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Title: George Hoshida papers
Dates: 1942-1983
Bulk Dates: 1942-1944
Collection number: 96.117
Creator:
Hoshida, George, 1907-1985
Collection Size:
0.75 linear feet
Repository:
Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Los Angeles, California 90012
Abstract: George Hoshida (1907-1985) was incarcerated in Hawaii following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was separated from his family
for two years. This collection primarily consists of correspondence written by the Hoshida family while separated during World
War II. It also contains artwork created by Hoshida to document camp life, legal documents, government documents, and notes.
Physical location: Japanese American National Museum. 100 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
By appointment only.
Please contact the Collections Management and Access Unit by email (collections@janm.org) or telephone (213-830-5615).
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Collections
Management and Access Unit (collections@janm.org).
[Identification of item], George Hoshida papers. 96.117, Japanese American National Museum. Los Angeles, CA.
In 1996, led by daughters Sandra Hoshida and June Honma, George Hoshida’s family donated his sketchbooks and letters to the
permanent collection of the Japanese American National Museum.
Biography / Administrative History
George Hoshida (1907-1985) was born in Japan and immigrated to Hilo, Hawaii with his family in 1912. His formal education
ended when he graduated from junior high school, later earning his GED after the war. Hoshida began working for Hilo Electric
Company, married his wife Tamae, and started a family. He had four daughters: Taeko, June, Sandra, and Carole. Although he
professed little interest in international politics, Hoshida’s Buddhist faith coupled with his leadership in the temple and
interest in Judo led him to be classified as potentially dangerous by the government following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
He was arrested and incarcerated in Kilauea Military Camp. Over the next two years Hoshida would be transferred to the following
Department of Justice camps: Sand Island detention facility (Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii); Fort Sam Houston (San Antonio, Texas);
Lordsburg Internment Camp (Camp Lordsburg, New Mexico); Santa Fe Internment Camp (Santa Fe, New Mexico). Hoshida was separated
from his wife and family during the first two years of his incarceration.
Hoshida’s wife and daughters initially remained in Hawaii but they were sent to the Jerome War Relocation Center in Arkansas
with the hopes of reuniting the family. Their daughter, Taeko, was severely disabled and remained institutionalized in Hawaii.
Sadly, she died in Hawaii before the family was able to return. Once Hoshida was reunited with his family in Jerome they were
transferred to Gila River. The Hoshida family returned to Hilo after the war in 1945. Hoshida moved to Los Angeles with his
wife and daughter, Carole, in 1959 where he worked as a deputy clerk in the municipal court. Their other daughters, June and
Sandra, would later join the family. Hoshida returned to Hawaii after his retirement, where he wrote and published an autobiography
entitled Life of a Japanese Immigrant Boy in Hawaii.
Hoshida passed away in 1985.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection provides insight into the daily lives of a separated family during World War II. It contains letters between
Hoshida and his family, letters to and from government officials, drawings made by Hoshida illustrating camp life, and government
documents.
Letters written by Hoshida to his wife illustrate life at Justice Department Camps while Tamae’s letters highlight their daily
struggles of life without her husband as she remained in Hilo and later lived in Jerome. Hoshida’s love of drawing comes out
in letters to his family in which he makes humorous portraits for his daughters and sketches of his living conditions for
his wife. Letters in 1943 emphasize the family’s struggle to be reunited after Tamae and the children relocate to Jerome.
The collection is largely letters between the immediate Hoshida family but also includes letters between a variety of family
members,friends, and government officials.
Hoshida cultivated a life-long interest in drawing during his incarceration. He filled notebooks with drawings and watercolors
of his time behind barbed wire. His artwork includes portraits of his family as well as his fellow inmates, depictions of
daily activities, and landscapes of the surrounding environment. His sketches continue once reunited with his family, portraying
Gila River activities.
Additionally, the collection includes government documents that portray regulations applicable to Japanese American internees
as well as civilians in the Territory of Hawaii. Many of the documents relate to the Evacuations Claims Act of July 2, 1948.
Petitions filed by George and other Hawaiian internees separated form loved ones provide insight into the drawn out legal
processes involved in transfers to bring families together.
Items have been arranged chronologically when applicable with undated materials at the end of each series.
Series 1 : Correspondence
Subseries 1: Personal
Subseries 2: Government
Series 2: Government Documents
Subseries 1: Interment Camps
Subseries 2: Territory of Hawaii
Subseries 3: Regulations and Instructions
Series 3: Legal Documents
Subseries 1: Claims
Subseries 2: Petitions
Series 4: Miscellaneous
Subseries 1: Notes
Subseries 2: Press Clippings
Subseries 3: Forms
Series 5: Sketches
Subseries 1: Sketches by George Hoshida
Subseries 2: Sketches by Others
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Hoshida, George, 1907-1985
Japanese Americans
water color painting
drawings and graphics
World War II
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945.
Kilauea Military Camp (Hawaii)
Sand Island U.S. Army Internment Camp (Hawaii)
Santa Ana Army Air Base (Calif.)
Fort Sam Houston (Tex.)
Lordsburg Internment Camp (N.M.)
Santa Fe Internment Camp (N.M.)
Justice Department Camps, Santa Fe
Jerome Relocation Center (Ark.)
Gila River Relocation Center
97.106, George Hoshida Drawings. Digital Surrogates are available on the Japanese American National Museum’s Website.
2002.166.1, George Hoshida Drawing. Color ink drawing of Lordsburg Hospital.
NRC.2005.95.1, Life of a Japanese Immigrant Boy in Hawai'i by George Hoshida.