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Inuzuka (Ami) Correspondence
mssHM 66300-66345
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Ami Inuzuka correspondence
Creator:
Inuzuka, Ami.
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 66300-66345
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1942-1988
Abstract: This collection contains letters
written by Japanese-American Ami Inuzuka to her friends Hardin and Raemond Craig, with 13
letters written while the Inuzukas were interned at the Gila River Relocation Center in
Rivers, Arizona, beginning in 1942 and discussing life in an internment camp. In the rest of
her letters, Ami discusses her life in Los Angeles, her family, and the difficulties of
growing older.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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.
[Identification of item]. Ami Inuzuka correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Raemond Craig, November 27, 1990.
Ami Inuzuka, her husband, Henry, and their three children, Tsuneo, Kazuo, and Margaret were
moved from their home in Pasadena, California, to the Gila River Relocation Center in
Rivers, Arizona, in 1942. After the center closed in 1946, the family moved back to Southern
California.
The letters written by Ami Inuzuka were sent to her friends and former employers Hardin
Craig, Jr., and his wife Raemond, of Pasadena, California. Ami wrote the first thirteen
letters (1942- 1945) while she and her family were interned at the Gila River Relocation
Center in Rivers, Arizona. These letters give a detailed description of camp. Ami comments
upon the living conditions in the barracks, the extreme weather of the Arizona desert, the
employment situation, her children's education, sickness, social activities (including her
daughter's engagement), and her family's plan for after the war. She also frequently thanks
Raemond Craig for care packages she sent to the Inuzuka family, consisting of clothes, books
and other items that Ami would request. In the letters after the war, Ami writes to the
Craigs, who had moved to Houston, Texas, and discusses her life in Los Angeles and La
Puente, including the difficulties of growing older. She gives details regarding her growing
family (children finishing college, grandchildren being born, the death of her husband in
1969, etc.). Hardin Craig, Jr., dies in 1971, which makes Raemond Craig the only addressee
of the letters after 1971. The collection contains a photograph of the Inuzuka family in the
letter dated 1960, May 29, and a photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Inuzuka and Mr. and Mrs. Craig
in the letter dated 1967, Aug. 18. There is one letter by Ami's son Tsuneo, thanking the
Craigs for help with finding employment in California. Also included with the collection are
two newspaper clippings, from the 1980s, about the internment of the Japanese during World
War II.
Processed by Brooke M. Black in June 2003. In July 2024, Mari Khasmanyan updated the
finding aid's linear feet and container information.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Japanese American families
Japanese American women
Japanese Americans -- California
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945 -- Personal
narratives
Arizona -- Description and travel
California, Southern -- Description and travel
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Description and travel
Letters (correspondence) -- West (U.S.) -- 20th century
Inuzuka, Ami
Gila River Relocation Center
United States. War Relocation Authority