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Finding aid of the Frank Nakata Collection
MSS 322
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Title: Frank Nakata collection
Dates: 1940
-1947
Collection number: MSS 322
Collector:
Nakata, Frank
Creator:
Oye, Wataru
Collection Size: .25 linear feet
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Dept. of
Special Collections
Stockton, California 95211
Abstract: Many of the almost 50 letters are in Japanese
and many, but not all, of those have been translated. There are letters from
other Relocation Camps in Topaz, Utah; Granada, Colorado (Amache); and Newell,
California (Tule Lake). Other locations include: Fort Riley, Kansas and Brigham
City, Utah.
Physical location: For current information on the location
of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection open for research.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as
the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the
researcher.
Frank Nakata collection. MSS 322. Holt-Atherton Department of Special
Collections, University of the Pacific Library.
Biography / Administrative History
Frank M. Nakata appears to have lived in Windsor, California (near Santa
Rosa) in 1940 and was briefly in the Pomona Assembly Center before being moved
to Heart Mountain Relocation Center near Ralston, Wyoming. He likely returned
to San Francisco in 1945. Many of the letters in this collection come from his
nephew Wataru Oye (1912-2001). According to his biography
(http://www.wataruoye.com/Bio.html), Oye was in San Francisco when World War II
started. He was drafted, and trained at Camp Phillips, Kansas. Oye later fought
with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Europe. He was discharged in late 1945
and studied art at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. All of Oye's letters
in this collection come from his times in Kansas. Other identifiable letter
writers include: Sadako Arima, Mitsuko Kawashima, Eiko Arima, Eili Uchida,
George and Kishiko Hoshide, and Yoshiko Kanashiro. Frequently, letter writers
to Nakata would ask about a Mr. Sakaguchi.
Scope and Content of Collection
Many of the almost 50 letters are in Japanese and many, but not all, of
those have been translated. There are letters from other Relocation Camps in
Topaz, Utah; Granada, Colorado (Amache); and Newell, California (Tule Lake).
Other locations include: Fort Riley, Kansas and Brigham City, Utah. There is
also a Japanese Tulean Dispatch from June 22, 1943 that has been translated as
well as information from the Tule Lake Union Church.
Generally, the letters describe camp life at the Relocation Centers.
Weather and lack of things to do are the most common topics. The writers
occasionally wonder about individuals that they have not seen since before
relocation. Wataru Oye's letters illustrate the life of a Japanese-American
soldier stationed in Kansas during World War II.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Tule Lake Relocation Center
(Calif.)
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and
relocation. 1942-1945