Today marks the 80th anniversary of the Day of Remembrance, when President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced removal and mass incarceration of about 120,000 Japanese Americans into 10 incarceration camps.
Why it matters: To pass the time and ease the trauma of incarceration, people of all ages and genders played sports and organized fitness classes, participating in everything from football and baseball to weight lifting and ice skating.
Of note: Two temporary detention centers, Santa Anita (near Los Angeles) and Tanforan (near San Francisco), were former racetracks.
- Families lived in converted horse stalls, as described by Gary Okihiro in "Impounded: Dorothea Lange and the Censored Images of Japanese American Internment."
- At Santa Anita, they would joke darkly about living in barrack 28, units 24 and 25, where Seabiscuit used to live.
Girls playing volleyball at Manzanar incarceration camp. Photo: Ansel Adams for WRA via Library of Congress
An elderly man plays a game of Shogi, similar to chess, at Heart Mountain in January 1943. Photo: Tom Parker for WRA via National Archives
Kids ice skating at Heart Mountain in January 1943. The original caption describes the central boy as a “former Californian” on his third try learning the sport. Photo: Tom Parker for WRA via National Archives
Weight lifting class at Heart Mountain in September 1942. 250 students enrolled during its first week. Photo: Tom Parker for WRA via National Archives
Florence Kuwata practices with her batons at Manzanar. Photo: Ansel Adams for WRA via Library of Congress
A basketball game between the Heart Mountain and Powell High School girls' teams in March 1943. Heart Mountain won 32-24. Photo: Hikaru Iwasaki for WRA via National Archives
Baseball players huddle at Manzanar in July 1942. The original caption notes “baseball is very popular with 80 teams having been formed to date.” Photo: Dorothea Lange for WRA via National Archives
A wrestling tournament on Thanksgiving Day, 1942, at the Gila River incarceration camp in Rivers, Ariz. Photo: Francis Stewart for WRA via National Archives
A former tournament runner-up in California practices his swing at Topaz detention center in Utah in October 1942. Photo: Tom Parker for WRA via National Archives
Girls stretching in the Heart Mountain gym in November 1943. Photo: Hikaru Iwasaki for WRA via National Archives
Henry Yamashiro watches Tad Horita pitch a game of horseshoes at Topaz in March 1943. Photo: Francis Stewart for WRA via National Archives
Judo classes were held every afternoon and evening at Rohwer incarceration camp in McGehee, Ark. Photo: Tom Parker for WRA via National Archives
Fifth and sixth graders exercising on the elementary school grounds at Jerome incarceration camp in Dermott, Ark. Photo: National Archives
