In April 1942, the Okubara family was forcibly removed from their home in Mill Valley, California by the War Relocation Authority under powers outlines by Executive Order 9066. The Okubaras were sent to Granada Relocation Center, Colorado, which was also known as Camp Amache. Harry and Tora Okubara’s son, Mokoto (Sam) served in the United States Army after World War II as a language instructor. Sam completed his training at Fort Snelling, Minnesota and served at the Washington Heights barracks in Tokyo.
Executive Order 9066:
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the incarceration from 1942 to 1946 of approximately 120,000 adults and children of Japanese ancestry, many of whom were United States citizens. They were expelled from their homes and placed in incarceration camps without due process and in violation of their civil rights. These camps were euphemistically referred to as “relocation centers” or “internment camps”. After decades of advocacy by the Japanese American community, in 1988 the United States issued a formal apology and began redress to survivors of Japanese incarceration during World War II.
This collection contains materials from the Okubara family’s time in Japan from 1947-1952. These materials consist of phonograph records, photographic postcards, and pamphlets. The collection also includes two suitcases used by Tora Okubara at Granada Relocation Center, Colorado and polished wood art, one of which was made at Rohwer Relocation Center, Arkansas.
This collection is arranged in one series.
Some items in this collection have been digitized and are available online as part of the
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions apply.
[Item description]
Okubara Family Collection, circa 1943-2008 (SC 014.2)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The Okubara Family Collection was donated to Washington State University by Patricia Okubara in 2011 (MS 2011-40).
This collection was processed by Steven Bingo in 2012. A grant from the National Park Service provided funding for processing and digitization of materials about Heart Mountain.
In 2021, in response to evolving societal understanding regarding the language used to describe the impact of Executive Order 9066, this finding aid was revised to more accurately provide context to the mass incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
The following items were removed and cataloged separately:
"A buried past II : a sequel to the annotated bibliography of the Japanese American Research Project Collection" (1999), compiled by Yuji Ichioka, Eiichiro Azuma.
"By order of the president : FDR and the internment of Japanese Americans" (2001), by Greg Robinson.
"Confinement and ethnicity : an overview of World War II Japanese American relocation sites" (2002), by Jeffrey Burton, et. al.
"Ellison S. Onizuka : a remembrance" (1986), by Dennis Ogawa and Glen Grant.
"Just Americans : how Japanese Americans won a war at home and abroad : the story of the 100th Battalion/442d Regimental Combat Team in World War II" (2006), by Robert Asahina.
"Last witnesses : reflections on the wartime internment of Japanese Americans" (2001), edited by Erica Harth.
"Nisei: the quiet Americans" (1969), by Bill Hosokawa.
"The principled politician: the Ralph Carr story" (2008), by Adam Schrager.
"Suspended : growing up Asian in America" (2000), by Clifford I. Uyeda.
George and Frank C. Hirahara Photograph Collection of Heart Mountain, Wyoming, 1932-2016
Tom T. Hide Collection, 1925-2012
Takeda Family Collection, 1938-circa 2012
Kenneth Nishiyori Collection, 1942-1944
George and Doris McIntyre Papers, 1944-1945
Mari Tsuruyama Okumura Collection, 1936-2014
Patti Hirahara Collection, 1955-2020
Terry Ishihara Collection, 1989-2012
Mike Mackey Collection, 1940-2002
Heart Mountain High School
Fusataro Nakaya Photographs, circa 1944
Nabata Family Collection of Heart Mountain Photographs, circa 1942-1945
Frank Chin Oral History Collection, 1974-1986
Inez Puckett McEwen Collection on Japanese-American Incarceration, 1942-1943
Japanese American Redress Collection, 1976-2000
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.