William Hohri, was one of the leading contributors of the Japanese American redress and reparations efforts during the 1980's. Serving as chairman of the National Council for Japanese American Redress (NCJAR), he sought redress through the courts. This collection consists of personal correspondences, NCJAR administrative records, speeches, concentration camp materials, government publications, Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) transcripts, court cases, and photographs.

William Hohri, the youngest of six children, was born in 1927 in San Francisco, California to Issei parents. His mother, a picture bride, and his father, a Christian missionary, immigrated in the United States in 1922. At the age of three, they fell ill with tuberculosis and Hohri and two siblings were sent to Shonien, an orphanage formerly located in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Hohri remained at Shonien for three years and recalls this as a very negative, but important time of his life. At the age of six, he was reunited with the rest of his family in Sierra Madre, California. The family moved frequently during Hohri's childhood, but finally settled in the Sawtelle area of West Los Angeles and North Hollywood.

17 linear feet

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Hirasaki National Resource Center at the Japanese American National Museum (collections@janm.org).

By appointment only. Please Contact the Collections Management and Access Unit by email (collections@janm.org) or telephone (213-830-5615).