The central focus of the California State University Japanese American Digitization Project is the digitization and access to primary materials related to the history and progress of Japanese Americans in their communities. An enormous range of subjects and archival materials central to Japanese-American life before, during, and after World War II are in this digital collection including: letters, photographs, oral histories, camp publications, papers of camp administrators and counselors, poetry, art works, leases, certificates and other documents to prove citizenship, and school yearbooks.

The story of the Japanese Americans in the Modern era – their migration to this country, the Alien Land laws under which they lived, and their incarceration during World War II – is a complex local and state topic as well as a national subject of great historical impact. The history of the Japanese in the United States began with Commodore Perry's gunboat diplomacy policy in 1868. The first small numbers of Japanese came to the West Coast in 1869. Larger groups did not begin arriving on the West Coast until after the Exclusion Act of 1882, which completely stopped the immigration of Chinese laborers. The Japanese workers were brought in as replacements to work on the railroads and mines. With the California Alien Land Laws of 1913 and 1924, all Asian immigrants were ineligible for citizenship and could not legally own or lease land

608 digital items

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.

There are no access restrictions on this collection.