Manuscripts

Album of Japanese zoological drawings

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Description: Brush and ink drawings, with watercolor, of a variety of Japanese fauna (approximately 70 drawings). Individual images on laid paper cut out and pasted onto Japanese paper. Several of the images have contemporary notes of zoological information such as species names, size, where caught, habits, and comments about when and where drawn. The animals include fish and crustaceans, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, owls, and insects. Several are dated 1804 and 1807.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: after 1807.
Call number: mssHM 83976
Provenance: Purchased from Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Inc., March 2023.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Japanese ikebana manuscript

Manuscripts

The manuscript is a rice paper booklet consisting of 33 folded leaves and sewn together. It contains ink drawings of ikebana arrangement of plant material. There is text in Japanese. The item is undated and the name "Haruyoshi Kaneko" appears on the first page.

mssHM 72754

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Japanese student's Caltech photograph album

Visual Materials

An album of snapshots documenting an unidentified Japanese engineering student's experiences during a study visit at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) from 1935 to 1936. The small photographs are accompanied by detailed, neatly written ink captions in Japanese, with occasional words in English. The album begins with his ship's departure from Kobe, Japan, on December 17, 1935, with stops in Yokohama and Honolulu, Hawaii, and arrival in San Francisco on January 2, 1936. The student observes that his fellow travelers (translated from Japanese) are those going with high hopes, those going with nervous anxiety, those seeking development, and lonesome people. The images and captions document buildings and professors at Caltech; details of streets, businesses and some houses in Pasadena; the garden of "Mr. Cole's" house; the Gilmore Circus Parade; Glendale; Ocean Park, and his departure from San Pedro at the end of his stay. There are two small drawings: businesses at the intersection of Lake Avenue and California Street, Pasadena; and Colorado Blvd. between Green and Cordova streets.

photCL 726

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Japanese occupation of Philippines photograph album

Visual Materials

A photographic regimental history of the Japanese Imperial Army, Watari Philippine Occupation Expeditionary Force, 14th Army unit assigned to the Philippines during World War II. The halftone photographs with captions in Japanese are printed on the album pages, along with a few maps. Written in Japanese inside the front cover: "Suzuki Unit / Matsushima Group / Matsumoto Division." Images include: Military posts throughout the Philippines; broken American and Filipino tanks in Tarlac; destroyed bridges and buildings; Nitsuba house near Antimonan; the Suzuki Division headquarters in San Miguel; Amato jin'ya, or "Confection Barracks/Fort Sweet-Tooth" hung with Japanese flags; group photographs of Japanese Army forces, and others. Also featured is a unit memorial service with a eulogy given by Army Commander Honma Masaharu, who led the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.

photCL 735

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Photograph albums of a Japanese businessman's trip to the United States

Visual Materials

Two albums of photographs taken by a Japanese businessman of his trip to the United States in the early 1930s. The man appears to have been Yaroku Katayama, who was engaged in export trade in the 1930s and 1940s, and appears in a few photographs, including one aboard the passenger ship Taiyo Maru with Japanese parliamentarian Mitsuhashi Shiroji. The two small albums have many handwritten captions in Japanese, and a few in English. The date 1932 is written in two captions in both albums. The small black-and-white snapshots depict street scenes and scenery in Niagara Falls, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Chicago, and in Arizona, where he traveled by train on the Santa Fe Railway. One of the albums is primarily of scenes in Hawaii, especially Honolulu, where he stopped en route to his return to Japan.

photCL 681

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Photograph album of a Japanese American soldier in the U.S. occupation forces in Japan

Visual Materials

A personal photo album compiled and annotated by a Japanese American serviceman who served in the U.S. occupation forces during the post-World War II occupation of Japan. The album begins with his departure from Hawaii to Japan in 1946, including one image of his old school, McKinley High School in Honolulu. In Tokyo, there are many photographs of fellow soldiers, as well as Japanese young men and women; buildings and landmarks; parks; and army buildings. Two images of a large building are described as General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters in Tokyo, and there is one image of him walking out of the building. Besides Tokyo, the soldier is seen in Kamakura and Otake, near Iwakuni, where he may have been stationed later. Of note are a few images of building destruction in Hiroshima, 1947, in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. At the back of the album are many single and group portraits of Japanese residents, possibly family members or acquaintances in Iwakuni and Otake. The album has handwritten captions in English, with occasional captions written in Japanese.

photCL 667

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Photograph album of Japanese American residents of California

Visual Materials

A photograph album dating from the early 1920s reflecting the life of an unidentified Japanese American family based in or near the agricultural community of Brawley, in Imperial County, California. "Brawley Bottling Works" crates are seen in an image of Japanese American farm workers, and other images include the interior of a canned goods store, agricultural workers and crops, farm trucks, and a man with plants in a greenhouse. The album contains snapshots of many different Japanese American men, women, and children, almost always dressed in fine Western clothing, seen in social gatherings in mostly rural settings, with some images of other locations. The album doesn't have any identifications, though recognizable locations in California are: the Sacramento Capitol building; the beach in Venice; a bookstore with a crate marked First Street, Los Angeles; and men posing with automobiles with license plates that say "CAL." Notable images are a group portrait of men clowning around while drinking beer, and ceremonial outdoor gatherings with American and Japanese flags flying. Photographs taken in Japan include a Christian church and school in the Tadanoumi area of Hiroshima Prefecture, and family groups with people wearing both Japanese and Western clothing.

photCL 647

Album of Japanese zoological drawings

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Japanese ikebana manuscript

Japanese student's Caltech photograph album

Japanese occupation of Philippines photograph album

Photograph albums of a Japanese businessman's trip to the United States

Photograph album of a Japanese American soldier in the U.S. occupation forces in Japan

Photograph album of Japanese American residents of California