©Haruka Sakaguchi, Fujiko Gardner was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. She and her family were removed from their home in Fife, WA and incarcerated at Minidoka. Fujiko revisited her former camp and wrote a letter to her younger self when she was incarcerated.

ABOUT THE SOCIALLY ENGAGED AWARD: The CENTER Awards recognize outstanding images, singular or part of a series. The Socially Engaged Award recognizes work addressing social issues and themes.

Congratulations to Haruka Sakaguchi for being selected for CENTER’s Social Award recognizing her project, The Camps America Built. This project documents former incarcerees and descendants of Japanese Americans incarcerated in concentration camps during World War II who make pilgrimages to these sites, sharing their stories through portraits and handwritten letters that reflect on the enduring impact of incarceration and the meaning of belonging in America.

The Social Awards recognize work engaged in social issues. All projects exploring social topics or themes were eligible. The Grant includes Review Santa Fe participation, Publication in LENSCRATCH, Professional Development Seminars access, Inclusion in the printed Program Guide, and Inclusion in the Winners Gallery & Archive.

JUROR: Andrea Wise, Visual Strategy Editor, ProPublica shares her thoughts on this selection:

It was an honor to review the strong submissions for the socially engaged award in this time of so many critically urgent social issues necessary of examination.

I was profoundly moved by several of the submissions and reminded of the transcendent power of photography to unite people across time, space, and cultures by reflecting and recording the human experience. 

The Camps America Built is a prescient reminder of a dark chapter in American history that echoes loudly today. 

By intimately and tenderly memorializing the way in which trauma inflicted by governments can ripple through generations, this project forces us to reckon with the past while we consider our future. 

Photography is a resistance force against the loss of collective memory. Because when we photograph, we remember. And when we remember, we can learn.

JUROR BIO: Andrea Wise is an interdisciplinary photo editor, art director, and visual producer. She is the visual strategy editor at ProPublica, where she visually edits investigations into abuses of power with an emphasis on documentary photography and editorial illustration. She is also the co-founder of Diversify Photo, a nonprofit organization committed to creating a more inclusive and equitable visual media industry.

As a photo editor, she has also worked with National Geographic, Newsweek, BuzzFeed News, the Intercept, and more. She has juried competitions for the Overseas Press Club, Getty Images, American Photography, and the Society of Professional Journalists.

She earned her M.S. in Photography from Syracuse University and her B.A. in Studio Arts from Trinity College, and she is an alum of the Eddie Adams Workshop, the Kalish Visual Editing Workshop, and the Mountain Workshops.

Portrait of Haruka Sakaguchi

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Kazuo Ideno was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. He and his family were removed from their home in San Francisco, CA and incarcerated at Rohwer. Kazuo revisited his former camp and wrote a letter to his younger self when he was incarcerated.

The Camps America Built

Following the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order authorizing the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry—two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens—into concentration camps. Entire families were uprooted from their homes and sent to hastily constructed detention centers, some as crude as horse stalls, before being imprisoned in remote concentration camps for up to four years.

The trauma of displacement, incarceration, and family separation continues to shape lives today. Since the war, former incarcerees and their descendants have been making pilgrimages to these former camps. The word “pilgrimage” traditionally implies a journey to a sacred place, but for this community, it is a return to a site of trauma. Why revisit a place of forced confinement and suffering? Some return to commemorate a family member. Others seek healing and closure. Many find community and belonging by gathering together in these desolate landscapes.

There are ten camps in total, scattered across the country. Some are carefully stewarded by local communities and the National Park Service, while others are vulnerable to vandalism and neglect. Some face threats from nearby developments, such as the construction of a three-mile-long security fence at Tule Lake or a 76,000-acre wind farm within the viewshed of Minidoka. Former incarcerees and their descendants are actively fighting to preserve the physical integrity of these sites.

This project documents the camps as they stand today and the former incarcerees and descendants who journey back to them. Each collaborator is asked to sit for a portrait and handwrite a letter: former incarcerees write to their younger selves during their incarceration, while descendants write to a former incarceree they are commemorating. Through these personal letters and photographs, we explore a key question: What does it mean to be American? As racism, xenophobia, and authoritarianism—the same forces that led to the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II—resurface today under the guise of national security, these Japanese American families reveal the intergenerational impact of this dark chapter in U.S. history.

To see the entire project, please visit thecampsamericabuilt.com.

MEDIUM: This work can be exhibited in two formats: as physical photo prints or as a digital projection. In the print format, the ideal dimensions would be 16×20 inches, allowing the letters to maintain their intimate, handwritten feel while still being legible. Alternatively, in the digital projection format, the handwritten letters animate over the portraits while an audio recording of each individual reciting their letter plays, creating an immersive and layered storytelling experience.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Nikki Nojima Louis was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. She and her family were removed from their home in Seattle, WA and incarcerated at Minidoka. Nikki revisited her former camp and wrote a letter to her younger self when she was incarcerated.

Haruka Sakaguchi is a freelance photographer based in New York City. Her documentary work focuses on cultural identity and intergenerational trauma.

Her clients include: BBC, Bloomberg Businessweek, Foreign Policy Magazine, National Geographic, Newsweek, Nobel Peace Center, NPR, ProPublica, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Washington Post Magazine, TIME Magazine, and Vox.

Instagram: @hsakag

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Louise Nishikawa was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. She and her family were removed from their home in Loomis, CA and incarcerated at Poston. Louise revisited her former camp and wrote a letter to her younger self when she was incarcerated.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Akemi Johnson’s grandfather was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. Her grandfather was removed from his home in Isleton, CA and incarcerated at Tule Lake. Akemi revisited her grandfather’s former camp and wrote a letter to him in commemoration.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Masako Guthrie was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. She and her family were removed from their home in Los Angeles, CA and incarcerated at Rohwer. Masako revisited her former camp and wrote a letter to her younger self when she was incarcerated.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Andrew Kotik’s grandmother was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. His grandmother was removed from her home in Sacramento, CA and incarcerated at Heart Mountain. Andrew revisited his grandmother’s former camp and wrote a letter to her in commemoration.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Nancy Abo was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. She and her family were removed from their home in Selleck, WA and incarcerated at Tule Lake. Nancy revisited her former camp and wrote a letter to her younger self when she was incarcerated.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Nami Slobig’s great aunt was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. Her great aunt was removed from her home in Los Angeles, CA and incarcerated at Poston. Nami revisited her great aunt’s former camp and wrote a letter to her in commemoration.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Joan Pang was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. She and her family were removed from their home in Los Angeles, CA and incarcerated at Amache. Joan revisited her former camp and wrote a letter to her younger self when she was incarcerated.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Donald Kunitomi’s mother was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. His mother was removed from her home in Los Angeles, CA and incarcerated at Manzanar. Donald revisited his mother’s former camp and wrote a letter to her in commemoration.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Henry Kaku’s father was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. His father was removed from his home in Brawley, CA and incarcerated at Tule Lake. Henry revisited his father’s former camp and wrote a letter to him in commemoration.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Karen Ideno’s father was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. Her father was removed from his home in San Francisco, CA and incarcerated at Rohwer. Karen revisited her father’s former camp and wrote a letter to him in commemoration.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Lindsey Dopke’s grandmother was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. Her grandmother was removed from her home in Los Angeles, CA and incarcerated at Heart Mountain. Lindsey revisited her grandmother’s former camp and wrote a letter to her in commemoration.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, Nami Slobig’s great aunt was one of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly displaced and incarcerated during World War II. Her great aunt was removed from her home in Los Angeles, CA and incarcerated at Poston. Nami revisited her great aunt’s former camp and wrote a letter to her in commemoration.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, A former administrative building at present day Manzanar near Lone Pine, CA.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, A former school—built by Japanese American incarcerees—at present day Poston on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation in Arizona.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, The foundation of a former hospital complex at present day Manzanar near Lone Pine, CA.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, A former auditorium—built by Japanese American incarcerees—at present day Poston on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation in Arizona.

©Haruka Sakaguchi, A monument at present day Manzanar near Lone Pine, CA.