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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 21, 2025

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JANM

JANM Mourns the Passing of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

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Editors please note: JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus and at other locations at janm.org/OnTheGo. 

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) mourns the passing of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, coauthor of Farewell to Manzanar. Born in Inglewood, California, on September 26, 1934, she grew up in Santa Monica. Her mother cared for their family of ten children while her father worked as a commercial fisherman. Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her father was taken to a North Dakota military prison. After being separated from his wife and children for about a year, he was reunited with them in the Manzanar concentration camp. At Manzanar, Houston was chronically sick and escaped the daily injustices of camp life by reading books that were donated to Manzanar for the camp’s schools and libraries. 

After the war, she earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from San José State College (now San José State University), and married fellow student and writer, James D. Houston. She did not talk about her wartime experience until 1971 when her nephew, who was born at Manzanar and wanted to know more about his birthplace, asked her how she felt about her own imprisonment. His question unlocked a wave of emotions and propelled her to tell her story—at first through audio recordings for her family, and then through her 1973 memoir and 1976 made-for-television movie for the world. Farewell to Manzanar continues to be in print and has sold 1.6 million copies.

Houston was honored at JANM’s 2006 Gala where she received the Award of Excellence for her contributions to society. JANM’s Discover Nikkei project features clips from her oral history interview with the Museum. In addition to selling DVDs of the movie in the JANM Store, JANM hosted the film’s thirtieth anniversary screening and featured it at the 2013 JANM National Conference in Seattle, Washington. Houston has also visited JANM multiple times for various book programs and other events.

“We honor Jeanne’s contributions to uncovering the truths of wartime incarceration and empowering the Japanese American community. By documenting her family’s story, she gave a timeless and powerful gift to the literature and scholarship of Japanese American incarceration during World War II,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM President and CEO.

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