Description
Jack Muro was 23 years old when he was incarcerated at Amache in Granada, Colorado. In 1943 he learned about photography from
a family friend and throughout his time at Amache took pictures of his friends, the camp, and the surrounding area of Granada.
Muro created an underground dark room underneath his barrack, which is where he developed all of his work.
Background
Jack Yoshihira Muro was born on December 3, 1921 in Winters, CA of Yolo County. His parents, Tokoichi Muro and Koito Funai,
farmed peaches and apricots as sharecroppers in Winters. They were originally from Wakayama-ken. Jack’s older sister, Sakiyo
Kawashima, was adopted by his aunt, Yamamoto, at a very young age and Jack was raised as an only child. Jack moved to Los
Angeles after graduating from Winters High School to work with his uncle, Kazuo Funai, at a produce market in Downtown Los
Angeles. His parents soon followed, where they moved into a home on 7th and Alvarado in the former Westlake Park neighborhood.
Jack remembers walking to work on the day of Pearl Harbor and recalls feeling strange as people were staring at him and his
uncle, prior to their knowledge of the attack.
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Collections
Management and Access Unit at the Japanese American National Museum (collections@janm.org).
Availability
By appointment only.
Please contact the Collections Management and Access Unit by email (collections@janm.org) or telephone (213-830-5615).