Research Guides
Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest: Postwar Era
A guide to select primary materials relating to the Japanese-American community in the Pacific Northwest available in Special Collections.
Image Collections
Image: Nikkei Seafair royalty posing in front of the Space Needle, 1961
Some of the images in these collections have been digitized and are linked from the collection guide. Other digitized images relating to the Nikkei community can be found in the UW Digital Collections.
- Matsushita Family Photograph Collection 1919-1978PH Collection 162. Images depict scenery and prewar and postwar family life with a few photographs of Minidoka Relocation Center and Ft. Missoula Interment camp. See digitized images.
- Henry Sukezo Takayoshi Photographs circa 1940-1990PH Collection 440. 145 photographs of the Seattle area and Japan. See digitized images.
Other Material Available in the UW Libraries
- Personal Justice Denied: Public Hearings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment, 1981 This link opens in a new window
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Selected Archival Collections: Personal Papers
These collections of personal papers contain substantial material on Japanese Americans after World War II. Additional collections can be found by searching Archives West. Selected material in some collections are available online.
- Camden M. Hall Case Files on Hirabayashi v. United States and Other Materials 1956-2005Acc. 5503-001. Legal files, clippings and more dealing with the Gordon Hirabayashi's effort to overturn the Supreme Court decision.
- Paul Horiuchi Papers 1928-1996Acc. 5643-001. Correspondence, clippings and photographs of the artist, known for his mosaic mural at the Century 21 Seatle World's Fair.
- Tomie Ito Papers 1900-1994Acc. 5310. Papers include diaries from 1974-1994 (in Japanese) plus other documents and clippings.
- Miyoko Kaneta Papers 1970-2003Acc. 5367. Papers dealing with Kaneta's involvement in the redress movement.
- Donald D. Kazama Papers 1929-1986Acc. 2012. Kazama's papers reflect a number of social service organizations in which he particpated.
- Sally S. Kazama Papers 1960-1989Acc. 2587. Kazama's papers reflect a number of social service organizations in which she particpated.
- Minoru Masuda Papers, 1935-1984Acc. 2925. Papers of a professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington and civil rights activist for Japanese Americans includes material on the redress movement.
- Martha Nishitani Papers, 1920s-1990sAcc. 4421. Most of the material relates to Nishitani's career as a dancer and dance instructor; also includes postwar correspondence.
- Yoshitani Obazawa Diaries 1968-1982Acc. 3498-001. Diaries in English and Japanese, emphasis on religious life.
- Elmer Ogawa Papers 1928-1971Acc. 1383-001. Papers of the photographer and civic leader active in the Nisei Veterans Committee, JACL and other organizations; most material from the postwar period but includes some earlier correspondence. See digitized images.
- Nobuko Suzuki Papers 1942-1980Acc. 3924-001. Local activist's correspondence, minutes, clippings and more.
- Uyeda Family Papers, 1940-1984Acc. 3994. Primarily postwar papers covering business and personal activity. Masato Uyeda operated a landscaping and garden ornament importing business.
Selected Archival Collections: Organizational Records
These collections of organizational papers contain substantial material on Japanese Americans after World War II. Additional collections can be found by searching Archives West. Selected material in some collections are available online.
- Japan America Society of Seattle Records 1923-1998Acc. 3686. Organization records include minutes, correspondence and more; most material dates after 1960.
- Japanese-American Citizens League, Seattle Branch Records 1921-2010Acc. 0217. Records include those of the Emergency Defense Council, the JACL group created in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor and material dealing with the postwar redress movement. See digitized documents and photographs.
- Seihoku Nippo Records, 1944-1953Acc. 1897. Records of the postwar Japanese language newspaper.