Biography
Shiro Takeda and his family were removed from Los Angeles and incarcerated at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, during the US wartime exclusion of Japanese Americans. Washington State University Libraries dates their confinement to 1942-1943. In 1943 they received leave after Takeda was hired to teach at the US Navy Japanese Language School in Boulder, Colorado. The Heart Mountain Sentinel of February 20, 1943 lists Takeda among people leaving for Boulder. This was administrative wartime incarceration; the cited evidence does not establish an individual criminal conviction. Exact entry and exit dates are unverified. Sources: WSU Libraries, https://content.libraries.wsu.edu/digital/collection/hmcolls/ ; Heart Mountain Sentinel, https://downloads.densho.org/ddr-densho-97/ddr-densho-97-116-mezzanine-d777998fc7.pdf
Verified detail sources (October 9, 2026, further review): Washington State University Libraries’ Takeda family collection explicitly records Heart Mountain incarceration in 1942-1943 and authorized leave in 1943 for Shiro Takeda’s U.S. Navy Japanese Language School employment. The start and end dates are recorded with year precision only. Administrative incarceration does not establish an individual criminal arrest or conviction. Same-name Canadian and contemporary Japanese records are excluded. Source 1.
