Yamashita Family Papers, circa 1880-2015, bulk 1942-1995

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Summary

Creators:
Yamashita (Family: Yamashita, Karen Tei, 1951-)
Abstract:
The Yamashita Family Papers include correspondence, writings, photographs, photograph albums, genealogical research, and other family documents and belongings spanning over a century and including three generations of the Yamashita family. The collection covers the initial immigration of Kishiro and Tomi Yamashita from Japan to California to raise a family, through the generation of their grandchildren in the mid to late 20th century. Part of the Issei generation, Kishiro and Tomi had seven children, all of whom were born in Oakland between 1901 and 1921. Materials from these seven children—Kimi, Susumu, Chizu, John, Iyo, Kay, and Tom—make up the bulk of the collection showcasing the experiences of the Nisei generation growing up in California, including the exclusion and incarceration legislation that impacted the family during World War II. Materials from the children of the Nisei generation (the Sansei generation) are also included.
Extent:
70.1 Linear Feet 57 boxes, 1 map-case drawer
Language:
English , Japanese .
Preferred citation:

Yamashita Family Papers. MS 411. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Background

Scope and content:

The Yamashita Family Papers include correspondence, writings, photographs, photograph albums, genealogical research, and other family documents and belongings spanning over a century and including three generations of the Yamashita family. The collection covers the initial immigration of Kishiro and Tomi Yamashita from Japan to California to raise a family, through the generation of their grandchildren in the mid to late 20th century. Part of the Issei generation, Kishiro and Tomi had seven children, all of whom were born in Oakland between 1901 and 1921. Materials from these seven children—Kimi, Susumu, Chizu, John, Iyo, Kay, and Tom—make up the bulk of the collection showcasing the experiences of the Nisei generation growing up in California, including the exclusion and incarceration legislation that impacted the family during World War II. There are a number of materials related to the children from the Nisei generation as well, especially Karen Tei Yamashita, a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz and one of the main contributors and researchers responsible for collecting these materials from her family.

Biographical / historical:

The Yamashitas are a Japanese American family who were mainly based in California during the 20th century. The first generation of the Yamashitas who immigrated to the United States (called the Issei generation) were Kishiro (1873-1931) and Tomi (née Murakami, 1882-1972), who arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area from Japan around the turn of the 20th century. Kishiro and Tomi had seven children after settling in the United States, who comprise the Nisei generation: Kimi (born 1902), Susumu "Sus" (1905), Chizuru Dorothy "Chizu" (1908), Hiroshi John (1912), Iyo (1915), Kiye "Kay" (1918), and Isao Thomas "Tom" (1921). The children of the Nisei members, called the Sansei generation, were born throughout the 1920s to the 1950s. During World War II, members of the Yamashita family were forced to leave their homes after President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. They were incarcerated first at the Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, California, before being moved to the Central Utah Relocation Center, more commonly known as Topaz. After the war, some Yamashita family members returned to the California Bay Area, and others moved to New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Ohio, Philadelphia, and New York.

An online exhibition project was created by the Yamashita family about their archive before it was donated to UC Santa Cruz, viewable at https://yamashitaarchives.ucsc.edu/ .

Acquisition information:
Gifts of Karen Tei Yamashita, 2015-2025.
Processing information:

The Yamashita family stewarded this collection of family archives before its accrual by UC Santa Cruz University Library Special Collections & Archives. This stewardship work included but was not limited to collecting, organizing, labeling, transcribing, digitizing, cataloging, and preserving documents from generations of the Yamashita family. Several people worked on this collection, including Karen Tei Yamashita, Lucy Asako Boltz, Martha "Marty" (Ono) Uyeki, Eugene Uyeki, Ann (Tamaki) Dion, Ken Yamashita, Susan (Kimiko Yamashita) Bowers, Kix Kitow, Hisaji Sakai, Jane Tomi Yamashita Boltz, Mary Jane Tomi Boltz, Jonah Stuart-Brundage, Sebastian Honnef, and Michael Jin, as well as the named Yamashita family members in this collection. After the collection was donated to Special Collections & Archives in the 2010s, the collection was processed by Anny MogollĂłn, Jacob Stone, and Alix Norton in the Center for Archival Research and Training (CART), 2022-2023. Most titles in this collection were derived from the original folder titles as received from the family. Digitized copies of physical materials in the collection were not retained by Special Collections & Archives.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in six series:

  • Series 1: Issei generation
  • Series 2: Nisei generation
  • Series 3: Sansei generation
  • Series 4: Incarceration experience
  • Series 5: Correspondence
  • Series 6: Photographs and audiovisual media
Materials within each series or smaller component are arranged chronologically by date, unless otherwise specified.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection open for research. Audiovisual media is unavailable until reformatted. Digital files are available in the UCSC Special Collections and Archives reading room. Contact Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access to audiovisual media and digital files.

Terms of access:

Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs. Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.

Preferred citation:

Yamashita Family Papers. MS 411. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Location of this collection:
Special Collections and Archives, University Library
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064, US
Contact:
(831) 459-2547
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu
Website