Finding Aid for the Shinkichirō Shima papers, 1894-1965
Japanese American Research Project (JARP) Collection
Processed by Yoko Okunishi in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Megan Hahn Fraser,
2010. Preliminary processing by UCLA Library Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
UCLA Library Special Collections
UCLA Library Special Collections staff
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2002
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid for the Shinkichirō Shima papers, 1894-1965
Japanese American Research Project (JARP) Collection
Collection number: 2010
UCLA Library Special Collections
UCLA Library Special Collections staff
Los Angeles, CA
Contact Information
- UCLA Library Special Collections staff
- UCLA Library Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
- URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2002 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Shinkichirō Shima papers,
Date (inclusive): 1894-1965
Collection number: 2010
Creator:
Shima, Shinkichirō (島辰吉朗)
Extent:
3 boxes (1.5 linear ft.)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Shinkichirō Shima was born in 1877 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and arrived at San Francisco in 1894. He was a devoted Christian
and poet, and worked as a cactus nurseryman in Southern California. During World War II, he was incarcerated in the Manzanar
Relocation Center. The collection consists of a diary, correspondence, religious poems and various religious writings.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English and Japanese.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Processing Note
Processed by Yoko Okunishi in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Megan Hahn Fraser,
2010. Preliminary processing by UCLA Library Special Collections staff.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Shinkichirō Shima papers, Japanese American Research Project Collection (Collection 2010). UCLA
Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Shinkichirō Shima was born in 1877 in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and arrived at San Francisco in 1894 on board the
Empress of China. He was baptized at a Methodist church in 1898 and became a devoted Christian. During World War II, he was incarcerated in
the Santa Ana Assembly Center and transferred to the Manzanar Relocation Center on July 31, 1942. In the Manzanar Relocation
Center, he joined the Guayule project, propagating rubber plans. He was also a poet and worked as a cactus nurseryman in Southern
California, exporting cacti to Japan.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of a diary, correspondence, and various writings related to the life of Shinkichirō Shima. The diary,
in Japanese, begins when he left Yokohama for the United States on board the
Empress of China (October 9, 1894) with subsequent entries made on memorable occasions. It includes descriptions of voyages when Shima traveled
between the U.S. and Japan from 1898 to 1918, and documents the matters of his cactus export business to Japan. It also covers
the time period when Shima was incarcerated in the Santa Fe Assembly Center and the Manzanar Relocation Center (1942-1946),
depicting life in the camps in a Japanese poetic form.
Three notebooks contain his drafts of letters, in English and Japanese, some of which were written in the Manzanar Relocation
Center while he was incarcerated. These include descriptions of camp life conditions as well as his participation in the Guayule
project to propagate rubber plants at the Manzanar Relocation Center, and his family situations in Japan. The drafts also
include English letters asking his friends to manage his bank accounts and Japanese letters discussing business plans for
trading between US and Japan.
Other writings include manuscripts for religious poems, 霊帳 Reichō, Daily blessing, hymns compiled in a Japanese poetic form
in the Manzanar Relocation Center, excerpts from the Bible and verses, and other religious writings.
Organization and Arrangement
Materials are arranged as follows:
- Personal papers (Box 136)
- Hymns in a Japanese poetic form (Box 136)
- 霊帳 Reichō (Box 136)
- Manuscripts for "Daily blessing" (Box 137)
- Religious poems and various religious writings (Boxes 137-138)
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Shima, Shinkichirō, 1877- --Archives.
Japanese American Research Project (University of California, Los Angeles).
Authors, Japanese--Archival resources.
Japanese Americans--California, Southern--Archival resources.
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945.
Related Material
Shima papers
1894-1965
Physical Description: 1.5 linear ft.
Scope and Content Note
Shima Shinkichirō (1877- ). Cactus nurseryman, Southern California. A native of Fukuoka Prefecture who arrived in America
in 1894. Poet and devout Christian.
Box 136, Folder 1
Biographical data
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Eight pieces of scratch paper containing brief biographical information on
Shima. Memorable occasions from 1877 through 1933 were documented chronologically. In
English and Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 2
Diary
: 1894-circa 1950
Scope and Content Note
One unbound notebook of diary beginning on Oct. 9, 1894 when Shima left
Yokohama, Japan, on board the Empress of China for the United States. Subsequent entries were
made only on memorable occasions. In Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 3
Diary
: 1949 December 22-1950 February 7
Scope and Content Note
One notebook of diary. Poems are also included. In Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 4
Drafts of letters
: 1942 August 6-circa 1946, May, 1959
Scope and Content Note
Three notebooks containing drafts of letters written by Shima: Two notebooks
were written in the Manzanar Relocation Center from August 6, 1942 to ca. May 1946; and one
notebook contains drafts of letters written in ca. 1959, poems, and some account notes. In
English and Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 5
Correspondence
: circa 1954-1965
Scope and Content Note
Incoming correspondence from Oral Roberts, Oral Roberts Evangelistic
Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and others. Materials also include two letters from Japanese
Research Institute of Rare Plants and Animals regarding Cactus business. In English and
Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 6
Immigration documents
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Application for a certificate of arrival and preliminary form for a declaration of
intention.
Box 136, Folder 7
Naturalization examination
: after 1950
Scope and Content Note
One booklet and two pieces of study notes for the naturalization examination.
In English.
Box 136, Folder 8
Address book
: 1951-1955, 1960-1963
Scope and Content Note
One address book for Christmas cards and gifts. In Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 9
Financial documents
: 1958 November 30, 1959 August 29
Scope and Content Note
Two pieces of financial documents. In English.
Box 136, Folder 10
豊前人同志會創立趣意書 Buzenjin Dōshikai setsuritsu shuisho
: 1934 December
Scope and Content Note
A leaflet containing objectives for
豊前人同志會 Buzenjin Dōshikai, an
association for people from the Buzen region, Japan. In Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 11
南加福岡県人会·婦人会 Nanka Fukuoka Kenjinkai and Fujinkai
: ca.1957 October-1961 March
Scope and Content Note
Leaflets regarding
南加福岡県人会 Nanka Fukuoka Kenjinkai
[Association for People from Fukuoka Prefecture] and
南加福岡婦人会 Nanka Fukuoka Fujinkai
[Women's Association for People from Fukuoka Prefecture]
Box 136, Folder 12
信用貯金組合人事相談部創立の趣意 Shin'yō Chochiku
Kumiai Jinji Sōdanbu sōritsu no shui
: undated
Scope and Content Note
One piece of scratch paper containing objectives for establishment of an office
in a trust bank which assists their church members in making savings. Written by Shima and
Takai Ikuo.
Box 136, Folder 13
Religious leaflet
: 1948
Scope and Content Note
A leaflet including religious poems circulated by Shima. In Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 14
Hymns
: 1943 January 1, and undated
Scope and Content Note
Two notebooks of hymns in a Japanese poetic form compiled by Shima; one
was compiled in the Manzanar Relocation Camp; and the date of the other notebook is unknown.
In Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 15
Manuscripts for 霊帳 Reichō
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Three notebooks including manuscripts for 霊帳
Reichō, a collection of Shima's poems. In Japanese.
Box 136, Folder 16
霊帳 Reichō
: 1958 November
Scope and Content Note
One privately-printed book including a collection of Shima's poems; and an
estimate for its publication. In Japanese.
Box 137, Folder 1
Manuscripts for "Daily blessing"
: 1962 January 1-1964 December 31
Scope and Content Note
Three notebooks and three pieces of paper containing manuscripts for "Daily
blessing" written from January 1, 1962 through December 31, 1964. In English and Japanese.
Box 137, Folder 2
Manuscripts for "Daily blessing"
: 1965 January 1-December 25
Scope and Content Note
Manuscripts for "Daily blessing" written from January 1 through December 25,
1965. In English and Japanese.
Box 137, Folder 3
Manuscripts for "Daily blessing"
: probably 1966 January 1-30, March 1-April 28
Scope and Content Note
Manuscripts for "Daily blessing" written probably in 1966, January 1-30, and
March 1-April 28. In English and Japanese.
Box 137, Folder 4
Religious writings (1 of 2)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Four notebooks containing collections of various religious writings. In
Japanese.
Box 137, Folder 5
Religious writings (2 of 2)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Five notebooks containing collections of various religious writings. In
Japanese.
Box 137, Folder 6
Religious poems (1 of 3)
: 1942-circa 1957, and undated
Scope and Content Note
Twenty seven pieces of scratch paper containing manuscripts of religious
poems composed by Shima. In Japanese and English.
Box 137, Folder 7
Religious poems (2 of 3)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Four notebooks containing manuscripts of religious poems composed by
Shima. In Japanese and English.
Box 137, Folder 8
Religious poems (3 of 3)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Three notebooks containing manuscripts of religious poems composed by
Shima. In Japanese and English.
Box 138, Folder 1
Religious poems with reading notes (1 of 2)
: 1901-1910
Scope and Content Note
One notebook containing reading notes and religious poems composed by
Shima.
Box 138, Folder 2
Religious poems with reading notes (2 of 3)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Religious poems composed by Shima. Includes reading notes on the
Japanese translation of "The manhood of the master" written by Harry Emerson Fosdick and
"修養の友 Shūyō no tomo" by
吉村末吉 Yoshimura Suekichi. In Japanese.
Box 138, Folder 3
Religious poems with reading notes (3 of 3)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Religious poems composed by Shima. Includes reading notes for
"愛の暦 Ai no koyomi," the Japanese translation of Leo Tolstoy's work, and
works of 賀川豊彦 Kagawa Toyohiko. Primarily in Japanese with
some in English.
Box 138, Folder 4
Religious poems with religious writings (1 of 3)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Collections of various manuscripts for religious poems with verses in the Bible
and other religious writings. Primarily in Japanese, with texts in English.
Box 138, Folder 5
Religious poems with religious writings (2 of 3)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Collections of various manuscripts for religious poems with verses in the Bible
and other religious writings. Primarily in Japanese, with texts in English.
Box 138, Folder 6
Religious poems with religious writings (3 of 3)
: undated
Scope and Content Note
Collections of various manuscripts for religious poems with verses in the Bible
and other religious writings. Primarily in Japanese, with texts in English.
Box 138, Folder 7
Document on loyalty
: undated
Scope and Content Note
One item documenting "忠 chū" [loyalty] in Japanese.
