Wire recordings of Japanese performers in Sacramento, California
Finding aid prepared by Gloria Gonzalez with assistance from Kelley Bachli, November 2012; machine-readable finding aid created
by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
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Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
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Title: Wire recordings of Japanese performers in Sacramento, California
Collection number: 2120
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.5 linear ft.
(1 document box)
Date: ca. 1950
Abstract: Twelve wire recordings and corresponding digitized copies that contain portions of a variety of live concerts performed by
Japanese and Japanese American musicians on tour in Sacramento, California in and around the year 1950. The recordings capture
portions of small concerts performed by unidentified musicians, as well as live concerts of well known Japanese performers
of the era, including Hibari Misora, Hamako Watanabe, Yoshiko Otaka (Shirley Yamaguchi), Ryoichi Hattori, Tomiko Hattori,
Shizuko Kasagi, and Kawada Haruhisa.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
COLLECTION CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for viewing. To access digital
materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
[Identification of item], Wire recordings of Japanese performers in Sacramento, California (Collection 2120). Library Special
Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Recordings were purchased by the donor, Dieter Hollander, on eBay in August and September of 2008. The materials were then
digitized into .WAV and .MP3 formats and donated in November 2012.
Processed by Gloria Gonzalez with assistance from Kelley Bachli, November 2012.
In 1950, Japanese musicians were permitted to travel overseas and perform in the United States for the first time since the
end of World War II. Many artists traveled across the United States on concert tours that year, and were greeted by Japanese-American
fans in cities including Honolulu, Chicago, Los Angeles and Sacramento. The Wire Recordings of Japanese Performers in Sacramento,
California capture a variety of these significant postwar concerts performed in the city during and around the year 1950.
The earliest known provenance of the recordings is their purchase from a Sacramento antique market. Subsequently, the recordings
were sold on eBay and purchased by the donor in August and September of 2008. The recordings were digitized into .WAV and
.MP3 formats by the donor, who gifted both the analog and digital versions to UCLA Library Special Collections in November
2012.
Twelve original wire recordings dated circa 1950, and corresponding digitized .WAV and .MP3 formatted audio files of the wire
recordings. The recordings contain portions of a number of small concerts performed by unidentified musicians, as well as
live concerts of well known Japanese performers of the era,including Hibari Misora, Hamako Watanabe, Yoshiko Otaka (Shirley
Yamaguchi), Ryoichi Hattori, Tomiko Hattori, Shizuko Kasagi, and Kawada Haruhisa. Other Japanese and perhaps Japanese-American
entertainers have not been identified, nor have the exact recording locations. For description purposes, each wire is assigned
a number. All wire recordings are unique except for Wire Three and Wire Four, which are two copies of a Hibari Misora and
Kawada Haruhisa concert. Sound quality varies from reel to reel, and many of the recordings are incomplete versions of the
original concerts.
Materials are arranged in the original order established by the donor. For description purposes, each wire is identified with
a number. To expedite user access, the collection was minimally described.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
7541876
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
wire recordings.
Box 1, item 1
Box 1, item 2
Box 1, item 3
Wire three. circa 1950 June.
Concert, approximately 49 minutes in length, performed by Misora Hibari and Kawada Haruhisa on June 24 or 25, 1950. Hibari
sings six songs including "Minato Chanson," "Hey Hey Boogie," "Kopekachiita," "Kanashiki Kuchibue," "Kappa Boogie," and "Boogie
ni Ukarete." Haruhisa does a 20 minute comedy routine on Hawaii performances. The beginning and the end of the recording are
abrupt, so it is most likely a partial recording of the concert. Wire Three contains the same content as Wire Four.
Box 1, item 4
Wire four. circa 1950 June.
Concert, approximately 49 minutes in length, performed by Misora Hibari and Kawada Haruhisa on June 24 or 25, 1950. Hibari
sings six songs including "Minato Chanson," "Hey Hey Boogie," "Kopekachiita," "Kanashiki Kuchibue," "Kappa Boogie," and "Boogie
ni Ukarete." Haruhisa does a 20 minute comedy routine on Hawaii performances. The beginning and the end of the recording are
abrupt, so it is most likely a partial recording of the concert. Wire Four contains the same content as Wire Three.
Box 5, item 5
Wire five. circa 1950 June.
Second half of a partially recorded concert, approximately 27 minutes in length, performed by Misora Hibari and Kawada Haruhisa
on either Jun 24 or 25, 1950. Kawada Haruhisa performs a comedy routine that includes jokes about Tokyo, and Misora Hibari
performs "Shamisen Boogie," "Uta-iri Kanon-kyo," and "Buttons and Bows."
Box 1, item 6
Box 1, item 7
Wire seven. circa 1950.
Part of a concert performed by Hamako Watanabe, Kouta Katsutaro, Sato Keiko, and perhaps other unidentified singers. The recording
ends abruptly after 15 minutes, and the remainder of the reel is unrecorded. Songs include "Any Yama Kage," "Nagasaki Ocho-san,"
"Oranada-bune," "Nagasaki no kane," and "Zuru-chin boy."
Box 1, item 8
Box 1, item 9
Wire nine. circa 1950.
The last performance of Ryoichi Hattori, Shizuko Kasagi and Tomiko Hattori's 1950 American tour. Songs performed include "Boogie
Wookie Musume," "Kosame no oka," "Hakata Boogie Woogie," "Sakura Boogie Woogie," "Kaimono Boogie," "Bye Bye Shanghai," "Hey
Hey Boogie," "Sekohan Musume," "Ginza Can Can Musume," and "Shamisen Boogie."
Box 1, item 10
Wire ten. circa 1950.
Box 11, item 11
Wire eleven. circa 1950.
Box 1, item 12