Finding Aid for the Ryoichi Fujii Papers, 1919-1999

Processed by Yuji Ichioka and Eiichiro Azuma; machine-readable finding aid created by Alight Tsai and Caroline Cubé
© 2004
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Finding Aid for the Ryoichi Fujii Papers, 1919-1999

Collection number: 614

UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections

Manuscripts Division



Los Angeles, CA
Processed by:
Yuji Ichioka and Eiichiro Azuma, 1999
Encoded by:
Alight Tsai and Caroline Cubé
Online finding aid edited by:
Josh Fiala, April 2004 and Amy Shung-Gee Wong, June 2004
© 2004 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Ryoichi Fujii Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1919-1999
Collection number: 614
Creator: Fujii, Ryoichi
Extent: 13 boxes (6.5 linear ft.)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Ryoichi Fujii (1905-1983) was a bilingual journalist, political commentator, and political activist. Between 1936 and 1940, he was a member of the American Communist Party active in Southern California. During the wartime years, Fujii was interned first at Santa Anita and then at Heart Mountain. As an advocate of cooperation with the American government, he was a key figure in the resettlement phase of internment, especially in the Chicago area. In 1945, he founded the Chicago Shimpo. As an editor and writer, he was an outspoken opponent of McCarthyism, white racism, the U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Pact, and the Vietnam War and a supporter of the civil rights movement. Besides his prolific writings as a newpaperman, he was also the author of Shikago Nikkeijinshi (c.1968), a history of Japanese-Americans in Chicago. The collection consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence files, Newsletters no.1-34 (1944-45), precursor to the Chicago Shimpo, office records of the Chicago Shimpo Company (1945-1970), clippings of newspaper articles by Fujii, documents and correspondence relating to Fujii's own postwar deportation proceedings, essays on the wartime internment, U.S.-Japan relations, and other topics, rough drafts of his autobiography, reports written for the WRA (1942-44), WRA publications and reports, and miscellaneous papers and personal memorabilia.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of 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: Advance notice required for access.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of Midori Fujii, 1999.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Ryoichi Fujii Papers (Collection 614). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 4660273 

Biography

Ryoichi Fujii (1905-1983) was a bilingual journalist, political commentator, and political activist. Born as Asano Katsu in Gifu city in Gifu Prefecture, he was known as “Bob” Fujii in English. A graduate of Doshisha University, Fujii came to the U.S. as a student in 1931, where he attended Oberlin and received his M.A. in 1934. Between 1936 and 1940, he was a member of the American Communist Party active in Southern California. During the wartime years, Fujii was interned first at Santa Anita and then at Heart Mountain. As an advocate of cooperation with the American government, he was a key figure in the resettlement phase of internment, especially in the Chicago area. In 1945 he founded the Chicago Shimpo. As an editor and writer, he was an outspoken opponent of McCarthyism, white racism, the U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Pact, and the Vietnam War and a supporter of the civil rights movement. Besides his prolific writings as a newpaperman, he was also the author of Shikago Nikkeijinshi, a history of Japanese-Americans in Chicago, published in 1968.

Biographical Narrative

Fujii Ryoichi [Japanese characters](1905-1983) was a bilingual Issei journalist, political commentator, and political activist. Born as Asano Katsu [Japanese characters] in Gifu city in Gifu Prefecture, he was known as “Bob” Fujii in English. A graduate of Doshisha University, Fujii came to the United States as a student in 1931. He attended Oberlin College from which he received a M.A. in 1934. Between 1936 and 1940, he was a member of the American Communist Party active in Southern California.
During the wartime years, he was interned first at Santa Anita and then at Heart Mountain. As an advocate of cooperation with the American government, he was a key figure in the so-called resettlement phase of internment, especially in the Chicago area. In 1945 he founded the Chicago Shimpo [Japanese characters]. As an editor and writer, he was an outspoken opponent of McCarthyism, white racism, the U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Pact, and the Vietnam War and supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.
Fujii was married to the late Emi Kimura, a San Jose Nisei with whom he had two daughters, Midori and Sono. Besides his prolific writings as a newspaperman, he was also the author of Shikago Nikkeijinshi [Japanese characters], a history of Japanese-Americans in Chicago published in 1968.
The Fujii Ryoichi Papers consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence files, including English letters from Dr. Walter M. Horton, Professor of Theology, Oberlin College; Henry Heineman, Fujii's attorney; Emi Kimura, his wife; Masanori Kojima and Setsuko Nisei; two close Nisei friends, and other persons; Newsletters, no.1-34 (May 1, 1944-October 14, 1945), the precursor to the Chicago Shimpo; office records of the Chicago Shimpo Company, including business papers and correspondence file, 1945-1970; clippings of newspaper articles by Fujii on McCarthyism and HUAAC, American politics and society, and international affairs; documents and correspondence relating to Fujii's own postwar deportation hearings; Japanese and English essays on the wartime internment, U.S.-Japan relations, and other topics; rough drafts of English autobiography; English reports written for the WRA, 1942-1944; WRA publications and reports; and miscellaneous papers and personal memorabilia.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence files, including letters from Dr. Walter M. Horton, theology professor at Oberlin; Henry Heineman, Fujii's attorney; Emi Kimura, his wife; Masanori Kojima and Setsuko Nishi, two close friends, and other persons; Newsletters no.1-34 (1944-45), precursor to the Chicago Shimpo; office records of the Chicago Shimpo Co., including business papers and correspondence files, 1945-1970; clippings of newspaper articles by Fujii on McCarthyism and HUAAC, American politics and society, and international affairs; documents and correspondence relating to Fujii's own postwar deportation proceedings; essays on the wartime internment, U.S.-Japan relations, and other topics; rough drafts of his autobiography; reports written for the WRA, 1942-44; WRA publications and reports; and miscellaneous papers and personal memorabilia.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:
  1. Personal correspondence file (Box 1).
  2. Biographical material (Box 1).
  3. Wartime internment and resettlement (Boxes 1-3).
  4. Deportation hearings and McCarthyism (Boxes 3-5).
  5. Chicago Shimpo company papers (Boxes 5-6).
  6. Fujii Ryoichi Chicago Shimpo clippings (Boxes 5-11).
  7. Miscellaneous papers (Boxes 12-13).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the repository's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Fujii, Ryoichi--Archives.
Heart Mountain Relocation Center (Wyo.).
Chicago Shimpo, Inc.
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945--Archival resources.
Newspaper editors--Archival resources.

Related Material

Japanese American Research Project Collection (Collection 2010). Available at the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.

 

I. Personal Correspondence File

 

Outgoing English Letters.

Box 1, Folder 1

Sono & Midori Fujii, 1974-1975.

Physical Description: 7 items.
Box 1, Folder 1

Henry Heineman, 1953-1956.

Physical Description: 9 items.
Box 1, Folder 1

Dr. Walter M. Horton, 1942-1945,1950,1953-1956.

Physical Description: 14 items.
Box 1, Folder 1

Emi Kimura, 1943-1944.

Physical Description: 6 items.
Box 1, Folder 1

Masanori Kojima, 1953-1957.

Physical Description: 12 items.
Box 1, Folder 1

Setsuko Nishi, 1953-1956.

Physical Description: 7 items.
Box 1, Folder 2

Miscellaneous outgoing English letters, 1942-1944, 1949-1957.

Physical Description: 40 items.
Box 1, Folder 3

Incoming English letters.

Box 1, Folder 3

Henry Heineman, 1953-1957.

Physical Description: 7 items.
Box 1, Folder 3

Dr. Walter M. Horton, 1943-1944,1953.

Physical Description: 5 items.
Box 1, Folder 3

Masanori Kojima, 1953-1955.

Physical Description: 5 items.
Box 1, Folder 3

Others, 1942, 1945, 1952-1957.

Physical Description: 10 items.
Box 1, Folder 4

Emi Fujii-Masanori Kojima correspondence, November 1984-May 1986.

Physical Description: 20 items.
Box 1, Folder 5

Emi Fujii-Saito Gyokko correspondence, August 1985-July 1985.

Physical Description: 5 items.
Box 1, Folder 6

Midori Fujii-Yuji Ichioka correspondence & other material, 1998-1999.

Physical Description: 9 items.
 

II. Biographical Material

Box 1, Folder 7

Autobiographical English essays & vitae, ca. 1953-1982.

Physical Description: 7 items.
Box 1, Folder 8

Fujii biography project papers, ca. 1980s.

Box 1, Folder 9

Miscellaneous notes.

 

III. Wartime Internment & Resettlement

 

A. Fujii Authored Material

Box 2, Folder 1

WRA field reports, Heart Mountain, 1943.

Physical Description: 4 items.
Box 2, Folder 2

“Tenju shokan” [Japanese characters] (no.1-14), November 1943-January 1940, published in the Rocky Shimpo; critiques of “Tenju shokan” by Kaito Yasushi [Japanese characters].

Box 2, Folder 2

Hachimonji Kumeza [Japanese characters], January 1944; “Hihyo ni kotaeru” [Japanese characters], handwritten drafts never published, ca. Jan.-Feb. 1944.

Box 2, Folder 3

Documents on an “Adult Education” class, June-August 1942.

Box 2, Folder 4

Drafts of “Americanization Program” lectures, 1943-1945.

Physical Description: 6 items.
Box 2, Folder 5

English lectures on Japanese militarism & politics.

Box 2, Folder 5

“History of Japanese Cabinets, 1918-Date.”

Physical Description: (2 copies)
Box 2, Folder 5

“Koiso Cabinet and Tri-Partite Alliance.”

 

B. WRA & Other Material

Box 2, Folder 6

WRA Heart Mountain documents, 1943.

Physical Description: 4 items.
Box 2, Folder 7

WRA “Project Analysis” reports, 1943.

Physical Description: 11 items.
Box 2, Folder 8

WRA administrative instructions & other internal documents, 1942-1945.

Physical Description: 12 items.
Box 2, Folder 9

WRA announcements & notices, 1943-1945.

Physical Description: 4 items.
Box 2, Folder 10

Internment bibliographies, 1942-1943.

Physical Description: 3 items.
Box 2, Folder 11

Internment pamphlets & booklets, ca. 1943-1945.

Physical Description: 5 items.
Box 2, Folder 12

Resettlement documents, 1943-1947.

Physical Description: 8 items.
Box 2, Folder 13

Repatriation documents, 1942-1943.

Box 3, Folder 1

English magazine articles, 1942-1945.

Physical Description: 18 items.
Box 3, Folder 2

English newspaper clippings, 1942-1945.

Box 3, Folder 3

Japanese newspaper clippings, ca. 1943.

Box 3, Folder 4

Miscellaneous documents.

 

IV. Deportation Hearings & McCarthyism

Box 3, Folder 5

Documents on Fujii's deportation case, ca. 1955.

Physical Description: 3 items.
Box 3, Folder 6

Testaments to Fujii's moral character, December 1953-January 1954.

Physical Description: 8 items.
Box 3, Folder 7

Miscellaneous documents, ca. 1950s.

Physical Description: 6 items.
Box 3, Folder 8

English newspaper & magazine clippings on McCarthyism, ca. 1940s & 1950.

Box 3, Folder 9

1951.

Box 4, Folder 1

1952.

Box 4, Folders 2-3

1953.

Box 4, Folder 4

1954-1955.

Box 4, Folder 5

1956-1958, 1961.

Box 5, Folder 1

Robert Oppenheimer case, 1954.

Box 5, Folder 2

Immigration bills, 1950-1955.

Box 5, Folder 3

The 1952 Walter-McCarran Act, 1952-1955.

Physical Description: 5 items.
 

V. Chicago Shimpo Company Papers

 

B. Incoming Correspondence File

Box 5, Folder 4

re Company labor dispute, March-May 1950.

Physical Description: 13 Japanese items.
Box 5, Folder 5

re Company labor dispute, March-November 1950.

Physical Description: 16 English items.
Box 5, Folder 6

Matsumoto Masao [Japanese characters], ca. 1950-1953.

Physical Description: 12 Japanese items.
Box 5, Folder 7

Niijima Shigeru [Japanese characters], ca. 1949-1956.

Physical Description: 28 Japanese items.
Box 5, Folder 8

Watanabe Seisuke [Japanese characters], ca. 1949-1950s.

Physical Description: 7 Japanese items.
Box 5, Folder 9

Yashima Taro A [Japanese characters], ca. 1950s.

Physical Description: 3 Japanese items.
Box 5, Folder 10

Miscellaneous Japanese letters & postcards, 1946-1978.

Physical Description: 25 items.
Box 5, Folder 11

Miscellaneous Japanese letters, 1946-1978.

Physical Description: 38 items.
Box 5, Folder 12

Miscellaneous English letters & postcard, 1948-1973.

Physical Description: 20 items.
Box 6, Folder 1

“Newsletter,” (no.1-34), May 1, 1944-October 14, 1945, Japanese, precursor of the Chicago Shimpo.

Box 6, Folder 2

English By-Laws, Articles of Incorporation, & other documents, 1945-1946.

Physical Description: 3 items.
Box 6, Folder 3

The Board of Trustee minutes & other documents, April-May 1950.

Box 6, Folder 4

Resumption of the Chicago Shimpo, May 1950-January 1951.

Box 6, Folder 5

Financial papers & other documents, 1947-1950, 1976-1978.

Box 6, Folder 6

Miscellaneous papers, ca. 1940s-1950s, 1986.

 

VI. Fujii Ryoichi Chicago Shimpo Clippings

Box 6, Folder 7

“Ryokoki” [Japanese characters] [Travelogue] (no.2-8), May 2-June 20, 1946.

Box 6, Folder 8

“Shikago zakki” [Japanese characters] [Chicago miscellaneous notes], January 24, April 24, July 10-December 24, 1947.

Box 6, Folder 9

1948.

Box 6, Folder 10

1949.

Box 6, Folder 11

1950- January 12, 1952.

Box 6, Folder 12

January 17-October 21, 1953.

Box 7, Folder 1

“Chuseiron” [Japanese characters] [On Loyalty] (no.1-48), March 3-August 18, 1951.

Box 7, Folder 2

“Beikoku senkyo fūkei” [Japanese characters] [American election scenes] (no.1-90), November 28,1951-November 15, 1952.

Box 7, Folder 3

“Imin kikaho ronso” [Japanese characters] [Dispute over the new immigration/naturalization law] (no.1-11), November 22-January 14, 1953.

Box 7, Folder 4

“Oyabaka chanrin” [Japanese characters], [“Diary of Foolish Father”], September 1950-May 1963, May 1971-July 1972.

Box 7, Folder 5

“Shinpen zakki” [Japanese characters], [Miscellaneous personal notes], 1960-1975.

Box 7, Folder 6

“Shikago Shimpo sanjunen” [Japanese characters] [“30 years of Shimpo”], January-July 1976.

Box 7, Folder 7

“Beikoku gendai jinbutsuron” [Japanese characters] [Profiles of Modern American Leaders], series of articles on John F. Kennedy, Wayne Morse, & Harry Truman, June-November 1959.

Box 7, Folder 8

Adlai Stevenson, Dwight Eisenhower, Hugo Black, John F. Kennedy & Richard Nixon, November 1959-December 1960.

Box 8, Folder 1

Kennedy Administration, Marilyn Monroe, Adlai Stevenson, & Arthur Goldberg, 1961.

Box 8, Folder 2

Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, & Eleanor Roosevelt, 1962-January 1963.

Box 8, Folder 3

Robert Welch &. John F. Kennedy, March 1963-February 1964.

Box 8, Folder 4

Henry Cabot Lodge, Richard Daley, Robert Kennedy, & Martin Luther King, Jr., July 1965-April 1967.

Box 8, Folder 5

Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Eugene McCarthy, Hubert Humphrey, & J. William Fulbright, March 1968-October 1969.

Box 8, Folder 6

Edmund Muskie & Paul McClosky, February-July 1971.

 

Commentaries on American Politics & Society

Box 9, Folder 1

American society, culture, & politics, 1961, 1965-1967.

Box 9, Folder 2

American society, 1970, 1974-1975, 1977.

Box 9, Folder 3

Black “question” & racial revolt, 1963, 1967.

Box 9, Folder 4

Nixon Administration & the Watergate scandal, 1970, 1971, April-November 1973.

Box 9, Folder 5

The Watergate scandal, November 1973-October 1974.

Box 10, Folder 1

Ford Administration, November 1974-February 1975, November-December 1975.

Box 10, Folder 2

1976 Election, March 1975-January 1977.

Box 10, Folder 3

Carter Administration & 1978 election, January-August 1977, October 1978-July 1979.

Box 10, Folder 4

Vietnam War, 1962, 1965-1966, 1968-1969.

Box 10, Folder 5

Vietnam War, 1971, 1973, 1975-1976.

 

Articles on International Affairs & Other Topics

Box 11, Folder 1

Cuban crisis, Sino-Soviet relations, Dominican Republic, & China, 1962-1963, 1965, 1967.

Box 11, Folder 2

China, India-Pakistan conflict, Ireland, Angola, Middle East, & Sino-Vietnamese conflict, 1971-1973, 1976-1979.

Box 11, Folder 3

Book reviews.

Box 11, Folder 4

Japanese culture, 1977-1979.

Box 11, Folder 5

Miscellaneous Japanese editorials & articles, 1946-1947, 1967-1968, 1975-1978.

Box 11, Folder 6

Miscellaneous English editorials, October 1948-November 1952.

Box 11, Folder 7

Drafts of Japanese newspaper columns & articles.

 

VII. Miscellaneous Papers

Box 12, Folder 1

Drafts of English speeches on Japanese & American politics & histories.

Physical Description: 6 items.
Box 12, Folder 2

Shikago Nikkeijinshi, 1968; “Oberlin Directory Class of 1933,” 1977.

Physical Description: 1 item (book).
Box 12, Folder 3

Miscellaneous English articles, pamphlets, & press releases, 1936-1950s.

Box 12, Folder 4

Akahata [Japanese characters] & other Japanese communist publications, 1945-1949.

Box 12, Folder 5

Articles by Hirano Yoshitaro [Japanese characters].

Physical Description: 2 items.
Box 12, Folder 6

Material pertaining to the death of Masanori Kojima, December 1988-February 1989.

Box 12, Folder 7

Documents on the Tenants on Kimbark Organization, 1962.

Box 13, Folder 1

Emi Fujii papers, ca. 1960. re her work as a government social worker.

Box 13, Folder 2

Copies of letters from Toshio, Midori, & June Kimura to Nancy Cathran, 1942-1945.

Physical Description: 23 items.
Box 13, Folder 3

Matsui Shuji [Japanese characters] personal papers with photos, 1919-1944.

Box 13, Folders 4-5

Others.