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Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai Collection

 Collection
Identifier: SPC-2019-021

Scope and Contents

The Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai Collection (1940-2010, bulk 1990-1994) includes reports, agendas, meeting minutes, student guides, books, and a panoramic photograph related to the Manzanar Incarceration Camp, the Nakai family, and the Treasure Chest Program in Orange County. The reports in the collection discuss the history, purpose, and responsibilities of the Information Field Office at the Manzanar Incarceration Camp during World War Two. They include information about baggage, family reunion applications, personnel, supplies, and the history of other Information Offices at Manzanar.

The collection also includes pamphlets, student guides, minutes and agendas from the Treasure Chest Program, a multicultural education program developed by the Multicultural Arts Council of Orange Country, formally known as the Historical and Cultural Foundation of Orange County. The traveling education program was designed for K-12 students in 1987 and consisted of cultural treasure chests and supplemental learning material.

Dates

  • circa 1942-2010
  • Majority of material found within 1990-1994

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf os Special Collections as the owener of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai and the Nakai Family

Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai was born at the Manzanar Incarceration Camp where he lived with his family during World War Two. During his time at the camp, Nakai was photographed by Ansel Adams, a famous photographer, and the image was featured in Adam's book, Born Free and Equal. In the photograph, Nakai is pictured sitting on his mother's (Mitsu) lap. After the camp closure in 1945, the family moved back to Lake Elsinore where they operated the Nakai Hot Springs, a spa located in downtown Lake Elisnore. Nakai later became a pediatric dentist and wrote a book about his life entitled, Elephant a la Mode: An Epicurean Guide to Life.

Extent

1 box

0.42 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection includes reports, agendas, meeting minutes, student guides, books, and a panoramic photograph related to the Manzanar Incarceration Camp, the Nakai family, and the Treasure Chest Program in Orange County. The collection mostly contains material from the Treasure Chest Program in Orange County, a multicultural educational program by the Multicultural Arts Council of Orange County. Other material in the collection, such as the reports and books, relate to the Nakai family and the Manzanar Incarceration Camp. All of the collection is digitzed and available online.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by related material chronologically.

Existence and Location of Copies

Some of the collection has been digitized and is available at the CSU Japanese American Project site: Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai Collection.

Related Materials

This collection is part of the California State University Japanese American Digitization Project. For more Japanese American related materials please consult: CSU Japanese American Digitization Project

Separated Materials

Collection includes 9 seperated books. Books include Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps, Ansel Adams: An Autobiography, And Justice for All: An Oral History of the Japanese American Detention Camps, Elusive Truth: Four Photographers at Manzanar, Concentration Camps- U.S.A. 1942-1946, The Harvest of Hate, Heroic Struggles of Japanese Americans: Partisan Fighters from America's Concentration Camps, War Relocation Authority: Manzanar Relocation Center 1942-1945, and Annotated Bibliography for Manzanar National Historic Site.



There is also a separated panoramic photograph of the Manzanar incarceration camp.

Processing Information

Collection was processed by Jennifer Hill in 2019.

Processing Information for Digitized Materials

The Gerth Archives and Special Collections created digitalized reproductions from the original material for long-term preservation and access. These preservation files (3.32 Gb, 71 tif files) were scanned to and stored on the Gerth Archives and Special Collections Deparment Drive. For more information on the best practices and standards for the digitization process, please see: CSU Japanese American Digitization Project technical reference guide.

Title
Inventory of the Tsuyoshi Roy Nakai Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Jennifer Hill
Date
2019-08-14
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2021-06-02: Abstract and Related Materials Note revised. Existence and Location of Copies and Processing Information for Digitized Materials was added by Jennifer Hill.

Repository Details

Part of the California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson CA 90747
310-243-3895