Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Eddie Sato Camp Harmony sketchbook and drawings, 1942
Overview of the Collection
- Artist
- Sato, Eddie, 1923-2005
- Title
- Eddie Sato Camp Harmony sketchbook and drawings
- Dates
- 1942 (inclusive)19421942
- Quantity
- 34 drawings (26 charcoal drawings, 8 pen-and-ink drawings) (1 box) ; various sizes
- Collection Number
- PH0664
- Summary
- Pen-and-ink and charcoal drawings of scenes at the Puyallup Assembly Center, "Camp Harmony," in Washington state, where many of Seattle's Japanese Americans were incarcerated for several months during World War II.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
Original drawings may be viewed in the repository only with the permission of the curators.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Eddie Sato was an artist who grew up in Seattle. In 1942, at age 19, Sato was incarcerated with other Seattle Japanese Americans at the Puyallup Assembly Center, called "Camp Harmony," in Puyallup, Washington. Sato served as a staff artist for the Camp Harmony newspaper, sketching scenes of everyday life at the camp. He subsequently fought in the U.S. Army's 442nd Battalion (also known as the 442nd Regimental Combat Team), a highly decorated, all-Nisei unit. Sato later worked as a commercial artist in Chicago.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
In 1942, in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor the previous December, over 100,000 Japanese Americans (more than 70% of whom were American citizens) were removed from their homes and incarcerated in camps. These residents of Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Alaska were sent to local temporary assembly centers and then to remote incarceration camps where many spent the rest of the war. Life at the camps was strictly regulated, with roll calls and curfews, and camp residents lost basic civil rights such as the right to religious freedom, the right to assemble, and the right to privacy.
In April 1942, Seattle’s Japanese community began to be shipped to Camp Harmony, the temporary assembly center in Puyallup. Within a week, more than 2,500 Seattle Japanese Americans had been transported to Puyallup; by the end of May, over 7,000 people were living at Camp Harmony. After four months, the residents of Camp Harmony were transported to the Minidoka Relocation Center in southern Idaho, where many spent the duration of the war.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection contains charcoal and pen-and-ink drawings by Eddie Sato depicting the settings and various aspects of daily life at Camp Harmony (Puyallup Assembly Center) in July and August, 1942.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from the collection in digital format .
Photocopies of the original drawings are available for viewing in the repository.
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the repository for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Donor: Eddie Sato, pen-and-ink drawings, 1996; S. Frank Miyamoto, sketchbook, 1975.
Processing Note
Processed by Jody Hendrickson, 2004.
The original sketchbook was disassembled due to deterioration, but the order of the pages has been retained.
These materials were relocated from the Eddie Sato Sketchbook and Drawings Collection (manuscripts Accession no. 4586-001) in the repository in 2005.
Related Materials
See also PH1653 Eddie Sato Comic Strip and Camp Harmony Drawings.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Pen and ink drawings of Camp Harmony, Puyallup, WashingtonReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folder | item | ||
| 1 | 1 |
Sumo tournament
on baseball field Caption on drawing: "Sumo tournament, pitcher field."
|
July 4, 1942 |
| 1 | 2 |
Playing ball on
baseball field Caption on drawing: "On pitcher field -- note (majestic Mt.
Rainier in background)."
|
August 29, 1942 |
| 1 | 3 |
Mess
hall Caption on drawing: "Mess hall #4."
|
August 29, 1942 |
| 1 | 4 |
Laundry room
interior Caption on drawing: "Laundry room-8th Avenue."
|
August 29, 1942 |
| 1 | 5 |
Latrine and
shower rooms Caption on drawing: "Latrine and shower rooms."
|
August 29, 1942 |
| 1 | 6 |
Laundry
exterior Caption on drawing: "Laundry room-between 2nd & 3rd
Ave."
|
August 29, 1942 |
| 1 | 7 |
Street with
living quarters Caption on drawing: "Looking down 6th Avenue."
|
August 30, 1942 |
| 1 | 8 |
Entrance to Area
A Caption on drawing: "Entrance to Area A-Camp Harmony, Puyallup,
Wn."
|
August 31, 1942 |
Charcoal sketchbook drawingsReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folder | item | ||
| 2 | 9 | August 1942 | |
| 3 | 10 | August 1942 | |
| 4 | 11 | August 1942 | |
| 5 | 12 |
Two scenes:
cooks helper and men's restroom Caption on drawing: "Part of vegetable crew/ Gents latrine."
|
August 1942 |
| 6 | 13 | August 1942 | |
| 7 | 14 |
Mess
Hall Caption on drawing: "Corner of mess hall."
|
August 1942 |
| 8 | 15 | August 1942 | |
| 9 | 16 |
Women at work in
laundry room Caption on drawing: "In the laundry house."
|
August 1942 |
| 10 | 17 |
Camp
playground Caption on drawing: "Play ground."
|
August 1942 |
| 11 | 18a |
Workers with
truck Caption on drawing: "A dash for lumber -- cratin' days."
|
August 1942 |
| 11 | 18b |
Garbage
operation Caption on drawing: "Garbage cleaning."
|
August 1942 |
| 12 | 19 | August 1942 | |
| 13 | 20 |
Canteen Caption on drawing: "Canteen."
|
August 1942 |
| 14 | 21 |
Entrance of Camp
Harmony Caption on drawing: "At the entrance."
|
August 1942 |
| 15 | 22 |
Gate and camp
residents Caption on drawing: "At the gate."
|
August 1942 |
| 16 | 23 |
Grocery
store Caption on drawing: "Grocery store across the corner."
|
August 1942 |
| 17 | 24 |
Men playing Mah
Jong Caption on drawing: "A game of Mah Jong."
|
August 1942 |
| 18 | 25 |
Men playing
checkers Caption on drawing: "A game of Japanese checkers."
|
August 1942 |
| 19 | 26 |
Laundry
building Caption on drawing: "Laundry house."
|
August 1942 |
| 20 | 27 |
Camp building
with door open Caption on drawing: "Air conditioning!"
|
August 1942 |
| 21 | 28 |
Administrative
offices in Area D Caption on drawing: "Administrative offices-Area D."
|
August 1942 |
| 22 | 29 |
Mess hall
exterior, Area D Caption on drawing: "Largest mess hall-Area D."
|
August 1942 |
| 23 | 30 |
Gate A in Area
D Caption on drawing: "The 'A' gate in Area D."
|
August 1942 |
| 24 | 31 |
Section known as
the Racetrack, Area D Caption on drawing: "Within the race track-Area D."
|
August 1942 |
| 25 | 32 |
Pool and
children, Area B Caption on drawing: "The Area 'B' pool."
|
August 1942 |
| 26 | 33 |
Man making
wooden shoes Caption on drawing: "Making wooden shoes."
|
August 1942 |
| 27 | 34 | Street
scene Included in sketchbook, but not drawn by Eddie Sato.
|
August 1942 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Concentration camp inmates--Washington (State)--Puyallup--In art
- Concentration camps--Washington (State)--Puyallup--In art
- Japanese American art--Washington (State)
- Japanese American artists--Washington (State)
- Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945--In art
- Mah Jong in art
- Political persecution in art
- Sumo in art
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
- World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Washington (State)--Puyallup--In art
- World War, 1939-1945--Japanese Americans--In art
Personal Names
- Sato, Eddie, 1923-2005--Archives (artist)
Corporate Names
- Puyallup Assembly Center (Puyallup, Wash.)--In art
Geographical Names
- Puyallup (Wash.)--In art
