Topaz Museum interviews, 2008

Overview of the Collection

Title
Topaz Museum interviews
Dates
2008 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.25 linear feet
Collection Number
ACCN 2465
Summary
Transcripts of interviews (2008) conducted with individuals associated with internees at the Topaz internment camp in Utah.
Repository
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Topaz Museum was incorporated in 1996 for the purpose of preserving the experience of Topaz internees during World War II and educating the public in order to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Topaz Museum Interviews consist of transcripts of nine interviews conducted by the Topaz Museum with persons associated with the Topaz internment camp.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Separated Materials

DVDs of the interviews were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

Acquisition Information

Donated by the Topaz Museum Board in 2009.

Processing Note

Processed by Karen Carver in 2009.

Related Materials

Forms part of the Japanese American Archive.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1 Transcripts
This folder contains a bound volume of interview transcripts:
  • (1) Norman I. Hirose talks about his family background; living in Berkeley, California; Pearl Harbor; selling household items in preparation for mass removal; Tanforan; Topaz camp layout and activities; Santa Fe Department of Justice internment camp; moving to Japan after the war. (56 pages)
  • (2) Ted Nagata recalls living in Berkeley, California; Tanforan assembly center; Topaz experience; living in "Japantown" in Salt Lake City after the war. (21 pages)
  • (3) Nelson Takeo Akagi describes his family; farming in California; the sale of the farm after Pearl Harbor; working on a sugar beet farm in Idaho; his service in the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion; life after the war. (42 pages)
  • (4) Jun Kurumada talks about his family background; growing up in Utah; Japanese-Americans and the Mormon Church; formation of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL); military service in occupied Japan. (39 pages)
  • (5)Helen Harano Christ describes her family background and recalls life in pre-war Berkeley, California; Tanforan assembly center; life in Topaz; moving to North Platte, Nebraska; meeting her husband and issues of an interracial marriage; teaching. (28 pages)
  • (6) Alice Setsuko Sekino Hirai describes her family background; life in San Francisco, California; camp life; living in Salt Lake City, Utah, after the war; education and marriage; work with handicapped children. (27 pages)
  • (7) Bob Utsumi recalls his childhood in Oakland, California; results of the news of Pearl Harbor; Tanforan; life in Topaz; returning to Oakland after the war; attending UC Berkeley; service in the Air Force in England and Vietnam. (37 pages)
  • (8) Chiyoko Yano describes her childhood in Japan and Oakland, California; life in Topaz; marriage and child-rearing in Topaz; returning to Berkeley after the war. (36 pages)
  • (9) Grace Oshita describes her parents and their immigration to the United States; childhood in San Francisco; her father being picked up by the FBI; Tanforan; Topaz; living in Salt Lake City after the war; marriage and children; redress. (33 pages)
 2008

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945

Corporate Names

  • Central Utah Relocation Center
  • Topaz Museum

Form or Genre Terms

  • Interviews

Finding aid created by Karen Carver
2009 (last modified: 2020)

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