The Japanese Association of North America (JANA) was a Seattle association but included small, scattered local organizations. The Northwest American Japanese Association (NAJA) encompassed the JANA and other local groups throughout Washington, Northern Idaho, Alaska and parts of Montana. JANA, which was founded in 1900, merged in 1931 with the Seattle Japanese Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1928, to form the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Japanese Association of North America (S&J). The main purpose of these organizations was to perpetuate Japanese traditions and many of their functions were ceremonial or commemorative. They also served as intermediaries between Japanese Americans, who were denied U.S. citizenship by law, and the Japanese government.
Microfilm of scrapbooks, organizational records, notes, clippings, correspondence, reports, censuses, lists, writings, minutes, photographs, publications, ephemera, and other records of the Association, as well as the Northwest American Japanese Association.
Open to all users.
Restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Included are records of the Northwest American Japanese Association, a regional organization. On behalf of the Japanese government, NAJA conducted censuses of Japanese-Americans in the Northwest between 1916 and 1940. Censuses record names of heads of household, occupation, marial status, place of birth, etc.
Materials include: Alien Land Law; patriotism for the U.S. of Japanese living here during World War I; travel book and tourist leaflets about Seattle (in Japanese); some correspondence about purchase of 2,000 cherry trees which were planted in Seattle in 1929.
Also includes material in Kanji, date and content not known.