans themselves responded to the internment camp experience. 

Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19th, 1942, landed a lasting blow on the established Japanese communities located on the west coast.³ Given a 48-hour notice, Japanese residents could only take what they could carry into the camps. This meant that most lost their homes and businesses, with a total estimated property loss of $1.3 billion calculated as of 1983.⁴ With their livelihoods taken away and nothing to go back to, most sought out areas away from the west coast in which they could find work again. Hundreds elected to come to Detroit, meaning around 900 Japanese Americans lived there by 1951.⁵ Having such a small population in Detroit meant that they essentially had to build the community from the ground up. This was done by founding organizations such as the Japanese American Citizens League Detroit Chapter back in 1946 and hosting cultural events and celebrations through them.⁶ While these activities helped the Japanese Americans in the city express themselves and their culture with each other, stereotypes and prejudice continued to work against them. 

As Japanese Americans began working in the city, the Detroit Press published mixed articles about them. While anti-Asian racism and discrimination against those of Japanese descent did not disappear after the end of World War II, the Press decided to paint Japanese Americans as diligent, complacent, and obedient contributors to the city.⁷ While that may sound more positive on the surface, it suggests that all Japanese Americans are inherently this way. Stereotypes are negative no matter what in the way that they generalize groups of people; those in that group are not allowed to be any other way. This meant that any new Japanese migrants to Detroit would be expected to behave in this way as they search for work.  

As Japanese American families came to Detroit for the first time, most took any job they could find. Many could not afford their own housing and had to live with other families to get by. One such location is located at the intersection of Cass Avenue and Canfield Street, where lines of old apartments filled the area. Two or three Japanese American families would share a single apartment, meaning the homes were always crowded.⁸ Families did what they had to to make a living in the city, and through resilience and hard work, a solid community of Japanese Americans was built that continues to grow today. 

Remembering the injustices faced by Japanese Americans during this time is vital to have this community’s voice heard and understood by those who originally ignored it. Understanding one of the many layers of culture and background that make up Detroit can increase knowledge, inclusivity, and appreciation for the diversity of the city and America as a whole.

^[2] Kiska, “No-No Boy and the Japanese-American Migration to Detroit,” Detroit History Podcast.

^[3] Kiska, “No-No Boy and the Japanese-American Migration to Detroit,” Detroit History Podcast. 

^[4] National Archives, “Executive Order 9066.” 

^[5] Kiska, “No-No Boy and the Japanese-American Migration to Detroit,” Detroit History Podcast. 

^[6] Kennedy, “Who We Are,” JACL Detroit. 

^[7] Kiska, “No-No Boy and the Japanese-American Migration to Detroit,” Detroit History Podcast. 

^[8] Ann Arbor District Library, ”Lessons for the Future, Lessons from the Past.” 

Ann Arbor District Library. “Lessons for the Future, Lessons from the Past with Japanese Internment Camp Survivor Mary Kamidoi.” YouTube video. May 15, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAmYbHgoU7E. 

Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. “Japanese-American Internment.” accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/japanese-american-internment. 

Kennedy, Mika. “What We Do.” JACL Detroit, 2018. https://jacldetroit.wordpress.com/#post-2. 

Kiska, Tim. With speakers Frank Abe, Mika Kennedy, and Celeste Shimoura Goedert. The Detroit History Podcast. “Season 4 – Episode 6: No-No Boy and the Japanese-American Migration to Detroit,” November 8, 2021. https://detroithistorypodcast.com/podcast/season-4-episode-6-no-no-boy-and-the-japanese-american-migration-to-detroit/. 

National Archives. “Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration,” January 24, 2022. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066. 

National Park Service. “Life at Minidoka.” last updated August 19, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/miin/learn/historyculture/life-at-minidoka.htm. 

North, Gary. Photo of exhibit “Exiled to Motown”. Detroit Historical Museum, July 17, 2021. https://exiledtomotown.org/the-exhibit/.