Japanese American Culture in Oregon, Pt. 3
Explore 140 years of Oregon’s Japanese American history through food
Playing Cards (1948/1954) by Frank C. HiraharaJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Get a glimpse of our permanent exhibition with this food-focused tour that shows the ways that connection through food was built, broken, and then reclaimed over time within the Japanese American communities of Oregon.
Forced Removal and Incarceration
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II, the US government created a military exclusion zone. 110,000 Nikkei, the majority of whom were American citizens, were forcibly removed from the West Coast and incarcerated at various confinement sites.
Evacuazette Newspaper (1942) by Evacuazette staffJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Nikkei living in Portland and SW Washington had seven days to close shop, sell personal belongings, say their goodbyes, and report to the Portland temporary detention center, formerly the Pacific Northwest Livestock Exposition. Living quarters were built over old livestock pens.
Evacuazette (1942-08-20) by Evacuazette StaffJapanese American Museum of Oregon
After the Portland temporary detention center, local Nikkei were removed again to the Minidoka or Heart Mountain concentration camps.
Permanent Exhibition - Minidoka living quarters replica (2021) by Japanese American Museum of OregonJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Camps disrupted the close-knit family life that many Japanese American families were accustomed to.
Minidoka Mess Hall (1942-08-28) by Johnson & SonJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Families no longer spent time together around the dinner table, but were forced to eat with large groups in the mess hall. Children as young as ten often chose to eat with friends over family.
War Ration Book (1942/1945) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
The nutrient-poor food provided by the government caused a lot of people to get sick. Meals cost between 31 and 45 cents per person per day.
Lining up for the mess hall at Minidoka (1942/1944) by unknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Vienna sausage, powdered eggs and milk, and “mush” were often served—strange to Nikkei diets. Minidokans most disliked mutton. For some, the food would come to symbolize incarceration, even long after the war.
Garden at Minidoka (1942/1945) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
After successfully petitioning the camp administration, the incarcerees were allowed to add vegetables, raise livestock, and reintroduce tofu and rice to their diet.
Woman with Children (1944-07) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Food production and storage was instrumental to health and morale. Incarcerees used their farming skills to clear 270 acres of sagebrush and irrigate the desert to create farmland.
Minidoka Poultry Farmers (1942/1945) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
The transformed land yielded over two million pounds of cabbage, radishes, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, onions, celery, and melons, producing such an abundance that Minidoka supplied produce to other camps. Incarcerees also raised hogs and poultry and ran a cannery.
After Incarceration
Once the war ended, and camps closed, Japanese Americans worked to rebuild their lives.
Shiiki Brothers Farm (1955) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
By 1946, only one quarter of Nikkei farmers had returned to rural Oregon, most of them property owners. They found fields gone to seed and homes vandalized. By 1961, in spite of lingering hostility, most of the earlier communities had been resettled.
Standing in back of truck, Idaho farm labor camp (1942/1945) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Some incarcerated Nikkei were recruited for farm labor camps, like this one in Idaho. Other prominent local camps were at Nyssa and Adrian in Malheur County, leading to some settling near there after the war.
Travel Permit (1945-05-28) by n/aJapanese American Museum of Oregon
For example, the city of Ontario in Malheur County had Japanese restaurants and other small businesses, a tofu factory, and a Methodist and Buddhist church. It gained a reputation as the friendliest city to Nikkei in the Snake River and Boise Valleys.
The Portland business community steadily rebuilt after the war. It grew to include successful companies like Ota Tofu, the longest-running tofu factory in the nation, and Anzen Japanese Foods and Imports, which was a Portland staple until it closed in 2014.
Nikkei Community Picnic (2015) by Rich IwasakiJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Third and fourth generation Nikkei families continue to run farms in Oregon. Japanese Americans attend the annual Nikkei Community Picnic in August at Oaks Park and celebrate New Year’s with Mochitsuki. Ikoi no Kai lunch service provides culturally-relevant food to senior Nikkei.
Portland Taiko at Nikkei Community Picnic (2019) by Rich IwasakiJapanese American Museum of Oregon
The resilience of the community in the post-war years is demonstrated by these traditions that persist today, providing opportunities for intergenerational connection and cultural pride.
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