Resources and Multimedia

Although Honouliuli National Historic Site is closed to the public, there are many ways to learn more about the history of incarceration and martial law during World War II. Links and information on an array of resources are listed below.

 

 

Multimedia

In 2013, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i produced the first full-length documentary to chronicle the incarceration experience of Japanese Americans in Hawai'i, called The Untold Story. They have made a 30-minute version of the documentary available for free online.

Exhibitions

The King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center houses the exhibition Hawai'i under Martial Law, which features photographs, artifacts and historic documents which provide thoughtful insight into what civilian life was like during World War II. The exhibition is free of charge and located at their downtown headquarters.

Located at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i's Community Gallery in Mō‘ili‘ili, the Honouliuli Education Center features photos, artifacts, oral histories, a virtual tour of the Honouliuli site and more. Visits to the Education Center are free of charge and open to the general public. Hours of operation and more information can be viewed on their site.

Recommended Books

Breaking the Silence: Lessons of Democracy from World War II Honouliuli Internment and POW Camp in Hawai'i

Suzanne Falgout & Linda Nishigaya (editors), University of Hawaii Press 2014.

This book contains a collection of articles authored by faculty from the University of Hawai'i West O'ahu, as well as by community partners from the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, Densho, the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center and the National Park Service. Collectively, these articles provide in-depth information about the various facets of Honouliuli during World War II, as well as the pre-and post-war history of the site.

Life behind Barbed Wire: World War II Internment Memoirs of a Hawai'i Issei

By Yasutaro Soga, University of Hawaii Press 2008.

This book provides a firsthand account of the incarceration of Hawai'i's Japanese civilians during World War II based on Yasutaro Soga's 6-month incarceration on Sand Island, and transfer to several camps on the mainland U.S.

Family Torn Apart: The Internment Story of the Otokichi Muin Ozaki Family

Gail Honda (editor), University of Hawaii Press, Distributed for the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i 2012.

This book tells the story of Otokichi Ozaki, who was apprehended and incarcerated at eight different detention camps. The story follows his experiences, his family's life without him in Hawai'i and their struggle to reunite by "voluntarily" entering Mainland detention camps.

Remembering Our Grandfathers’ Exile: US Imprisonment of Hawai’is Japanese in World War II
Gail Ozawa, University of Hawai’i Press, 2020

Inclusion: How Hawai’i Protected Japanese Americans from Mass Internment, Transformed Itself, and Changed America
Tom Coffman, University of Hawai’i Press, 2021

Bayonets in Paradise: Martial Law in Hawai’i During World War II
Harry N. Scheiber and Jane L. Scheiber, University of Hawai’i Press, 2016

Oral History

The Center for Oral History at the University of Hawai'i has several collections of interviews from Hawai'i-born civilians who were sent to assembly and war relocation centers on the mainland U.S., as well as oral histories of civilians living on Hawai'i during World War II. Some transcripts are available online.

The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i provides an online catalog of resources available in their Tokioka Heritage Resource Center. Many of the oral histories that have been collected on Honouliuli can be found here. You can also visit their Resource Center in person to browse their publications and archival collections and talk to their knowledgeable staff and volunteers.

Online Articles

The Hawai'i Korea Cultural Center has been researching the experience of Koreans who were brought to Honouliuli as prisoners of war. Many of these individuals were non-combatant laborers who were conscripted into the Japanese Army. Researcher Yong-ho Ch'oe has written an article which begins to tell their story.

Dr. Alan Rosenfeld from the University of Hawai'i West O'ahu has written an article on martial law in Hawai'i which discusses both impacts on civilians, and the relationship of martial law to policies of civilian internment in Hawai'i during World War II.

Databases

Hawaii Internee Directory
Densho Digital Repository
List of Korean Prisoners of War at Honouliuli from 1943-1946