Kuwahara Family Papers, 1943-2011

Summary

Creators:

Kuwahara, Tatsuya, 1925-, Kuwahara, June Ikuko, 1930-, Kawabe, Kenji, 1886-1973, and Kuwahara, Terry

Abstract:

This collection documents the Kuwahara family's time at the Poston incarceration camp in Arizona during World War II. Materials include: newsletters from the schools and community in Poston's camp, photographs of the people incarcerated at the camp and the desert landscape, watercolor paintings of the camp facilities, and programs and booklets from the reunions of the Poston camp families. Some of the items in this collection have been digitized and available online.

Extent:

1 box (1 flat box including 2 disks (DVDs)) and 1.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language:

English , Japanese .

Preferred citation:

For information about citing archival material, see the Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.

Background

Scope and content:

The Kuwahara Family Papers contains documentation of the Kuwahara family depicting the daily life and people incarcerated in the Poston camp in Arizona during World War II. Materials include: junior high school, high school, and camp community newsletters in both Japanese and English; a short travel journal written by Kenji Kawabe detailing his time while visiting the Granada camp in Colorado, Salt Lake, and the Topaz camp in Utah; photographs of class groups, farm workers, and the desert landscape; watercolor paintings of the Poston camp facilities; and programs and booklets of the family and community reunions of the Poston incarceration camp in print and electronic formats.

Biographical / historical:

Ikuko June Kuwahara (1930-) was born in Los Angeles County to Kenji and Seiko Kawabe. Tatsuya Kuwahara (1925-) was born in Los Angeles County to Den'emon and Takeno Kuwahara.

The Kawabe and Kuwahara families were forcibly removed from their homes and incarcerated in 1942 to the Poston incarceration camp in Arizona. The Kawabe family was incarcerated at the camp until 1945. Tatsuya was imprisoned at the camp until 1944. Tatsuya and June were married in Los Angeles in 1953.

The Colorado River Relocation Center, also known as the Poston War Relocation Center, was the largest Japanese American incarceration camp in the United States, located in Poston, Arizona. Made up of three sites, it was operational from 1942-1945, and at its height imprisoned over 17,000 people. A memorial monument was built on the site in 1992.

Acquisition information:

Terry Kuwahara donated the collection to the Gerth Archives and Special Collections on Sept 22, 2018 when the Library hosted a Scanning Day event at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute.

Processing information:

The collection was processed by Kathryn Brunet in 2018; the finding aid was updated by Yoko Okunishi in 2019.

Text files were 4.01 GB (34 files) and extracted from DVDs and normalized to a PDF format.

English translation, synopses, and brief descriptions for Japanese language materials are prepared by Yoko Okunishi.

The Gerth Archives and Special Collections also created born-analog objects (digitized materials) from original items for long-term preservation and electronic access, adhering to best practice and standards to ensure the authenticity, integrity, and security of material. Redaction was applied to protect personal identifiable information and large files were compressed for greater efficiency online. For more information on digitization process, please see CSU Japanese American Digitization Project technical reference guide.

The most of the items in this collection have been digitized. The set of digital reproduction preservation files along with normalized text files is stored on the Gerth Archives and Special Collections' department drive for both preservation purposes and duplicate requests.

The set of digital reproduction access derivatives (access files) created for the digital management system is stored on the Gerth Archives and Special Collections' department external drive for staff use.

Material specific details:

English translation, synopses, and brief descriptions for Japanese language materials are available at the CSU Japanese American Digitization Project site: Kuwahara Family Papers Digital Collection

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

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

Alternative form available:

Some of the items in this collection have been digitized and available at the CSU Japanese American Digitization Project site: Kuwahara Family Papers Digital Collection

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1944-1945 -- Archives
Japanese Americans -- History -- 20th century

Names:

Poston Incarceration Camp
Kuwahara, Terry

Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

For information about citing archival material, see the Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.

Location of this collection:

California State University, Dominguez Hills, Archives and Special Collections

University Library, 5th Flr (5039)

1000 E. Victoria Street

Carson, CA 90747, US

Contact:

(310) 243-3895

archives@csudh.edu

Website