Kay Sugahara, a millionaire by the age of 29, was sometimes referred to as the "Nisei Onassis" by other second generation Japanese Americans. He was imprisoned in two West Coast camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor, yet managed to free himself through his recruitment into the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner to the Central Intelligence Agency. After working for the OSS during the war, Sugahara fought to improve relations between the U.S. and Japan, build Asian American communities on a local and national scale, and as Fairfield-Maxwell Ltd. Chairman, he became a millionaire once again by making tankers in Japan for U.S. oil companies. The collection contains Sugahara's business, trip, and personal files.

Kay Sugahara, born in Seattle, Washington on March 18, 1909, was sometimes referred to as the "Nisei Onassis" by other second generation Japanese Americans. His father Kei Sugahara, the 10th son of a Sendai Samurai was born in Japan and immigrated to the U.S. between 1900 and 1905. His mother Taki Sugahara was born Shimane Ken. His family moved to Los Angeles between 1912 and 1913, where Kay attended public schools. Both parents died by the time he was 13.

86.8 Linear Feet (172 boxes, 23 flat boxes, 8 oversize flat boxes, and 5 shoe boxes)

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