Documents, correspondence, photographs, clippings, and other materials related to Thomas Nobuyuki Shigekuni and Ruth Yamagishi Shigekuni, business owners and members of the Los Angeles Japanese American community.

Thomas Nobuyuki Shigekuni (1929-2019) was an American lawyer, businessman, and civil rights activist for the Japanese American community. Born in Los Angeles on August 4, 1929, he was one of four children of Yonetaro (Frank) and Shizuyo (Mary) Shigekuni, immigrants from Hiroshima, Japan. From 1942 to 1945, the Shigekuni family was incarcerated in Colorado's Granada War Relocation Center, also known as Camp Amache. As a young man during the Korean War, Thomas Shigekuni served in the 6004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron in Tokyo, Japan. After the war, he attended Pepperdine University and later opened Centrose Nursery in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles. In 1966, after graduating from the University of Southern California School of Law, Shigekuni began practicing law and represented many Japanese companies' early expansion into the United States. In 1982, he was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to California's State Board of Food and Agriculture, the first Japanese American to serve. Shigekuni was also involved with several community organizations, including local chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Japanese American Citizens League, the Torrance Rotary Club, and the California Association of Nurserymen.

7.84 Linear Feet (16 boxes)

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