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Guide to the Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani papers
MSS 2005/01
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Title: Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 2005/01
Contributing Institution:
California State University, Sacramento Special Collections & University Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
29.25 Linear feet
(44 cartons, 1 flat file drawer)
Date (inclusive): 1905-1991
Abstract: The Collection consists of documents, diaries, letters, books, calendars, newspapers, photographs, artifacts and audiovisual
media pertaining to Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani, a Japanese-born woman who lived in Isleton, CA. During World War II, her family
was incarcerated in the Minidoka and Tule Lake War Relocation Centers. After the war, she moved to Los Angeles and studied
tea with Madame Sosei Matsumoto, and became a tea master acknowledged by the Urasenke Headquarters in Japan. The collection
also contains letters from her son, Kunio, who served aboard the Yamato battleship during World War II. (See also MSS 2005/68
Sokiku Nakatani Tea Collection and MSS 2005/69 Sokiku Nakatani Tea Room Materials).
Related Archival Materials note
Related materials to Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani may be found in the following collections in this repository:
Sokiku Nakatani Tea collection (MSS 2005/68)
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research. Some restrictions may apply.
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. Requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce
from collections must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Permission for publication is given on the behalf of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, The Library,
California State University, Sacramento as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
The collection was created by Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani. In 2005, her son, Koso Nakatani, donated the collection to the Department
of Special Collections & University Archives at Sacramento State.
[Identification of item including date], [Folder Title], MSS 2005/01, Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani papers, Department of Special
Collections and University Archives, The Library, California State University, Sacramento
Processed by Lynn Drennan, Staff Archivist, at CSU, Sacramento’s Special Collections and University Archives. Completed March
2016.
No additions are expected.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani papers were donated to the Department of Special Collections & University Archives in 2005 by
Koso Nakatani. Additions arrived in 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2015.
1903 – Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani born in Hiroshima, Japan
1919 – Traveled to the United States (settled in California)
1921 – Married Kinjiro Nakatani
1922 – Kunio born (July 18, 1922 – April 7, 1945)
1924 – Seiji born (Sept. 20, 1924 – Jan. 17, 2004)
1927 – Kazuhisa born (March 8, 1924 – Jan. 24, 1990)
1929 – Lilly born (July 16, 1929 - July 23, 2014)
Late 1920s – June 1942 – Lived in Florin, Ca.
1931 – Satoru born (Dec. 12, 1931 – 2007)
1935 – Mamoru born (June 28, n1935 – April 6, 1995)
1938 – Koso born (May 4, 1935 – 2015)
June 1942-Aug. 1943 – Family in Tule Lake Internment Camp
Aug 1943 – Aug 1945 – Family in Minidoka Internment Camp
1945 – Kunio dies (April 7)
Oct 1945 – Sept. 1948 – Lived in Florin, Ca.
Sept. 1948 – June 1958 – Lived in Elk Grove, Ca.
1957 – Kinjiro (husband) dies
June 1958 – 2005– Lived in Los Angeles, Ca.
1960’s – Tea training and teaching in Los Angeles
1990 – Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani dies (Dec. 27)
Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani (1903-1990) was born in Hiroshima, Japan. In 1919, she traveled to the United States, eventually
settling in Isleton, California. In 1921, she married Kinjiro Nakatani, a grape and strawberry farmer in the Sacramento region.
Together, they had seven children: Kunio (1922-1945), Seiji (1924-2004), Kazuhisa (1927-1990), "Lilly" Atsuko (1929-2014),
Satoru (1931-2007), "Max" Mamoru (1935-1995) and Koso (1938-2015).
In 1940, her oldest son, Kunio, traveled overseas to attend school at the Mizuho Academy in Japan. While studying abroad,
war broke out between Japan and the United States. He was eventually recruited by the Imperial Navy to serve aboard the Yamato
battleship as a communication specialist. He died aboard the Yamato on April 7, 1945, when the ship was sunk by U.S. forces.
In the United States, the Nakatani family was incarcerated in the Tule Lake & Minidoka War Relocation Centers. Mrs. Nakatani
frequently wrote in her diaries about wartime events, including her family's economic and personal hardships. After the war,
the Nakatani family returned to farming in the Sacramento region. Shortly after her husband's death, Mrs. Nakatani relocated
to Los Angeles where she studied Chadô [The Way of Tea] under the mentorship of Madame Sosei Matsumoto in the 1960s. Mrs.
Nakatani became a tea master and licensed instructor in Chadô, and was given the name "Sokiku" by the Urasenke Headquarters
in Japan. Mrs. Nakatani passed away on December 27, 1990.
The collection contains documents, diaries, letters, books, calendars, newspapers, postcards, photographs, artifacts and audiovisual
media relating to the personal and professional life of Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani and her family. The languages of the materials
included in the collection are Japanese and English. The collection consists of 44 cartons (29.25 linear feet), and an oversized
Flat file folder.
There are 14 main series pertaining to the Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani papers. Included are the following: Personal Legal and
Financial Documents, Letter/Correspondence, Personal Writings, Japanese Tea, Tule Lake and Minidoka (Internment Camps), Family
Printed Materials (including subseries for: Kinjiro Nakatani (husband), Kunio Nakatani (son), Seiji Nakatani (son), Lilly
Atsuko Nakatani (daughter), Satoru (Sat) Nakatani (son), Mamoru (Max) Nakatani (son), Koso Nakatani (son), Family travel (to
Japan), and Children’s yearbooks)), Yamato, Other books and publications, Newspapers, Print miscellaneous, Photographs, Artifacts,
Oversized Flat Files, and Audiovisual media.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Matsumoto, Sosei
Nakatani, Kazuhisa
Nakatani, Kikuyo
Nakatani, Kinjiro
Nakatani, Koso
Nakatani, Kunio
Nakatani, Lilly A.
Nakatani, Mamoru
Nakatani, Satoru
Nakatani, Seiji
Diaries
Japan -- Emigration and immigration
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942 - 1945
Japanese Americans -- History -- 20th century
Japanese tea ceremony
Letters
Photographs
World War II
Yamoto (Battleship)