Travel: Manzanar

In August, I traveled up California's Highway 395 and did some sightseeing. One of my stops was at the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Manzanar was a forced internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. It is a very somber place.

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Almost no buildings remain. Only the concrete floors show you where buildings once stood.

There are lots of paper origami cranes strung in the trees and draped on fences and tombstones. I am not sure what this means, but I think it might signify "releasing the soul" in Japanese culture.

Signs show you where buildings used to be.

This is what remains of a Japanese garden; this was a pond as part of a Zen garden. There were several of these gardens at Manzanar.

In the cemetery, people have left coins, chopsticks, bowls, photographs, and other objects on the memorial obelisk.

What remains of the hospital.

More paper cranes at the cemetery.

A memorial obelisk at the cemetery. The Japanese characters say "Monument to console the souls of the dead".

Marked graves

Obelisk at sunset

More origami

Tombstone

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All photos are ©2005 Kathryn Hill Photography.