Guide to the George and Miko Kaihara collection of Japanese internment ephemera MS.R.218

Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries

Title: George and Miko Kaihara collection of Japanese internment ephemera

Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.218

Physical Description: 0.6 Linear Feet (1 11" flat box)

Date (inclusive): approximately 1942-1997

Abstract: The George and Miko Kaihara collection of Japanese internment ephemera contains material related to Miko Nakamura (b. 1925) and George Kenzo Kaihara (1925-2015), who were completing their junior year at Tustin High School in Southern California when they were sent to a Japanese internment camp in Arizona and imprisoned with their families following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. Materials include programs, brochures, notes, patches, newspapers, and other ephemera.

Language of Material: English .

The collection is minimally processed and is open for research. Please contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.

Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Acquired, 2023.

George and Miko Kaihara collection of Japanese internment ephemera. MS-R218. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. [Date accessed].

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

An archive of material related to Miko Nakamura (b. 1925) and George Kenzo Kaihara (1925-2015), who were completing their junior year at Tustin High School in Southern California when they were sent to a Japanese internment camp in Arizona and imprisoned with their families following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. Materials include programs, brochures, notes, patches, newspapers, and other ephemera. Included are three felt lettermen patches from the high school, along with Miko's nametag from the Class of 1943's 50th high school reunion. There is also an additional felt patch in this collection awarded to Miko for her participation in the Girl Reserves while at Poston, along with a 1944 Girl Reserves program listing her as a participant in a ring ceremony. The Girl Reserves were established in 1900 by the Young Women's Christian Association to provide support efforts during World War I. The collection also includes a two-ring binder with mimeographed and handwritten patterns and instructions from the Poston Tailoring School. Miko's name is written in ink on the front cover. The Poston Tailoring School provided instruction to the prisoners about making clothes for themselves and their families. One of the prisoners at the camp owned a Southern California sewing machine company and was able to secure and lease machines for Poston during the war. To help them prepare for their return to Southern California, they received a "Community Services Directory for Resettlers in the Los Angeles Area" which is included in this collection. Issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the 48-page mimeographed booklet provides contact information for organizations and agencies that assist with employment, housing, and legal aid, along with a listing of religious organizations, hostels, schools, and more. This collection also includes: Program, dated April 2, 1945, for a send-off event held at Poston High School to honor 29 reservists leaving for Fort Douglas, Utah. Sheet of white paper (8 ½" x 11 "), folded in half, with a graphic printed in red depicting a cactus in the foreground, with interment housing and a mountain range in the distance (possibly the cover art for a newsletter). Undated card with George Kaihara's name and social security number and a post office box in Layton, Utah. Two issues of Crossroads, the Los Angeles Nisei Weekly, dated June 18, 1948, and December 3, 1948, respectively. The former features an article about the graduation from local high schools of Japanese American students returning from internment camps. Double-sided flyer with handwritten notes providing the schedule of activities for the 55th year reunion at Poston, held October 24-25, 1997. Mimeographed program for services held July 18, 1948, by the Los Angeles Young Buddhist Association. 12-page brochure from the U.S. Department of Justice concerning The Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Three-page mimeographed Constitution for a new club called the Luanans. Flyer printed on green paper for a YWCA picnic in Griffith Park, addressed to Miko. Double-sided Order of Service dated June 15, 1947, for the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles.

Miko Nakamura (b.1925) and George Kenzo Kaihara (1925-2015) were completing their junior year at Tustin High School in Southern California when they were sent to a Japanese internment camp in Arizona and imprisoned with their families. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which set into motion the expulsion of 110,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast. The couple, who spent three years at Poston Internment Camp near Yuma, Arizona, moved back to Southern California following their release, married, and raised a family. Nearly 75 years later, the couple was honored with diplomas from Tustin Union High School.