Abstract
The history of Japanese American communities is a vital part of U.S. and California history but is under discussed in the traditional narrative. Within Japanese American history, incarceration during World War II requires more discussion in the public sphere. Isleton’s Forgotten Nihonmachi creates representation of the Japanese American community and their experience of incarceration through the lens of local history in the Sacramento Delta. The project takes a new approach to the topic by focusing on the perspective of a community, basing the community on their location prior to the event, rather than on a specific assembly or incarceration center. The approach provides a story that explains the rise and decline of a Japanese American community in Isleton and the effect of incarceration. Sources included: oral histories, photographs, scholarly literature, and primary sources from archives and museums. The exhibit had a soft launch March 2, 2024, and set to reopen late spring of 2024 at the Isleton Museum on Main Street.