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Lost LA

Reflecting on Japanese American Life in Postwar Los Angeles

After WWII, thousands of formerly incarcerated Japanese Americans had no homes or jobs to return to. Many ended up in makeshift trailer parks provided by the state, the living conditions of which were said to be worse than in the incarceration camps. Artist Estelle Ishigo’s drawings serve as documentation of what life looked like in these trailer parks throughout Los Angeles.

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Paul Revere Williams opposite a man explaining a project | Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles
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