The Orange Story

In the final chapter of the movie, In the final chapter of the movie, Koji says goodbye to his old life, and in the process, challenges the racism that has influenced even his young friend Judith. Although there was no evidence of collusion with the enemy, racism and wartime hysteria ultimately led to the incarceration of more than 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry. Explore the legacy of the incarceration through the images, videos, and documents below.



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“The Japanese Americans incarcerated in 1942 were held guilty until proven innocent, and the hard-won success of the older generation was smashed to bits by years behind barbed wire.” Erica Harth, Scholar

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Listen to Japanese Americans reflect on how their civil liberties were violated during World War II.
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Or read along as Peggie Nishimura Bain, Mits Koshiyama, and Fred Hirasuna share their thoughts.

Peggie Nishimura Bain: “The Isseis would say, ‘Well, now look. What good is your citizenship? You kept saying you're American, and you have all the rights and you're so proud you're American, but now you're just as Japanese as the rest of us.’ And that was one thing the Isseis kept telling us, you know, that our citizenship meant nothing then, even if you had very little Japanese blood, you still had to go to camp.”

Mits Koshiyama: “Why were we there? We didn't do anything wrong. We were denied due process of the law, which is supposed to be a God-given right to all Americans.”

Fred Hirasuna: “In time of war there's lots of things that are not subject to civil rights. The civil rights of many, many groups of people are absolutely ignored during wartime. . . . Most of the so-called friends, they just turned their faces, they didn't know us. That's what war brings.”

Or read along as Peggie Nishimura Bain, Mits Koshiyama, and Fred Hirasuna share their thoughts.

“A military order, however unconstitutional, is not apt to last longer than the military emergency. . . . But once a judicial opinion rationalizes such an order . . . the Court for all time has validated the principle of racial discrimination in criminal procedure and of transplanting American citizens. The principle then lies about like a loaded weapon, ready for the hand of any authority that can bring forward a plausible claim of an urgent need.” Dissenting opinion of Justice Jackson, Korematsu v. United States, 1944

“We are determined . . . that no other Americans will ever again have to undergo this tragic personal experience.” Robert Moriguchi, Japanese American Citizens League, 1970

Never Again

Watch Japanese Americans reflect on the legacy of their incarceration, the need to be vigilant, and the importance of speaking out against injustices.
Or read along as Joe Takehara, Chizuko Norton, Toru Saito, Betty Morita Shibayama, and Mary Hirata share their thoughts.

Joe Takehara: “Still today, I don’t think everyone knows the impact of it or what really happened because even today, when I meet people, there's a lot that still don’t really know what really happened or what we went through. They’re shocked.”

Chizuko Norton: “It's been an interesting and sometimes not-so-good experience that we have had, but it does need to be told. . . . We have to be careful, don't we, and be on guard all the time that this kind of thing won't happen again.”

Toru Saito: “We're all people and we all deserve the good things, you know, so if you're gonna be one of those who are gonna persecute people because they don't have money or you don't like their religion or the color, I said, you're just like the people who put us in the camp.”

Betty Morita Shibayama: “Having experienced this, gone through that, we needed someone to speak out for us and encourage us. . . . Don't be the 'quiet American.' . . . Speak out and be supportive of groups that, whose civil rights are being violated.”

Mary Hirata: “It’s a terrible thing to happen. Of course, I don't think they'll ever do it again, they couldn't. I think. But that's what we thought, too.”

Or read along as Joe Takehara, Chizuko Norton, Toru Saito, Betty Morita Shibayama, and Mary Hirata share their thoughts.