Inventory of the Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs SPC.2020.010
Lindsay Anderson
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
2020-03-15
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson, CA 90747
archives@csudh.edu
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs
Creator:
Yoshioka, Kiyoko Maeda, 1917-2008
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2020.010
Physical Description:
166 Megabytes
(84 JPEG files, 4 PDF files)
Date (inclusive): 1916-1990
Date (bulk): 1937-1941
Abstract: The Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka photographs collection (1916-1990, bulk 1937-1941) includes digital reproductions of family photographs
primarily documenting the life of Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka in the years before, during, and after World War II. The collection
also includes digital reproductions of a short essay written by Hatsuko Mary Yoshioka Higuchi, redress papers, and a handout
from a sewing class at Poston Incarceration Camp. All materials in this collection are digital reproductions.
Language of Material:
English
.
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
In October 2018, Hatsuko Mary Yoshioka Higuchi participated in a "scanning day" event hosted by the Gerth Archives and Special
Collections in which the event was dedicated to scanning potential collections that were to be digitized. The digital reproductions
that derived from this process were then donated and were accessioned by the Gerth Archives for the CSU Japanese American
Digitization Project while the physical collection itself remains with the donor.
Availability of Digital Reproductions
The entire collection has been digitized and selected digital reproduction access files are available at the CSU Japanese
American Digitization Project site:
Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs Digital Collection
Biography of Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka
Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka
Kiyoko Yoshioka (nee Maeda) was a Kibei Nisei* born on May 17, 1916 in Santa Monica, California. Her mother, Kinu (nee Oshite),
passed away in March 1917 and then her father, Tokujiro, passed away in September 1920. Kiyoko was sent to live with her maternal
aunt, Kinko Oshite, in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan where she lived until 1937. She returned to the United States and settled
on Terminal Island, California where she was employed at Van de Kamp's as a cannery worker. She married Goro Yoshioka (1906-1951),
previously known as Kokichi Suruki, sometime in 1937 or 1938 and they had five children they named Hatsuko Mary (1939-), Etsuko
Betty (1940-2015), Minoru (1941-1941), Mitsuko Mitzi (1942-1992), and Tetsuo (1944-2011). She and her family were incarcerated
at Poston Incarceration Camp in Parker, Arizona for about three years and moved to Lawndale and later Torrance, California
where they purchased a home with ten acres of farmland after being released. She continued working as a truck farmer after
her husband passed away in 1951. Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka passed away on August 14, 2008.
*A Kibei Nisei is a son or daughter of Issei or first generation Japanese American parents who were born in the U.S. and were
usually educated in Japan.
Existence and Location of Originals
The physical materials currently remain with the donor (Hatsuko Mary Yoshioka Higuchi).
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The access files are 166 MB (84 JPEG and 4 PDF files) that are stored on the Public Use Drive. Access to the files are available
on-site in the Gerth Archives and Special Collections reading room. Please request copies at the Reference Desk.
For information about citing archival material, see the
Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.
The Gerth Archives and Special Collections derived digital reproductions from original items for long-term preservation and
access, adhering to best practice and standards to ensure the authenticity, integrity, and security of material. For more
information on digitization production, please see
CSU Japanese American Digitization Project technical reference guide .
The entire collection has been digitized.
This set of digital reproduction access files is 166 MB (84 JPEG files, 4 PDF files) and stored on the Public Use Drive for
public use while another set of access files created for the digital management system is 1.39 GB (80 TIFF files, 4 PDF files)
and stored on the Gerth Archives and Special Collections' department external drive for staff use.
The set of digital reproduction files is 1.44 GB (105 TIFF files) and stored on the Gerth Archives and Special Collections'
department drive for preservation purposes. These files are also available for duplication requests by contacting the department.
CSU Japanese American Digitization Project
This collection is part of the California State University Japanese American Digitization Project. Other collections about
the history of Japanese Americans are found in the digital repository:
CSU Japanese American Digitization Project
The Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs (1916-1960, bulk 1937-1941) contain 166 MB (84 JPEG files, 4 PDF files) of digital reproductions
which derived from physical materials that were digitized in 2018. The collection mainly comprises of photographs that document
the life of Hatsuko Mary Yoshioka Higuchi's Kibei Nisei mother, Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka, from childhood to adulthood. The collection
includes images of Kiyoko as a young student in Japan, of her immigrating from Japan to Los Angeles, of her life as a cannery
worker on Terminal Island, of her time as an incarceree at Poston with her children, of her husband, Goro Yoshioka, and more.
The collection also includes digital reproductions of a short essay written by Hatsuko Mary while she was a student at the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), redress papers, and a handout from a sewing class at Poston Incarceration Camp.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Japanese American families
Japanese Americans -- California
Japanese American Farmers -- California
World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration Camps -- United States
Japanese Americans -- Reparations
Women cannery workers
Terminal Island (Calif.)
Torrance (Calif.)
Lawndale (Calif.)
Japan -- History -- 20th century
Yoshioka, Goro, 1906-1951
Higuchi, Hatsuko Mary Yoshioka, 1939-
Yoshioka, Etsuko Betty, 1940-2015
Cunningham, Mitsuko Mitzi, 1942-1992
Yoshioka, Tetsuo, 1944-2011
Poston Incarceration Camp
folder CSUJAD Public Use Drive, folder Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs , folder 01
Childhood in the United States 1916-1920 1916-1919
Physical Description: 14 Megabytes(2 JPEG files)
Physical Description: 2 digital items(14 MB)
Language of Material: English.
This file comprises of two images of Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka as a baby and toddler, including one circa 1916-1917 portrait of
her and her father, Tokujiro Maeda (mhi_01_005), and a circa 1917-1919 portrait of her posing in a toy car (mhi_01_006).
folder CSUJAD Public Use Drive, folder Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs , folder 02
Childhood in Japan 1920-1937
Physical Description: 27.9 Megabytes(13 JPEG files)
Physical Description: 13 digital items(27.9 MB)
Language of Material: English.
This file comprises of nine images of Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka's childhood spent in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan after her mother
passed away in 1917 and father passed away in 1920. Included is one circa 1920-1922 portrait of her with her aunt(mhi_01_004),
two circa 1923-1926 school photographs (mhi_01_071-072), one 1927 photograph taken during a racing competition at her school
(mhi_01_069), four portraits of Kiyoko wearing various kimonos (mhi_01_020-021, mhi_01_047, mhi_01_070) and one photograph
of Kiyoko with two young women and a baby (mhi_01_013).
folder CSUJAD Public Use Drive, folder Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs , folder 03
Returning to the United States 1937-1941
Physical Description: 77.9 Megabytes(51 JPEG files)
Physical Description: 51 digital items(77.9 MB)
Language of Material: English.
This file contains around 47 images primarily taken after Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka immigrated back to the United States in 1937,
such as photographs of her aboard a ship, the Asama Maru II (mhi_01_042), which brought her back to the U.S, as well as aboard
another ship, the Chichibu Maru II (mhi_01_008, mhi_01_016, mhi_01_048), of her doing recreational activities (mhi_01_018,
mhi_01_053, mhi_01_058-062), of her spending time with oldest daughter (Hatsuko Mary) (mhi_01_007), her cousin (Kimiko)(mhi_01_014,
mhi_01_039, mhi_01_046, mhi_01_052, mhi_01_056-057), friends (mhi_01_015, mhi_01_029-038, mhi_01_040-41, mhi_01_049, mhi_054-055)
and neighbors (mhi_01_009-012, mhi_01_043-045, mhi_01_063), and her posing with fellow cannery workers (mhi_01_019) in San
Pedro and on Terminal Island. There is also a portrait of Goro Yoshioka circa 1930-1939 (mhi_01_003), of Kiyoko on her wedding
day circa 1937-1938 (mhi_01_002), and of her posing with a beach ball and an umbrella recently after she arrived in the U.S.
(mhi_01_050-051).
folder CSUJAD Public Use Drive, folder Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs , folder 04
Incarceration at Poston 1942-1945
Physical Description: 5.71 Megabytes(3 JPEG files)
Physical Description: 3 digital items(5.71 MB)
Language of Material: English.
This file contains around three images that were taken while the Yoshioka family was incarcerated at Poston, including a photograph
of Mary and Betty's kindergarten class (mhi_01_023), of Kiyoko standing outside with her four children and Mary's friend (mhi_01_022),
and another image of only the Yoshioka children (mhi_01_064).
folder CSUJAD Public Use Drive, folder Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs , folder 05
Resettling in Post-World War II United States 1949-1960
Physical Description: 21.7 Megabytes(9 JPEG files)
Physical Description: 9 digital items(21.7 MB)
Language of Material: English.
This file contains eight images mainly of the Yoshioka family settling back into society post-World War II. Included are photographs
of Goro and Kiyoko's youngest son, Tetsuo, with his kindergarten class in 1949 (mhi_01_068), of Goro and Kiyoko posing in
front of their new Kaiser automobile in 1950 (mhi_01_026-027), of Kiyoko posing in front of their new house in Torrance, California
circa 1950-1954 (mhi_01_024-025), of Kiyoko with her friend visiting from Japan circa 1950-1959 (mhi_01_017), and of the Yoshioka
children wearing their kimonos circa 1953 (mhi_01_073). There is also one portrait from 1957 of Kiyoko posing with her children
wearing their kimonos once again (mhi_01_028).
folder CSUJAD Public Use Drive, folder Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka Photographs , folder 06
Other Materials circa 1942-1990 circa 1942-1960 1990 January-1990 September 14
Physical Description: 1.312 Megabytes(4 PDF files)
Physical Description: 4 digital items(1.312 MB)
Language of Material: English.
Contains Kiyoko Maeda Yoshioka's handout on how to take measurements that was received from a sewing class while at Poston
(mhi_01_065); Hatsuko Mary Yoshioka Higuchi's single-page school paper about her family background and future goals that she
wrote while she was a student at the University of California, Los Angeles (mhi_01_001); and redress papers from the Office
of Redress Administration concerning identity confirmation and payment finalization (mhi_01_066-067).