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Yuki Sato photograph collection, 1912-1929
Overview of the Collection
- Collector
- Sato, Yuki, 1918-2016
- Title
- Yuki Sato photograph collection
- Dates
- 1912-1929 (inclusive)19121929
- Quantity
- 10 photographs (1 folder)
- Collection Number
- UW Resource No. PH1631
- Summary
- Photographs of Japanese Americans who worked for the Furuya Company at picnics on Bainbridge Island and a reception for Waka Yamada
- 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
-
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libaries' Digital collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information..
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Yukiko "Yuki" Kawakami (June 27, 1918- November 22, 2016) was born at the Union Hotel on Skid Row in Seattle on June 27, 1918, and upon her graduation from Garfield High School she began working for the Social Security Administration. In April 1942, since Kawakami and her family were the only Japanese Americans in their neighborhood, they were among the first group in Seattle to be sent to Camp Minidoka in Idaho for interment immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Yuki left Minidoka in May 1943 to work at the Denver Social Security office. She returned to Seattle in 1946 and married Danichi Sato. They had one child together, a son named Den J. Sato. Danichi Sato died in 1960. After she retired from her job at the Social Security Administration, she began a long period of 19 years working toward a college degree from the University of Washington, taking just one class at a time. She graduated in June 2001 weeks before her 83rd birthday, one of the oldest graduates in the university's history. Yuki Sato was a long-time member of the Japanese Presbyterian Church, serving as their pianist/organist for over 40 years.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
The Furuya Company, founded by Masajiro Furuya in 1892, became the most successful business in Seattle's Nihonmachi (Japantown), now the International District. The Furuya Company served as a multipurpose business and provided services in real estate, construction, mailing, printing, and banking.
Employment as one of the "Furuya Men" at Furuya Company was an important career opportunity for skilled and educated Japanese Americans in Seattle due to rampant discrimination by white-owned companies, but at Furuya the pay was still low and the employees were overworked. 12 hour shifts and seven day work weeks were the norm, and there were no vacation days excepting the once-a-year company outing to the Furuya Resort House. Many Japanese Americans were employed by the firm, but lost their life savings, businesses, and land due to the company's bankruptcy during the Great Depression.
Many photographs in this collection show summer employee picnics at the Furuya Resort House. The resort was built on six acres of the Bainbridge Island, WA, shoreline in 1905. The extravagant building and grounds were used for events, agricultural and horticultural experimentation, and was open to local Japanese prefectural organizations and University of Washington students on Sundays. The house and many of the plants are still on the property, and are currently owned by the Whitman family, who continue to host an annual Japanese Community Picnic.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Photographs of Japanese Americans at M. Furuya Company employee picnics at the Furuya resort at Crystal Springs, Washington, photographs of a clerk at the Union Hotel, and a reception held for Waka Yamada, a woman's rights campaigner. There are also detailed notes about the photographs included along with information on Yuki Sato, Masajiro Furuya, and Waka Yamada
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Status of creator's copyrights is unknown; restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Folder | item | ||
1 | 1 |
Furuya Company employee picnic, Crystal Springs,
WA Written on verso: M. Furuya Co.'s Employees' picnic. Place: Summer
resort of M. Furuya, Crystal Springs, Wash.From accompanying material: Full name of owner is Masajiro
Furuya.
|
July 7, 1912 |
1 | 2 |
K. Kawakami at reception desk, interior of Union Hotel,
307 Washington St, Seattle, WA Written on verso: 1913- Union Hotel Washington St. Seattle, Wash.
K. Kawakami.From accompanying material: Yuki Sato was born at the Union Hotel
in 1918.
|
1913 |
1 | 3 |
Gathering at the front lawn of the Furuya residence,
Seattle, WA Written on verso: Eighth Ave.- 200 Block (North of Yesler
Way).
|
1919 |
1 | 4 |
Furuya Company employee picnic, Crystal Springs,
WA Written on verso: held at Mr. Furuya's summer home.From accompanying material: Group is posed on the west, shoreside
front lawn of Furuya Resort in summer. A young monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria
araucana) is growing at the bottom of porch steps in left of photo.
|
1923 |
1 | 5 |
Furuya Company employee picnic, Crystal Springs,
WA Written on verso: held at Mr. Furuya's summer home.From accompanying material: Group is posed on west, shoreside
front lawn of Furuya Resort in summer.
|
1925 |
1 | 6 |
Furuya Company employee picnic, Crystal Springs,
WA Aiko Studio
Written on verso: Mr. Furuya's summer home.From accompanying materials: Group is posed on west, shoreside
front lawn of Furuya Resort in summer.
|
1926 |
1 | 7 |
Furuya Company employee picnic, Crystal Springs,
WA Written on verso: Held at Mr. Furuya's summer resort.From accompanying materials: View is of the southwest, shoreside
front lawn of Furuya Resort, and shows other features than the 1923, 1925, and
1926 views. It reveals more of the covered porch that surrounds the resort's
main floor seen above, more of the landscape's trees and plantings, and one of
several arches that hold up the porch and allow basement storage access. The
arches are a signature feature of other similarly aged elaborate residences
built along the shore to the north overlooking the bay.
|
June 10, 1928 |
1 | 8 |
Furuya Company employee picnic, Crystal Springs,
WA Written on verso: Mr. Furuya's summer homeFrom accompanying materials: The group is posed on the southwest,
shoreside front lawn of Furuya Resort. The same elderly man is seen similarly
positioned near the center in the 1923, 1925, 1926, 1928, and 1929 photos- all
of the 1920's portraits in Yuki Sato Collection.Man in center is probably Masajiro Furuya.
|
July 7, 1929 |
1 | 9 |
Reception held for Waka Yamada Waka Yamada was born Asaba Waka in Kurihama Village, Japan, to a
poor peasant family. When she turned 18, she traveled to nearby Yokohama to
find employment, but was kidnaped and trafficked to Seattle. Once in Seattle,
she was a victim of prostitution, and became known as "Arabian Oyae." While in
captivity as a sex slave, she met a Japanese journalist named Shinzaburo
Ritsui, who promised her freedom, but ultimately trafficked her himself in San
Francisco. Yamada eventually escaped and found refuge at Cameron House, a
Presbyterian mission set up to help prostitutes who have escaped their
traffickers. In 1903, she met and married Kakichi Yamada and the two moved back
to Tokyo, Japan.Once back in Japan, Yamada began exploring feminist literature,
writing for the magazine Bluestocking, and speaking out about women's rights in
relation to their roles as wives, mothers, and guardians. This differed from
many other feminist views of the time, which largely favored independence and
equality. Her ideals did align with the views of imperial Japan, which promoted
the importance of good wives and mothers as roles central to the war effort.
However, she found herself at odds with many Western feminists, who believed
that women's equality with men was paramount and staunchly opposed imperial
Japanese goods. Regardless, Yamada became a celebrity in her own right, going on
international tours and even being invited to visit Eleanor Roosevelt at the
White House on December 7, 1937. Yamada became and remained a prominent
community organizer for Japan throughout her life, helping to advocate for the
"Maternal and Child Protection Act," the formation of the New Women's
Association, and the creation of a school in Tokyo centered on aiding those
escaping prostitution.
Written on verso: Reception held for Waka Yamada, a women's rights
campaigner in Japan. She was once a prostitute in the red-light district of
Seattle. The reception [was] held at one of the Japanese American restaurants
in Japan Town.From accompanying material: Waka Yamada is sitting at a head table
in the middle or center of the group.
|
January 18, 1938 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)