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Uprooted

Bridging the past and the present, Japanese American stories come to life in redesigned and modernized exhibit

An immersive experience exploring citizenship, constitutionality & redress

Sharing the lessons of Japanese American WWII incarceration with never-before-exhibited artifacts & new interactive elements

Exhibit Artifacts

Identification Tags

Painting, gift of Yoshizuka and Ryosuke family

Belongings left behind

Pin made from shells

Carving Kit

UPROOTED:
An American Story

This fully rebuilt, technology-enhanced signature exhibit focuses on the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII and explores how they responded to their forced removal and incarceration, ranging from quiet endurance to heroic valor to conscientious resistance. The exhibit also highlights Japanese Americans’ ongoing efforts to ensure no other groups experience similar civil rights violations.

All-new interactive displays, and never-before-exhibited artifacts from survivors supplement visitor favorites from the previous installation including a video introduction by George Takei and a replica barracks and guard tower. New features include a theater experience and an AI-based component allowing visitors to hold virtual conversations with three incarceration survivors.

Posted Japanese American exclusion order

Flag pledge ceremony at Raphael Weill Public School in San Francisco’s “Little Tokyo” weeks before forced removal

Heart Mountain Relocation Center

A grave injustice was done … motivated by prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.
Civil Liberties Act of 1988
We came back to nothing, or we had nothing to come back to.
Kiyo Sato
Poston; U.S. Air Force, Korea
We have a legitimate right to say, ‘No, we will not serve the country until we are given our freedom.’
Lawson Sakai
442nd Regimental Combat Team; on the stance of men who declined to serve in the military
Time of Remembrance Programs
Experience life in a recreated WWII camp on a specialized field trip tour of the exhibit led by a formerly incarcerated docent.
Oral Histories
Preview the exhibit’s oral history kiosks documenting the personal stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII.
Origami Crane
Learn how to fold an origami crane.