Museum of the City of San Francisco
Home
Index
By Subject
By Year
Biographies
The Gift Shop

JAPANESE SENT TO TANFORAN

soldier guards doorway to Japanse American Citizen's League Building at 2031 Bush St. as Japanese line up for transportation under Gen. DeWitt's exclusion order no. 20. Caption by the War Relocation Authority. Photo by Dorothea LangeSeveral hundred alien and citizen Japanese today left San Francisco in two bus caravans, the first of 3112 going to the assembly center at Tanforan Race Track.

Another convoy left from Berkeley, with six more to leave before Friday.

Today’s evacuation took about half the local Japanese population of San Francisco’s primary zone; the process will be completed by Friday. The area affected is from California-st to Van Ness-av, Sutter-st to Presidio-av, holding 1923 Japanese.

“See you down there,” was the farewell of the many friends of the Japanese.

Four hundred two men, women and children formed the caravans of buses which left from the Japanese-American Citizens’ League and Civil Control Station at 2031 Bush-st. The second large group left at 10:30.

It appeared more to be the start of an outing than “ousting.” There was waving and cheering as the Japanese—family by family—filed out of the basement of the building and into the five buses parked at the curb.

Meanwhile, Lieut. Gen. DeWitt ordered the evacuation of Japanese from large portions of Multnomah County, Ore., including Portland, by May 5.

From Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo 200 Japanese, the first of a contingent of about 2500, arrived at the Tulare assembly center.


The San Francisco News
April 28, 1942

Photograph and caption information from the War Relocation Authority.

Go to the Japanese Internment page.

Return to the top of the page.