Guide to the Chizuko Ikegami / Henry Miller Correspondence

Preliminary arrangement and description by D. Tambo
Department of Special Collections
Davidson Library
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Phone: (805) 893-3062
Fax: (805) 893-5749
Email: special@library.ucsb.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/speccoll.html
© 2010
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Guide to the Chizuko Ikegami / Henry Miller Correspondence, 1975-1976

Collection number: Mss 219

Department of Special Collections

Davidson Library

University of California, Santa Barbara
Processed by:
Preliminary arrangement and description by D. Tambo
Date Completed:
Oct. 5, 2010
Encoded by:
A. Demeter
© 2010 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Chizuko Ikegami / Henry Miller Correspondence
Dates: 1975-1976
Collection number: Mss 219
Collection Size: 0.2 linear feet (1 half-size document box)
Repository: University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Dept. of Special Collections
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Abstract: The collection contains 52 handwritten letters (ALS), in English, from Japanese author Chizuko Ikegami [b. 1946] to American author Henry Miller [1891-1980] during a period when he lived in Pacific Palisades [near Los Angeles], California.
Physical location: Del Sur.
Languages: English

Access Restrictions

None.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred Citation

Chizuko Ikegami / Henry Miller Correspondence. Mss 219. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Acquisition Information

Purchase, 2004.

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection contains 52 handwritten letters (ALS), in English, from Japanese author Chizuko Ikegami [b. 1946] to American author Henry Miller [1891-1980] during a period when he lived in Pacific Palisades [near Los Angeles], California. The first letter is dated July 8, 1975 and the last Dec. 6, 1976. They are written while Ikegami lived in San Francisco.
Miller appears to have initiated the correspondence after meeting Ikegami once, writing her at least weekly and frequently presenting her with his watercolors and books. Ikegami writes at some length about the books, Japanese society and sexual practices, philosophical concepts and social mores, as well as the American sexual revolution (including attitudes toward pornography and birth control), as depicted by Henry Miller and other authors such as Erica Jong, and as seen in San Francisco lifestyles of the time.
In the last letter Ikegami mentions that she will be in Los Angeles and will call Miller, if he would like. There is no indication why the correspondence breaks off at this point.
Ikegami's writings include Yagate kanashii Amerikajin (1988) and Danjo K-osaitte nandar-o (1991). In recent years, she has been active in HIV/AIDS prevention and care issues.
There is no container list for this collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Ikegami, Chizuko, 1946-
Miller, Henry, 1891-1980.