The Rafu Uwamachi Daini Gakuen (Los Angeles Uptown Second Education House) was a Japanese language school established in 1915 and attended by local Japanese American students, with a break during the years of World War II, until its closure in 1993. The collection contains a variety of administrative and instructional materials, newsletters, correspondence, memoranda, personal papers, and photographs. While the majority of the collection is in Japanese, certain records are in English.

In 1915, the Rev. Setsu Yamazaki, a priest at the Rafu Nipponjin Seikokai, established the Rafu Uwamachi Daini Gakuen, a Japanese language school, in Los Angeles. Initially, Rev. Yamazaki taught students in his church at 1011 S. Mariposa Street. In 1917, a school board consisting of the students' parents was formed, and in 1922 the school moved to a building at 1035 Fedora Street purchased with funds donated by parents and community members. In 1925, a mothers' association, the "Midori Kai," was established to help school administrative functions and organize special events and cultural programs such as movie nights, Hina Matsuri festivals, Japanese cooking classes and English lessons. The school closed temporarily in 1942 with the removal of Japanese Americans to concentration camps. After the war, the school functioned as a temporary residence for Japanese Americans as they returned to the area. In 1948, the school reopened and resumed classes, reaching its peak activity in the 1970s and 1980s but eventually closing its doors in June of 1993, partly the result of the changing demographics of the neighborhood.

4.5 linear feet

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Hirasaki National Resource Center at the Japanese American National Museum (collections@janm.org).

By appointment only. Please Contact the Collections Management and Access Unit by email (collections@janm.org).