Shoichi Yamashiro was born on 1885 January 15 in Hiroshima, Japan to Kichizaemon Ota and Kiyono Yamashiro. He immigrated to the United States in 1904, arriving first in Hawaii and then moving to Utah, where he initially worked for the railroad. Tsuruyo Nakanishi was born on 1897 October 15 in Hiroshima, Japan to Hide Murakami and Umekichi Nakanishi. Tsuruyo Nakanishi and Shoichi Yamashiro married on 1915 April 22. Tsuruyo Yamashiro emigrated to the United States on 1919 December 17. The couple settled in Devil's Slide, Utah, where all of their children were born. Together, Shoichi and Tsuruyo Yamashiro had five children: Masayoshi "Mike" Yamashiro, born 1921 January 2; Yoshiko "Yo" Yamashiro, born 1922 April 2; Akemi "Ay" Yamashiro, born 1925 December 28; Akira "Skeeter" Yamashiro, born 1927 October 30; and Ruby Mariko Yamashiro, born 1929 January 4. Shoichi Yamashiro died on 1953 October 5 in Monterey, California. Tsuruyo Nakanishi Yamashiro died on 1974 November 24 in Monterey, California.
The Nakanishi and Yamashiro families were also linked through the marriage of Saburo Nakanishi, brother of Tsuruyo Nakanishi Yamashiro, and Tasu Yamashiro, younger sister of Shoichi Yamashiro. Together, Tasu Yamashiro and Saburo Nakanishi had three daughters: Hatsue, Tasuko, and Akiko.
In Devil's Slide, Shoichi Yamashiro worked at the Union Portland Cement Company. During World War II, the Yamashiro family was not incarcerated in a concentration camp; however, they experienced discrimination during this time, and gathered and destroyed objects connecting them to Japan for their protection (West 2021). All of the Yamashiro children attended Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah. By the late 1940s, the family had moved to Clearfield, Utah. By 1950, the Yamashiro family relocated to Monterey, California, where they shared resources to purchase a house and restaurant, Yamato's.
Masayoshi "Mike" Yamashiro, the eldest of Shoichi and Tsuruyo Yamashiro's children, left Utah to serve in the United States Army during World War II, obtaining the rank of Second Lieutenant. He remained in the military, fighting in Korea; he also worked for the (Yamashiro, L. 2021). Mike Yamashiro first married a Korean woman named Boon Sun Ri, called Yoko; they divorced in the 1950s without children. When stationed in Okinawa, Japan, he met and married Fujiko "Fuji"(1936-) in the 1950s; together, the couple had two children, Linda (1958-) and Nancy (1961-). He retired to Marina, California. Masayoshi Yamashiro died on 1986 February 28.
Yoshiko "Yo" Yamashiro studied nursing at Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah, graduating in 1948. After graduation, her first position was as a nurse in an army hospital, where she met Alvin D. West (1930-2012); the two married on 1953 April 13; together, they had two children, April (1954-) and Robin (1957-). The Wests settled in Salinas, California, not far from family in Monterey, and Yo Yamashiro West worked at Fort Ord hospital until the birth of her younger daughter. The Wests subsequently moved to Texas before settling in Washington state. Yoshiko Yamashiro West died on 2009 July 3.
Akemi "Ay" Yamashiro served in the United States Army during World War II, where he was a tank sergeant. On 1949 February 13, Akemi Yamashiro married Ruth Toyama (1926-2009). They settled in Orange County, California, where he likely worked as a produce buyer. Together, they had four children: Cleo (1949-1949), Danny Dennis (1951-), Glenn (1953-) and Ted (1958-). Ay Yamashiro died on 1996 October 4 in Orange County, California.
Akira "Skeeter" Yamashiro served in the United States Army during World War II. He attended college in Florida and in Berkeley, California. He gained expertise in computer systems and continued to work for the United States government, including for the Pentagon. He never married. Akira Yamashiro died on 2020 February 28 in Pasadena, California.
In 1955 March, Ruby Yamashiro married Makoto "Mak" Kimura (1927-1994); the couple divorced without children. On 1961 October 14, Ruby Yamashiro married Theodore "Ted" Yudacufski (1930-2011) in Santa Clara, California; together, they had two children, Naomi (1962-) and Daria (1971-). In addition to their two daughters, Ruby Yamashiro Yudacufski played a maternal role to Frances and David Matsuo, whose mother had died. In California, she worked at the family restaurant until the death of her parents, after which she sold the business to start a chess center, which she and Ted Yudacufski ran together. Ruby Yamashiro Yudacufski died on 1978 June 24 in Monterey, California.
Donor arrangement preserved.
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.
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
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Donated by Naomi Estolas on April 11, 2001, addendum on October 26, 2021.
Processed by Special Collections Staff.
See also ACCN 3226 in the Manuscripts Division of Special Collections.
Forms part of the Mitsugi M. Kasai Memorial Japanese American Archives.
The Yamashiro family photograph collection consists of 9 boxes containing 1,829 photographs. Series I: Albums and Oversize contains photograph albums and oversize prints, some removed from frames for preservation purposes. Boxes 1-2 contain formal portraits of Yamashiro family members. Subjects depicted in the albums include: family snapshots; pets; children; tourism to post-World War II Europe and through the American West; and Yamashiro men's service in the military during and after World War II. Boxes 3-5 contain photograph albums compiled by various members of the Yamashiro family. Box 6 contains oversize prints and panoramas. Several panoramas are stored in a panorama box for preservation. In addition to any identifications made by the album compilers, the donor, Naomi Estolas, included additional identifications on sticky notes throughout the albums. Some of the albums were deconstructed for preservation, but all identifications by family members have been preserved with the corresponding albums.
Series II: Family and Friends consists of three archives boxes containg black-and-white photographs depicting the Yamahsiro family and their friends and associates. Box 7 contains assorted photographs created or collected by the Yamahsiro children. Box 8 primarily consists of photographs taken or collected by Ruby Yamashiro. Box 9 contains formal portraits of largely unidentified people; these are arranged by the location that the photographs were taken.