Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Yabe family papers
Yasui, Miki, 1926-2018
Coll 982
2.8 cubic feet
5 legal document cases; 1 slim legal document case; 1 oversize flat box (19x25)
1900-2022
This collection consists of papers of and relating to members of a Japanese American family. The materials date from the early 20th century to 2022, and particularly document the experiences of Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe (1897-1985), who immigrated to California from Japan around 1917, and her youngest daughter, Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui (1926-2018). Included are Mitsuye Yabe's correspondence, in Japanese; original documents and materials of Yabe family members; Miyuki Yasui's research files and historical writings on family history and the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming, where the family were incarcerated during World War II; and a small assortment of family photographs.
Approximately 20 percent of the written materials in this collection, including most of the correspondence in Series 1, is written in Japanese, in both modern and pre-World War II scripts. During initial processing in 2024, most of these materials were briefly reviewed to identify document types and likely contents, so Japanese-language materials could be placed in the appropriate groupings. However, the materials have not been translated, and the content of the individual documents has not been identified.
Collection is open for research.
Gift of Homer Yasui, December 2022 (RL2022-155).
Selected documents and photographs from the Yabe family papers are viewable online in OHS Digital Collections.
Collection is arranged in four series:
- Series 1: Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe correspondence
- Series 2: Yabe family materials
- Series 3. Research files and historical writings
- Subseries 3.1: Research and writings on Yabe family history and individuals
- Subseries 3.2: Research files on Heart Mountain Relocation Center
- Series 4: Yabe family photographs
Kenden Yabe was born in 1888, the eldest son of famed Okinawan karate instructor Kentsu Yabu. Between 1906 and 1908, he immigrated to Hawaii, finding work in agriculture. After several years, he moved to Southern California, where he worked as a gardener and a cook in a restaurant, before opening and operating a produce stand. In 1917, Yabe met twenty-year old Mitsuye Jyoko, who had recently arrived in the United States from Ehime prefecture, Japan. They married in El Centro, California, in August 1919.
Between 1921 and 1926, Mitsuye and Kenden Yabe had four daughters: Emi; Elosa, who died at age 2; Rayko; and Miyuki, who was also known as Miki. The Yabes supported their family through the operation of their produce stand until 1939, when Kenden Yabe, then 51, died after an automobile accident. Mitsuye Yabe, widowed at 42, took a job in Los Angeles running a small hotel near Japantown, where she and her daughters lived for two years. In 1942, following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the issuance of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Yabe family were among the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed and incarcerated by the U.S. government. The Yabes were incarcerated at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming, where both Rayko Yabe and Miyuki Yabe finished high school. Mitsuye Yabe and Miyuki Yabe obtained work releases from the camp, and from late 1944 until about 1946, they worked at Seabrook Farms, a cannery in New Jersey that employed many Japanese Americans as laborers.
Following World War II and the end of incarceration, Emi Yabe married Bill Wiitala, an engineer, and they later resided in northern California. Rayko Yabe lived in New York with her husband, Isaku Konoshima, a math teacher, and Miyuki Yabe enrolled in Drexel College in Philadelphia. Mitsuye Yabe lived for a few years with each of her daughters and a sister before returning permanently to Los Angeles around 1960. She became a U.S. citizen in 1980, and died in 1985 at age 88.
Miyuki Yabe graduated from Drexel College in 1949 with a degree in education. In 1950 she wed Homer Yasui, a surgeon from Oregon who had briefly been incarcerated with his family during the war. In 1954, after completing his general surgery residency, Homer Yasui was drafted and assigned to the U.S. Naval Air Station at Iwakuni, Japan, where the Yasuis lived with their two young daughters for 18 months. Afterward, they relocated to Portland, Oregon, near Homer Yasui's hometown of Hood River, where they raised their daughters, Barbara and Meredith, and their son, John. Homer and Miki Yasui were active in civic organizations including the Portland branch of the Japanese American Citizens League, and were advocates for recognition of Japanese American history and redress for wartime incarceration. Miyuki Yabe Yasui died in 2018, and Homer Yasui died in 2023.
Yabe family papers, Coll 982, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Many documents within this collection originate from or refer to U.S. government policies of forced removal and mass incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast of the United States from 1942-1946. These materials contain euphemistic language that was originally employed by the U.S. government, media organizations, and other parties, including terms such as "evacuee," "evacuation," "assembly center," "relocation center," and "internment camp."
During processing of the collection, the processing archivist retained these terms in folder titles and labels when necessary for consistency or clarity. Examples include formal titles of reports or other documents, language transcribed directly from official records, and official names of places and facilities. However, when feasible, the processing archivist has instead used terminology that more accurately reflects government actions, policies, and facilities of that time. These terms are based on guidelines compiled by organizations including Densho, the National Park Service, and the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, and are used throughout this collection guide in biographical information, in series and folder titles, and in other descriptions of materials, as well as on physical folder labels.
This collection documents the experiences and history of members of the Yabe family, a Japanese American family based in southern California in the decades prior to World War II. Much of the collection relates to Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe, who emigrated from Japan in the early 20th century, and to her daughters, particularly her youngest daughter, Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui. The materials reflect their lives before, during, and after their forced removal and incarceration at Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming, and date from the beginning of the 20th century through 2022. Most documents are in English; approximately one-fifth are in Japanese, including a portion in a pre-World War II script that is distinct from modern Japanese.
Series 1 consists of Mitsuye Yabe's correspondence, nearly all of which is written in Japanese and dates from just after World War II until her death in 1985. Most of the correspondence consists of incoming letters from various family members and friends, and is grouped roughly by correspondent. It has not been translated.
Series 2, Yabe family materials, contains original documents, such as marriage licenses, birth certificates, citizenship records, War Relocation Authority files for some individuals, and education-related materials. The school materials include report cards, certificates, and yearbooks, some of which are from Heart Mountain High School. The family materials also include a small number of letters among Mitsuye Yabe's daughters, Emi, Rayko, and Miyuki, as well as general family history documents. Mitsuye Yabe and Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui are the family members most represented in this series.
Series 3, Research files and historical writings, consists primarily of materials compiled or created by Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui about her family and the Heart Mountain Relocation Center. The materials are split into two subseries. Subseries 3.1 focuses on the history of the Yabe family, including the family's genealogy and origins in Okinawa. Individual histories explored in this subseries include Miyuki Yasui's grandfather Kentsu Yabu; her father, Kenden Yabe; and her mother, Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe. Subseries 3.2 contains research files on Heart Mountain, mainly in the form of copies of World War II-era government agency documents, such as weekly reports by the Heart Mountain project director, correspondence and other reports from or about Heart Mountain, and excerpts from the papers of two contemporary Wyoming governors and a senator.
Series 4 holds a selection of Yabe family photographs, mostly in black and white. A small number of photographs, consisting of group portraits and scenes from Kenden Yabe's funeral, predate World War II. Photographs taken at Heart Mountain, and particularly at Heart Mountain High school, show show Mitsuye, Rayko, and Miyuki Yabe during incarceration. Later photograph albums and scrapbooks depict late-life trips that Mitsuye Yabe made to Japan, as well as family reunions and other celebrations.
This collection was donated in 2022 as part of the Yasui family papers, which were processed separately as Coll 949.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Yasui, Miki, 1926-2018
Yabe, Mitsuye, 1897-1985
Yabe, Mitsuye, 1897-1985
Yabe family
Yabe family--Correspondence
Yabe family--Photographs
United States--Emigration and immigration
Japanese American families--California--History--20th century
Japanese American women--California--Los Angeles--History--20th century
Japanese Americans--Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945
Japanese Americans--Correspondence
Heart Mountain Relocation Center (Wyo.)--History
Photographs
Japanese Americans
California
correspondence
research (documents)
Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe correspondence
Series 1
0.4 cubic feet
1 legal document box
1949-1985
Primarily in Japanese.
Incoming letters from Masuo Yasui and Renichi Fujimoto (in Japanese)
1949-1960
Japanese.
1
1
Incoming letters from sister Asao (Jyoko) Shimamoto (in Japanese)
1959-1966
undated
Japanese.
1
2
Incoming letters from brother and sister-in-law, Motozumi and Rui Jyoko (in Japanese)
between 1960-1979
undated
Japanese.
1
3
Incoming letters from sister Haruko (Jyoko) Hashimoto (in Japanese)
1964
undated
Japanese.
1
4
Incoming letters from grandchildren (in English)
between 1960-1969
undated
English.
1
5
Incoming letters from sister and brother-in-law Shigeko (Jyoko) and Kumetaro Sakamoto (in Japanese)
between 1960-1969
undated
Japanese.
1
6
Correspondence with sister-in-law Iseko Jyoko (in Japanese)
between 1960-1969
undated
Japanese.
1
7
Correspondence with nephew Kenichi Jyoko (in Japanese)
between 1960-1969
undated
Japanese.
1
8
Condolence and news clipping from Mrs. Suga Shoji upon death in fire of two of Mrs. Yabe's grandchildren (in English and Japanese)
1965
English, Japanese.
1
9
Correspondence with daughter Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui and family (in Japanese with some English)
1966-1981
Japanese, English.
1
10
Correspondence with grandniece Sumiko Jyoko (in Japanese)
1979-1984
undated
Japanese.
1
11
Correspondence with grandniece Ikuko Sakamoto Yakushiju (in Japanese)
1984
undated
Japanese.
1
12
Correspondence with grandniece Chizuko (Jyoko) Usuzaka (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
1
13
Correspondence with grandnephew Masuho Jyoko (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
1
14
Incoming letters from Emi Yabe in Okinawa, Japan (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
1
15
Correspondence with relatives in Okinawa, Japan (in Japanese)
between 1950-1959
undated
Japanese.
1
16
Incoming letters from friends in Ehime prefecture (in Japanese; includes color illustrations)
1956-1972
undated
Japanese.
1
17
Incoming letters from Paul and Kiyo Kochi (in Japanese)
1967-1978
Japanese.
1
18
Incoming letters from Hatsu Ureshino (in Japanese)
1972-1975
undated
Japanese.
1
19
Incoming letters from Y. Kono and Fred Adam (in Japanese)
1985
undated
Japanese.
1
20
Incoming letters from family and friends (in Japanese)
between 1950-1969
Japanese.
1
21
Incoming letters from family and friends (in Japanese)
between 1970-1985
Japanese.
1
22
Incoming letters, sender unknown (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
1
23
Yabe family materials
Series 2
1 cubic feet
2 legal document boxes; 4 oversize folders in shared box
1919-2018
Primarily in English.
Marriage license for Kenden Yabe and Mitsuye Jyoko (in English)
1919
English.
7
1
Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe identification and ephemera, including Department of Justice and War Relocation Authority Alien ID cards and certificate of naturalization (in English, some Japanese)
1942-1986
English, Japanese.
2
1
Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe educational certificates (in English)
1958-1979
English.
2
2
Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe address book and Okinawa Club directory (in English)
1980
English.
2
3
Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe news clippings (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
2
4
Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe will and final papers (in English)
1963
1983-1985
English.
2
5
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui correspondence regarding her mother Mitsuye's elder care and death (in English)
1982-1987
English.
2
6
Condolence letters from family in Japan upon death of Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe (in Japanese and English)
1985
Japanese, English.
2
7
Birth records for Elosa Yabe (primarily in English)
1922
English, Japanese.
2
8
Emi Yabe school certificates (in Japanese)
1929
undated
Japanese.
7
2
Emi (Yabe) Wiitala letters to Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui and Homer Yasui (in English)
1985-1998
English.
2
9
Rayko Yabe yearbook from Heart Mountain High School (in English)
1944
English.
2
10
Rayko (Yabe) Konoshima letters to Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui and Homer Yasui (in English)
1989-1997
English.
2
11
Isaku Konoshima award ceremony and memorial ephemera (in English)
1984
1992
English.
2
12
Elementary school workbooks, likely by Miyuki Yabe (in English with some Japanese)
undated
English, Japanese.
2
13
Miyuki Yabe school report cards, including from Heart Mountain High School (in English)
1934-1942
English.
2
14
Miyuki Yabe yearbook from Belmont High School (in English)
1942
English.
3
1
Drexel Institute of Technology Bulletin - Professional College of Education for Women, Miyuki Yabe featured on cover (in English)
1948
English.
3
2
Miyuki Yabe college diploma from Drexel Institute of Technology (in English)
1949
English.
3
3
Miyuki Yabe college yearbook from Drexel Institute of Technology (in English)
1949
English.
3
4
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui travel pamphlets for Japan trip with daughters Barbara and Meredith (in English)
1956
English.
3
5
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui itineraries for family trips to Japan (in English)
1954-2006
English.
3
6
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui notes on Japan trip list of acknowledgements (in English)
undated
English.
3
7
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui certificates and awards (in English)
1941
1979-1999
English.
3
8
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui passports (in English)
1975-2001
English.
3
9
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui Japanese language notes (in Japanese)
between 1930-1950
Japanese.
3
10
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui incoming letters from Fumiko (Akitani) Yabe (in English)
1996-1997
English.
3
11
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui obituary, death certificate, memorial program (in English)
2018
English.
3
12
Kenjiro Yabe calligraphy (in Japanese)
between 1960-1969
Japanese.
7
3
Unidentified writings (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
3
13
Unidentified artwork (18 color and black and white illustrations in Japanese style, probably by Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui or Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe)
undated
7
6
Yabe family reunion planning documents (in English)
2006
English.
3
14
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui correspondence with cousin Kenjiro Yabu regarding Yabe family history (primarily in English)
1993-2000
English, Japanese.
3
15
Family tree and research notes for Yabu/Yabe and Jyoko family crests (primarily in English)
circa 2000
English, Japanese.
3
16
Woodblock prints of Yabe (Sosei) and Jyoko (Mokko) family crests by Meredith Yasui
circa 1981
3
17
Research files and historical writings
Series 3
1 cubic feet
2 legal document boxes; 2 oversize folders in shared box; 1 rolled item
1908-2014
1942-1945
Primarily in English.
Research and writings on Yabe family history and individuals
Subseries 3.1
1908-2014
1985-2006
Primarily in English.
Yabe family koseki tohon genealogical document (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
4
1
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui correspondence with Ben Kobashigawa regarding his translation of the Yabe family's koseki tohon (in English)
1992-1994
English.
4
2
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui research file and writings on Yabe family history (primarily in English)
1993-2006
English, Japanese.
4
3
Drafts and notes on Yabe family tree, with extended commentary by Homer Yasui (in English)
1992-1994
undated
English.
4
4
Yabe family genealogy book (in English)
2006
English.
4
5
Yabe family tree chart (in English)
2006
English.
7
4
Yabe family Kakemono scroll with calligraphy (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
7
Name indexes relating to Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan (copies, in English and Japanese)
undated
English, Japanese.
4
6
Genealogy of the Surname 'So' Family (From Kengi the Founder): The Okushima Family Line, annotated text by Kenjiro Yabu, translated to English by Ben Kobashigawa and Yoko Fukumura
1986
English.
4
7
Copies of Japanese-language newspapers, mainly Okinawa Mainichi Shinbunsha and Rafu Shimpo (in Japanese)
undated
Japanese.
4
8
Research file on history of Okinawans in the United States, featuring Kentsu Yabu and Kenden Yabe (primaily in English)
undated
English, Japanese.
4
9
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui research file on Kentsu Yabu, her grandfather (in English)
1999-2010
English.
4
10
Charles C. Goodin correspondence and writings on Kentsu Yabu and the Hawaii Karate Museum (in English)
2001-2008
English.
4
11
Joseph R. Svinth article on Kentsu Yabu as karate pioneer (in English)
2003-2006
English.
4
12
Publication: pictorial history of Okinawan karate including Kentsu Yabu (in Japanese and English)
1995
Japanese, English.
7
5
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui research file and writings on Kenden Yabe, her father (primarily in English)
1986-2010
English, Japanese.
4
13
Biographical notes and correspondence about Kenden Yabe by Emi (Yabe) Wiitala, Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui, and Homer Yasui (in English)
1994
English.
4
14
Biographical manuscript drafts about Kenden Yabe by Homer Yasui with Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui (in English)
1994
English.
4
15
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui correspondence with Dick Kobashigawa regarding Kenden Yabe's history (in English)
1994
English.
4
16
Research file and notes on Kenshiro Yabe, youngest brother of Kenden Yabe (in English)
2007-2014
English.
4
17
Research file on Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe, including copy of diary (in Japanese with some English)
1922
1981
Japanese, English.
4
18
News clipping file on Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe (in English)
1985-1986
English.
4
19
Research file on Fumiko (Akitani) Yabe, wife of Kenshiro Yabe, with copies of identification and naturalization documents and late life photographs (primarily in English)
1908-1958
between 1990-1999
English, Japanese.
4
20
Emi (Yabe) Wiitala biographical drafts on Bill Wiitala, Mitsuye and Kenden Yabe, and Fumi and Kenshiro Yabe (in English)
circa 1990-2010
English.
4
21
Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe War Relocation Authority file (copies of English originals, with notes)
1942-1945
1992-1993
English.
5
1
Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui War Relocation Authority file, with note from Yuka (Yasui) Fujikura (copies of English originals)
1944
2005
English.
5
2
Research files on Heart Mountain Relocation Center
Subseries 3.2
1942-1945
1993-1995
English.
Outline and summary of documents sent to Miyuki (Yabe) Yasui by Harumi Sakatani for May 1995 symposium at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming: After 50 Years - Japanese American History: The Heart Mountain Experience
1993-1995
English.
5
3
Heart Mountain Relocation Center Weekly Reports of Project Director Guy Robertson to WRA Director Dillon S. Myer (copies of English originals)
1943 March-1944 August
English.
5
4
Heart Mountain Relocation Center Weekly Reports of Project Director Guy Robertson to WRA Director Dillon S. Myer (copies of English originals)
1944 September-1945 November
English.
5
5
Heart Mountain Relocation Center correspondence regarding Army registration by prisoners of Heart Mountain (copies of English originals)
1943
English.
5
6
Heart Mountain Relocation Center Project Director (Guy Robertson) Final Report (copies of English originals)
1945
English.
5
7
Michael Mackey dissertation on Heart Mountain Relocation Center and draft resisters (in English)
1993
English.
5
8
Diary of Heart Mountain Relocation Center Assistant Project Director John A. Nelson (copies of English originals)
1942-1943
English.
5
9
Heart Mountain Relocation Center community analysts' reports (copies of English originals)
circa 1943
English.
5
10
Heart Mountain Relocation Center weekly report of divisions (copies of English originals)
1943
English.
5
11
Heart Mountain Relocation Center Education Section Final Report (copies of English originals)
circa 1945 November
English.
5
12
Heart Mountain Relocation Center Project Attorney's Final Report (copies of English originals)
1945 December
English.
5
13
Heart Mountain Relocation Center Relocation Division Final Report (copies of English originals)
1945 December
English.
5
14
Heart Mountain Relocation Center Reports Division final report on Heart Mountain Sentinel (copies of English originals)
1945 December
English.
5
15
Resolutions and petitions from Wyoming towns near Heart Mountain (Cody, Powell, and Shoshone Irrigation District) to restrict Japanese Americans from visits or resettlement (copies of English originals)
1943-1945
English.
5
16
Excerpts from papers of Wyoming governor Nels H. Smith (copies of English originals)
1942
English.
5
17
Excerpts from papers of Wyoming governor Lester C. Hunt (copies of English originals)
1943-1945
English.
5
18
Excerpts from papers of Wyoming senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney (copies of English originals)
1942
English.
5
19
Yabe family photographs
Series 4
0.4 cubic feet
1 slim legal document box; 4 rolled items and 1 volume in shared box
circa 1920-2022
English, Japanese.
Photographs of Kentsu Yabu (2 black and white reproductions, with identification notes in English)
circa 1920-1938
1998
English.
6
1
Group portraits including Yabe family members (4 black and white prints with identification notes in English)
1938-1939
1949-1951
English.
6
2
Group portrait from Kenden Yabe funeral, Los Angeles, California (3 rolled copies of black and white panorama, fragile)
1939
7
Group portrait from Okinawa Kenjinkai Unification picnic, Los Angeles, California (1 rolled black and white panorama)
1941
7
Rayko Yabe photographs from Heart Mountain High School (6 black and white prints, with identification notes in English)
1943-1944
English.
6
3
Photographs of Heart Mountain High School students, especially men's and women's sports (21 black and white prints, some reproductions, with identification notes in English)
1943-1944
English.
6
4
Photographs from Heart Mountain incarceration center featuring Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe and Miyuki Yabe (2 black and white prints, one a reproduction, with identification notes in English)
1944-1945
2000
English.
6
5
Photograph album from Yabe family trip to Japan (60 black and white prints, partial identification in Japanese)
between 1950-1959
Japanese.
6
6
Scrapbook photographs from Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe trip to Japan (59 color prints)
between 1970-1979
6
7
Scrapbook ephemera from Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe trip to Japan (in Japanese)
between 1970-1979
1991-2022
Japanese.
6
8
Photograph album from Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe 80th birthday celebration (identification in English)
1977
between 1930-1939
English.
7
Photograph album from Mitsuye (Jyoko) Yabe 80th birthday celebration (preservation copy)
1977
English.
6
9
Yabe family reunion photographs from reunion on Vashon Island, Washington (8 color prints with identification in English)
2006 August
2015
English.
6
10