The collection comprises the papers of Mitsuye Yamada, a Japanese American poet and political activist who, as a teenager, was interned at Minadoka Relocation Center in Idaho during World War II. Her papers document her career as a writer, teacher, and human rights spokesperson, including her involvement with Amnesty International and the struggle by Japanese Americans to redress their treatment during the war. The collection also includes copies of Department of Justice and FBI files about her father's arrest and imprisonment during the war, which Yamada obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Mitsuye Yamada was born Mitsuye May Yasutake in Kyushu, Japan on July 5, 1923. When she was three years of age, her parents immigrated with their young family to the United States. Although she was sent back to Japan to live with her grandmother for eighteen months when she was 11-12 years old, Yamada spent most of her formative years in Seattle, Washington.

10.1 Linear Feet (28 boxes and 1 oversized folder)

Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

The collection is open for research.