Sakai and Kozawa Families Papers: Finding Aid mssSK
Melissa Haley
The Huntington Library
February 2024
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated by Melissa Haley, April 2024.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Sakai and Kozawa families papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssSK
Physical Description:
69.06 Linear Feet
(55 boxes, 4 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1890-2017
Date (bulk): 1940s-1980s
Abstract: The collection primarily documents multiple generations of the Sakai, Kozawa, Kawakami, and related families in the Los Angeles
area from approximately 1890 to 2017 and the family business, Tokio Florist.
Language of Material: Materials are in English and Japanese.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
RESTRICTED. Box 48: Photographic negatives housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time required.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Sakai and Kozawa families papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Kozawa Family Trust, February 2020.
Biographical / Historical
The Sakai, Kozawa, and Kawakami families represented in the collection span four generations and lived primarily in Southern
California, though some extended family members lived in Japan. Asakichi Kawakami (1865-1945) and his wife Ura Shibuya Kawakami
(1866 or 1867-1942) arrived in the United States in 1900 and 1913 respectively. Their daughter Yukiko (Yuki) (1894-1994) also
arrived in the U.S. in 1913 and married Masao Sakai (approximately 1884-1926) in July 1914 in Los Angeles; the couple had
five children: Sumiko (Sumi) Lillian (1916-2016), Hisako Pansy (1917-1999), Etsuko Rose (1918-2002), Akira Dan (1920-1941),
and Miyoko Violet (born 1925). Sumi Sakai married Frank Ukio (or Yukio) Kozawa (1920 or 1922-2007) in 1948 in Santa Ana; they
had one daughter, Susan (Susie) Kozawa (born 1949).
Other extended family members include Asakichi and Ura Kawakami's son Saichi Walter (1895-1981), his wife Chizu (1910-2008)
and their children: Harumi Grace (born 1933), Hiroshi Richard (born 1934), Seiko Zinnia (born 1939), Yasuto Walter (born 1940),
Yasuyo Dale (born 1941), Juichiro Elmer (born 1942), Kinuko Margaret (born 1944), and Jane (born 1946 or 1947). Kozawa family
members include Frank's brother Shigeru and sister Mitsuo, both of whom lived primarily in Japan.
Kawakami family horticultural nurseries in the 1910s are listed in city directories in the West Adams and Jefferson Park
areas near Downtown Los Angeles. By 1920, the family had relocated to the Los Feliz neighborhood, along with the Sakai family.
In the early 1920s, Masao and Yuki Sakai moved their family to San Diego for several years. Yuki Sakai established Tokio Florist
in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1929 following the death of her husband. The five-acre property included a
house, pond, flower stand, and gardens, where they grew poinsettias, gladioli, carnations, and ranunculus. By 1930, the Kawakami
family had established a floral farm on Helen Avenue in the Roscoe area of Los Angeles, now between Sun Valley and Sunland.
Sakai, Kozawa, and Kawakami family members were forcibly removed during World War II and incarcerated at the Manzanar War
Relocation Center; both Asakichi and Ura Kawakami died at Manzanar. Following the war, the families returned to Los Angeles
to reopen their floral enterprises. Frank Kozawa also served in the military after being drafted; he crewed on the U.S. Army
Hospital Ship Mercy and U.S. Army transport ships from 1946 to 1949, then several U.S. Navy ships from 1951 to 1953, primarily
as a butcher.
In the post-war years, Sumi Sakai Kozawa and Frank Kozawa joined Yuki Sakai in running Tokio Florist. In 1960, the business
relocated to 2718 Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, which also served as the family residence;
the property included a house, greenhouse, shop, gardens, and a Japanese garden. Tokio Florist closed in 2006 and the property
was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) in 2019.
Scope and Contents
The collection documents multiple generations of the Sakai, Kozawa, Kawakami, and related families primarily in the Los Angeles
area from approximately 1890 to 2017 and the family business, Tokio Florist. Family papers contain correspondence, notebooks,
property and other records, publications, ephemera, and artifacts. Also present are business records, architectural drawings,
and other material related to Tokio Florist, especially at its Hyperion Avenue location, and other family floral business
locations in Los Angeles. The collection contains extensive photographic material, including photo albums, snapshots, formal
studio portraits, and panoramic photographs. Some correspondence, publications, and photographs document various family members'
experiences while incarcerated at the Manzanar War Relocation Center during World War II. Family papers and photographs also
pertain to extended family in and visits to Japan.
Processing Information
Processed by Melissa Haley, 2023-2024.
Appraisal
In March 2024, 1 linear feet (1 box) of financial material and duplicate blank stationary was deaccessioned.
Related Materials
Arrangement
Organized in three series: 1. Family papers, 1925-2017; 2. Business papers, 1941-2008; 3. Photographs, approximately 1890-2000s.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cut flower industry -- California -- Los Angeles
Floriculturists -- California -- Los Angeles
Japanese American business enterprises
Japanese American families
Japanese American gardeners
Japanese American women
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945 -- Sources
Japanese Americans -- California -- Los Angeles
Women-owned business enterprises -- United States
Women travelers -- Japan -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans
Japan -- Description and travel
Japan -- Photographs
Manzanar War Relocation Center
artifacts (object genre)
Business records
Ephemera
Letters (correspondence)
marriage portraits
Panoramic photographs
Photograph albums
Photographs
Snapshots
Studio portraits
Kawakami (Family)
Kozawa (Family)
Sakai (Family)
Family papers
1925-2017
Physical Description: 13 Linear Feet (18 boxes)
Language of Material: Materials are in English and Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Bulk is material for family members Yuki Sakai, Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa, Frank Ukio Kozawa, Susie Kozawa, and Etsuko Rose
Sakai. Includes correspondence, notebooks and school material, publications, ephemera, and artifacts. Filing names reflect
most common usages and variations.
Arrangement
Arranged by family member: 1. Yuki Sakai, 1953-1980s?; 2. Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa, 1925-2012; 3. Frank Ukio Kozawa, 1940s-1980s;
4. Susie Kozawa, 1959-2017; 5. Etsuko Rose Sakai, 1945-2000; 6. General family, 1941-2016. Correspondence addressed to multiple
family members is primarily filed under Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa.
Box 1, Folder 1-5
Correspondence
1953-1980s?
Language of Material: Bulk in Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Letters are from Japan and the U.S., including mailings from the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles. Also includes
addressed envelopes for outgoing letters.
Box 4, Folder 10
Ephemera
1966-1978, undated
Box 4, Folder 11
Publications
probably 1977
Language of Material: In Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Primarily several issues of a Buddhist newsletter.
Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa
1925-2012
Box 1, Folder 6-14, Box 2, Box 3, Folder 1-8
Letters received
1939-2012
Language of Material: Bulk in English, some in Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Letters dated 1939 and 1941 to 1946 were originally stored together in a file box; the bulk of these were sent to Sumi and
sometimes multiple Sakai family members while incarcerated at Manzanar and are primarily from personal and family friends.
Some were sent from other camps including Poston, Gila River, and Tule Lake, or from elsewhere in the U.S. following the sender's
release, describing their current lives, schooling, and work, in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, and elsewhere.
These correspondents performed secretarial work, domestic labor, and farm labor; some were involved in resettlement efforts
by the Advisory Committee for Evacuees in Chicago and the American Friends Service Committee; or served in the U.S. Army.
There are several letters from friend Sunao Imoto, who was released from Poston to work for poet Carl Sandburg and his wife,
Lilian Sandburg. Also present in this group are letters from friends and neighbors in Los Angeles, including Galetta Van Valkenburgh,
and a request from Yuki Sakai to a Father Lavery for assistance in transferring her parents from the Santa Anita Sanitarium
near the Santa Anita Assembly Center, dated 1942 June 17. Letters were possibly originally filed by sender and there are several
index cards with correspondents' names and addresses present.
Some letters from 1940 and 1941 were sent to Sumi Sakai while she was traveling in Japan. Post-war correspondence is from
family and friends in the U.S. and Japan and includes greeting cards and holiday snapshot cards, especially from the Kawakami
family; some letters and cards are addressed to multiple family members.
Box 4, Folder 12, Box 10, Folder 1, Box 49
School material
1925-1931
Scope and Contents
Includes a certificate of attendance from Pacific Beach School, San Diego, and a scrapbook "My Golden School Days" documenting
the completion of eighth grade at Hansen Heights School, Los Angeles, 1931 (box 49); scrapbook also contains ephemera and
loose photographs.
Box 4, Folder 13
Notebooks
1940-1941
Language of Material: In Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Most likely notes and calligraphy studies of Sumi Sakai while traveling in Japan.
Box 4, Folder 14
Notes and ephemera
1950s-1996, undated
Frank Ukio Kozawa
1940s-1980s
Box 3, Folder 9-13, Box 4, Folder 1-6, Box 10, Folder 2
Correspondence
1948-1980s
Language of Material: In Japanese and English.
Scope and Contents
Bulk is letters from family in Japan, especially in Yokohama, including from brother Shigeru Kozawa and sister Mitsuo Kozawa,
providing updates on family, visit plans, and requests. Several are addressed to both Frank and Sumi. Also present are letters
from Frank to Sumi while he was serving in the military in the late 1940s and a few addressed to brother Shigeru while he
was staying in the U.S., which were originally housed together with letters received. In addition, there are several greeting
cards received.
Box 4, Folder 15-16, Box 5, Folder 1-4, Box 14
Notebooks and address books
1940s, undated
Language of Material: Bulk in Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Includes a three-ring notebook that appears to have been at least partially kept at Manzanar, with the bulk in Japanese and
some correspondence in English, including a draft of an outgoing letter. One notebook in English is first aid-related; some
notebooks are blank. Address books are undated.
Box 5, Folder 5-11, Box 10, Folder 3
Ephemera
1943-1970s, undated
Scope and Contents
Includes material related to post-war military service including a Domain of the Golden Dragon certificate (box 10); landing
cards, passes, and Japan shore leave items; and a wage booklet. Also present are business cards; tickets; receipts; leaflets
and handouts; ID cards and licenses, including a 1943 War Relocation Authority driver's license; loose notes; and a pre-war
Japanese train map.
Box 5, Folder 11, Box 6, Folder 1
Publications
approximately 1940-1960
Language of Material: Bulk in Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Includes material related to travel in Japan and a 1960 constitution of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of
North America.
Box 14
Artifacts
1940s-1950s, undated
Scope and Contents
Includes military dog tags, pin, rings, and currency; pocketknives; keys and keychains; matchbooks and boxes; loose coins;
and a writing portfolio.
Box 4, Folder 7
Letters received
1960s, 1998
Scope and Contents
One letter from a pen pal in Japan; one letter from her mother while in college. 1998 item is addressed envelope only.
Box 6, Folder 2-3, Box 10, Folder 4-8
Professional material and ephemera
1959-2017
Scope and Contents
Includes material related to Immaculate Heart High School, Los Angeles; her career as a sound artist, including an artistic
resume and flyers; and her interest in kendo.
Box 10, Folder 9
Publications and clippings
1990-1991
Box 51, Folder 1
Artwork
undated
Scope and Contents
One relief print wall hanging inscribed to Susie as a thank you.
Etsuko Rose Sakai
1945-2000
Box 4, Folder 8
Letters received
1945-2000
Scope and Contents
Bulk is holiday snapshot cards from the Kawakami family.
Box 6, Folder 4
Publications and ephemera
1963, undated
Scope and Contents
Photography manuals.
Box 6, Folder 5, Box 14
Artifacts
undated
Scope and Contents
Includes film, flashbulbs, and photo paper.
General family
1941-2016
Scope and Contents
Primarily general family office files and items; also present is correspondence, notes and notebooks, publications, and artifacts
with unclear recipients or owners.
Box 4, Folder 9
Correspondence
undated
Language of Material: In Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Letters to unidentified Sakai Kozawa family members.
Box 10, Folder 10
George Bush formal letter of apology to Japanese Americans
1990
Box 10, Folder 11-14, Box 11, Box 12, Folder 1-2
Office files
1941-1970s
Scope and Contents
Filing cabinet contents pertaining to properties or lots in the Los Feliz, Roscoe, and Pacoima areas of Los Angeles; records
relating to the estate of Masao Sakai; and family financial, insurance, and vehicle records.
Box 6, Folder 6-9, Box 7, Folder 1-2, Box 9
Notebooks and address books
1940s-2010s
Scope and Contents
Includes cards from a Rolodex (box 9).
Box 7, Folder 3-6
Notes and ephemera
1958-2012
Scope and Contents
Loose notes, some with contact info of various individuals; programs for religious services and events including a 1964 sumo
wrestling exhibition, lottery tickets.
Box 7, Folder 7-8, Box 8, Box 12, Folder 3-4, Box 13, Box 52, Folder 2
Publications and clippings
1940s-2016
Language of Material: Some in Japanese.
Scope and Contents
Two Manzanar publications are present (box 12): Gathas and Service, published by the Manzanar Buddhist Church, Block 13-15,
in English and Japanese, 1944; and Our World yearbook published by Manzanar High School, 1944, which appears to have belonged
to the youngest Sakai daughter, Miyoko Violet, and has a few added inscriptions.
Other publications include souvenir booklets for Los Angeles Nisei Week Festival from 1958 to 1961 (box 13), a calligraphy
manual, an English/Japanese dictionary, magazines and newsletters such as Life and the Los Angeles Times Magazine, a collection
of Aunt Rose's (Etsuko Sakai) recipes, and a souvenir magazine commemorating the marriage of Japanese Crown Prince Akihito
to Michiko Shoda in 1959.
Box 14, Box 50, Folder 6-8, Box 51, Folder 1, Box 52, Folder 1
Artifacts and artwork
approximately 1949, undated
Scope and Contents
Includes portfolios (box 50), a souvenir booklet for Susie Kozawa baptism, currency and rubber stamps; also two unsigned relief
prints and some calligraphy samples (box 51 and box 52).
Business papers
1941-2008
Physical Description: 10.21 Linear Feet(7 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Scope and Contents
Contains Tokio Florist letters received (primarily payment-related), orders notebooks, trade publications, ephemera, and artifacts.
In addition, there are four architectural records for the Hyperion Avenue property.
Formal and publicity photographs of Tokio Florist arrangements and photographs of nurseries and flower fields taken by portrait
studios are located in the Photographs series. Family photo albums and snapshots also contain some informal images of Tokio
Florist.
Arrangement
Arranged by material format: 1. Letters received, 1963-2000; 2. Financial and property records, 1941-2005; 3. Publications,
1950s?-2008; 4. Notes and ephemera, 1960-1991; 5. Artifacts, 1970-2005.
Box 15, Box 16, Folder 1-3
Letters received
1963-2000
bulk 1990s
Scope and Contents
Bulk is notes and thank you notes, some including Tokio Florist invoices, from customers remitting payments. Most envelopes
have check marks, invoice numbers, or notes written on them; many are empty but have markings or notes on them.
Financial and property records
1941-2005
Box 16, Folder 4-8
Orders notebooks
1968-2005
1970s
Box 17, Folder 1-2
Receipts and invoices
1979-1995, undated
Scope and Contents
Also includes blank invoices.
Box 17, Folder 4, Folder Oversize 1
Architectural and construction records
1960s-1979, undated
Scope and Contents
Contains four architectural drawings for the Hyperion Avenue Tokio Florist location: one undated site drawing, two undated
shop and building drawings, and one Tokio Florist sign drawing, 1979. Also present are construction permits and related materials,
1960s.
Box 18, Folder 8
Cash register book (blank)
1941
Box 17, Folder 4, Box 18, Folder 1-7
Trade design manuals
1950s?-1980s
Scope and Contents
Includes Vogue in Flowers for weddings and Album of Designs for funerals.
Box 17, Folder 5
Equipment catalogs and brochures
1976, undated
Language of Material: In Japanese and English.
Scope and Contents
Most are specifically for Japanese gardens.
Box 17, Folder 6
Clipping
2008
Scope and Contents
Article about Tokio Florist history from Los Feliz Ledger.
Box 17, Folder 7, Box 50, Folder 2-4
Notes and ephemera
1960-1991
Scope and Contents
Includes a display of business licenses from 1960 to 1975, certificates, and a 1991 Tokio Florist calendar.
Box 19
Artifacts
1970-2005, undated
Scope and Contents
Objects include pins and badges for Southern California Floral Association and Los Angeles Flower District, promotional items
such as wall and pocket calendars and a pen and rubber stamps.
Photographs
approximately 1890-2000s
Physical Description: 55 Linear Feet(35 boxes, 3 oversize folders)
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
RESTRICTED. Box 48: Photographic negatives housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time required.
Scope and Contents
Primarily family photo albums, snapshots, and studio portraits; also present are panoramic photographs, slides, and negatives.
One subseries contains publicity and wedding photos with Tokio Florist floral arrangements; in addition, informal snapshots
of Tokio Florist flowers and properties are located in photo albums and snapshots, and portraits contain some professional
images of the Roscoe ranch and gardens. Filing names reflect most common usages and variations.
Arrangement
Arranged primarily by format: 1. Photo albums, 1911-1994; 2. Snapshots, 1910s-2000s; 3. Portraits, approximately 1890-2000;
4. Tokio Florist arrangements, 1940s?-1980s; 5. Panoramic and oversize photographs, 1930-1945, 1990s; 6. Slides, 1940s-approximately
1962; 7. Negatives, 1930s-1990s; 8. Empty mats and loose envelopes, undated.
Photo albums
1911-1994
Processing Information
Loose items were generally left where they were in the albums; in a few cases, large amounts of loose material were removed
and rehoused in folders.
Box 20, Volume 1
Early family
1911-1912, undated
Scope and Contents
Includes snapshots of Masao Sakai, Sakai family, and others, and animals; images of Hobart Nursery located at 1624 W. 37th
Place, Los Angeles, and floral arrangements; and other activities and unidentified locations.
Box 20, Volume 4
Early family
1914-1923, undated
Scope and Contents
Snapshots of the Sakai family, bulk most likely in the San Diego area in the 1920s, including images of Masao Sakai, Sumi
and other Sakai children, beach excursions, polo matches, a car race, and other activities. There are several small loose
snapshots in an envelope of Japan that appear to be from a later date.
Box 20, Volume 3
Early family
approximately 1930
Scope and Contents
Bulk depict Sakai and other children in the Sunland area with one caption referencing a Hansen Heights school; several depict
girls in kimonos; a few images appear to be of family in Japan.
Box 21
Early family
undated
Scope and Contents
Contains only one loose family photo taken in Japan.
Box 22, Volume 3
Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa
1920s-1941?
Scope and Contents
Includes snapshots of the Sakai and Kawakami families, including Ura Kawakami, Yuki Sakai and the Sakai and Kawakami children,
and pets. Images depict the Roscoe ranch, flower gardens and greenhouses at Roscoe and Los Feliz; excursions to Santa Monica,
Long Beach and San Pedro, and Glendale; and brother Akira Dan and his racing car. There are numerous snapshots of Sumi's 1940
to 1941 trip to Japan, traveling with Sunao Imoto onboard the Kamakura Maru with stops in San Francisco and Hawaii, and of
her extended stay in Japan visiting multiple locations and Japanese family members. See Sunao Imoto's photo album for other
photos of this trip, especially aboard the Kamakura Maru (box 23). Also present are a few earlier photos of Masao Sakai. Several
photographs are missing, most are captioned.
Box 22, Volume 4
Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa
1942-1945
Scope and Contents
Primarily photographs of Manzanar, including numerous reproductions of Ansel Adams photos as well as snapshots of Sumi Sakai
and others, some with captions. There are a few images of the library staff in 1943 and several of young men in military uniforms
both at Manzanar and in Europe, presumably sent to Sumi. A number of photos depict an excursion of Sumi and friends possibly
occurring after the war ended but before return to Los Angeles, along with stock photos of the Mojave Desert.
Box 34, Folder 10
Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa loose items removed from album in box 22
Box 22, Volume 5
Frank Ukio Kozawa
1940s
Scope and Contents
Images of military service in mid-to-late 1940s including ship and shipboard, Hawaii, New York, and possibly the Panama Canal
and Europe.
Box 22, Volume 6
Frank Ukio Kozawa
1940s
Scope and Contents
Images of military service in mid-to-late 1940s including shipboard and crews, probably Japan and South Pacific; there are
some photos of sunken ships, the hospital ship USS Mercy, and souvenir photos of Tokyo with pre- and post-war images.
Box 27, Volume 1
Susie Kozawa
1990-1992
Scope and Contents
Includes Seattle house and art exhibition.
Box 22, Volume 1
Etsuko Rose Sakai
1929-1938
Scope and Contents
Snapshots of the Sakai and Kawakami families at Roscoe, also excursions to Forest Lawn Cemetery, Santa Monica, and the zoo;
and a class graduation photo, possibly high school, from 1936.
Box 22, Volume 2
Etsuko Rose Sakai
1940s?
Scope and Contents
Contains a small number of loose snapshots of a house and property.
Box 20, Volume 5
Etsuko Rose Sakai
1960s
Scope and Contents
Snapshots of Christmas displays, floral arrangements, flower beds, some family.
Box 34, Folder 11
Etsuko Rose Sakai loose items removed from album in box 20
Box 24
General family
1952-1960
Scope and Contents
Susie Kozawa with Santa, school portraits.
Box 34, Folder 12-13
General family loose items removed from albums in box 24 and box 26 (album 1)
Box 25, Box 26, Box 27, Box 28
General family
1979-1994
Scope and Contents
Ten family photo albums of snapshots and Polaroids depicting excursions around Los Angeles area; travels and visits to Seattle,
Vancouver and Alaska, New Mexico, and Sequoia National Park; holidays, weddings, family visits, dinners, and pets. There are
numerous snapshots of the Hyperion Avenue house and grounds, including Tokio Florist work areas, gardens, and floral arrangements
(see albums in boxes 25 and 26).
Box 23
Sunao Imoto
1940-1941
Scope and Contents
Photo album titled "Abroad with My Camera and Me" of family friend Sunao Imoto's travels to Japan via San Francisco and Hawaii
onboard the Kamakura Maru with Sumi Sakai, departing April 8, 1940. Snapshots document shipboard activities, a lengthy stay
of study in Tokyo, and tourist and family visits to Kyoto, rural Southern Japan, and Manchukuo (Manchuria); Imoto's travels
around Japan appear to be without Sumi Sakai. Album was created as a gift to Walter and Galetta Van Valkenburgh in December
1941 and contains extensive captions and commentary, including observations on the lives of Japanese women, both urban and
rural. Several snapshots depict Imoto's return trip onboard the Montevideo Maru with its mostly European refugee passengers,
arriving in Los Angeles on June 11, 1941.
Sumi Sakai photo album, 1920s to 1941, also includes snapshots of the same journey to Japan, including Kamakura Maru shipboard
images.
Also present is a loose War Relocation Authority publicity photo of Sunao Imoto working as a secretary for poet Carl Sandburg
following her release from the Poston War Relocation Center, dated May 1944.
Box 20, Volume 2
Japanese athletes, Los Angeles Olympics
1932
Scope and Contents
Black-and-white snapshots taken by unknown individual of Japanese athletes, primarily track and field and swimming events.
Snapshots
1910s-2000s
Scope and Contents
Snapshots depict Sakai, Kozawa, and Kawakami family homes, excursions and travels, holidays and events, friends, and pets.
Many of Etsuko Rose Sakai's photos depict Galetta Van Valkenburgh and family, and her Pasadena property where Etsuko also
lived.
A number of photos document early years in California as well as family in Japan, primarily in box 29. Also in box 29 is a
snapshot of the Japanese Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko, after 1959 (folder 6).
Processing Information
Items were left in commercial developing envelopes or groupings during processing, many of which contain photos from different
rolls and time periods. Some original envelopes have added identification information or post-it notes created by family,
which were retained. Many snapshots were taken by and/or belonged to Etsuko Rose Sakai and labeled as "Aunt Rose"—these are
labeled as such where possible.
Separated Materials
Negatives have been removed to box 48.
Arrangement
Snapshots are arranged roughly chronologically; some groupings have wide timespans.
Box 34, Folder 1-3, Box 50, Folder 5
Box 34, Folder 5
Printed publicity photos and postcards
1939, undated
Portraits
approximately 1890-2000
Scope and Contents
Primarily professional matted portraits in various sizes of individual family members and family events, especially weddings.
Also funerals, school and group portraits, and studio-taken images of the Roscoe ranch and gardens. Family friends portraits
are mostly weddings. Bulk taken in Los Angeles, many by the Toyo Miyatake Studio, with a few from Japan.
Box 35, Box 36, Folder 1-4, Box 38, Folder 1-10, Box 42, Box 43, Folder 1, Box 51, Folder 2-4
Immediate family
1916-1997
Scope and Contents
Portraits of Asakichi and Ura Kawakami, Yuki Sakai and children, Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa, Frank Ukio Kozawa, and Susie Kozawa.
Includes baby portraits of Sumi Lillian Sakai Kozawa and of her in Japan, 1941 (box 35, folder 1) and numerous Susie Kozawa
school portraits. Also present are formal photos of the funerals of Ura Kawakami at Manzanar, 1942 (box 38) and of Dan Sakai
(box 42); a group portrait of Yuki Sakai and her children, 1930s (box 42); and portraits of Sumi and Miyoko Sakai in kimonos,
1930s (box 43).
Box 36, Folder 5-12, Box 37, Folder 1-2, Box 38, Folder 11-13, Box 39, Box 40, Box 43, Folder 2, Box 44, Box 45, Box 54, Box 55
Extended family
approximately 1890-2000
Scope and Contents
Extended Kawakami, Sakai, and Kozawa families; bulk is of Saichi and Chizu Kawakami, their children and grandchildren, especially
Kawakami family weddings. Some portraits represent early years in California as well as family in Japan (box 36, 38), and
Sakai family funerals, 1920s.
Box 37, Folder 3-8, Box 41, Box 46, Box 53
Friends and others
1890s?-1980s
Physical Description: Items in box 53 had sustained previous water damage and were assesed and treated in the Conservation Center.
Scope and Contents
Primarily wedding portraits; also present are flower show portraits and ephemera of family friend Bill N. Nagami.
Box 37, Folder 9, Box 47
Roscoe ranch and gardens
1946
Box 34, Folder 14-16, Box 50, Folder 1
Tokio Florist arrangements
1940s?-1980s
Scope and Contents
Publicity and wedding photos that most likely depict Tokio Florist floral arrangements, including from the March of Dimes
and a Valentine's arrangement for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Also some Polaroids and snapshots of arrangements. Informal
snapshots of Tokio Florist flowers and properties are found in photo albums and snapshots.
Box 51, Folder 5, Box 52, Folder 3, Folder Oversize 2, Folder Oversize 3, Folder Oversize 4
Panoramic and oversize photographs
1930-1945, 1990s
Scope and Contents
Consists of panoramic photographs of Manzanar depicting buildings and people, Tennis Club? (box 52, folder 3 and oversize
folder 4); family funerals of Hisae Kawakami, 1938, and Akira Dan Sakai, 1941 (oversize folder 3); and group school photos
including Marshall High School class of 1936 (oversize folder 4), and a school in San Fernando, 1930 (oversize folder 2).
Oversize color photographs are of flora, most likely the Tokio Florist Hyperion Avenue property, 1990s (box 51, folder 5).
Box 34, Folder 7-9
Slides
1940s-approximately 1962
Scope and Contents
Interior and exterior images of houses and property, possibly Galetta Van Valkenburgh's Pasadena home.
Box 48
Negatives
1930s-1990s
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
RESTRICTED. Box 48: Photographic negatives housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time required.
Scope and Contents
Negatives removed primarily from snapshot envelopes, also photo albums. Removal locations are noted. Folders 6 and 7 include
negatives of Akira Dan Sakai, approximately 1940.
Box 34, Folder 6, Box 37, Folder 10, Box 40, Folder 7
Empty mats and loose envelopes
undated
Scope and Contents
Inscribed mats with no photographs.
