Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Manuscripts
Four Star Van and Storage Co. Bulletin to Tameko Dorothy Katano [regarding storage of goods belonging to Japanese-Americans]
- Description
- The majority of the collection consists of correspondence sent to the Katano family while they were interred at the Manzanar War Relocation Center from 1942 to 1945. Many of the letters were sent to Tomeko Dorothy Katano, who was at Manzanar from ages 19-22. Some of Tameko's acquaintances describe their unchanged daily activities, while others write of their own wartime experiences. Some of the letters only allude to the Katanos' situation in the relocation center, although others are more explicit, such as a letter from a friend who urges Tameko and her family to study the U.S. Constitution and remember their rights as American citizens, while acknowledging that "there is an element in California that are against you, but that's one of the consequences of war...it will pass away in time" (1944). While none of the Katanos own correspondence is included in the collection, an unnamed friend wrote to Takaichi Katano that "I was very sad when you wrote about you being unhappy and lonely but I hope for you[r] sake that you shall be happy...in the future." A letter from a recently released friend described the difficult situation he faced after leaving "dear old Manzanar," from where he had moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he had difficulty finding a place to live did not "like the Japanese out here." He planned to return to the West Coast, where despite his experiences he still felt "more at home" (1945). The collection also contains various ephemera related to Tomeko and Manzanar. Two of the letters are in Japanese.
