Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS)

The Chicago Japanese American Historical Society is a basic organization founded in the early 1990s.1

The CJAHS is a volunteer, non profit organization for preserving and introducing the history of the Japanese American in Chicago. By collaborating with museums, conducting historical research, and conserving, their objection is to preserve the Japanese American legacy in Chicago.2

The CJAHS keeps an archive which has over 1000 documents, photos, artifacts, and books of  Japanese American related experience. Many Japanese Americans lost all of their property when they had to move to the incarceration camps during World War II. With being only allowed to bring less than a truckload of possessions per a family, many had to leave their belongings behind. Moreover, it was scary for many of the Japanese Americans to think that they might get attacked because of their Japanese heritage and identity if they kept things passed down from their family in Japan. Therefore, they burned these artifacts hoping to avoid more harsh incarceration. Thus, the Japanese American community does not have many artifacts from the days before the war. However, some things actually managed to survive. They also have items that internees created in the camp. 

Also, the CJAHS often let museums, such as the Chicago Historical Society and the National Museum of Mexican Art, borrow the items they have. In addition, if people are interested in visiting and looking at the archives in person and have a specific object or subject that they are studying, they can reach out to CJAHS and they can figure out the visiting time.

With the help of the Heiwa Terrace administration, CJAHS have also succeeded in relocating their archive to an office in the building for a better conservation of their archives. 3

Footnotes

  1. Discover Nikkei, “Chicago Japanese American Historical Society,” Discover Nikkei, Discover Nikkei, accessed July 2, 2023, https://discovernikkei.org/en/organizations/cjahs/about/.
  2. Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, “ABOUT,” CHICAGO JAPANESE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, accessed July 2, 2023, https://cjahs.org/.
  3. Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, “ARCHIVE,” CHICAGO JAPANESE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, accessed July 2, 2023, https://cjahs.org/archive/.
Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS)