Mochizuki (Yukio) Collection

Collection

Identifier: SPC-1998-003

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The Mochizuki Collection contains correspondence, documents, newspaper articles, term papers, and photographs. Mr Mochizuki's original research was about Japanese-American internment, so there is some material related to that theme. However, most of the material relates to the Japanese-Peruvian internment.

The majority of the material was collected during 1977. Most of the material was found in an orderly condition at the time of processing. However, rusting metal binders and staples were discarded. Overall, the material seemed to be in good shape. The collection had been stored in a box which was kept in Dr. Hata's office. At his request, copies of the donated material will be returned to him. Mr. Mochizuki's correspondence includes research requests, interviews by mail, and memos on how his work was progressing. There is also correspondence between Japanese-Peruvian internees and various government officials. Some has been translated from Spanish by John Romero.

There are personal documents belonging to Japanese-Peruvian internees. Most of these belong to Manuel Ykari, a native born Peruvian who eventually stayed in the United States and became a citizen. There is an official report by John Emmerson, Second Secretary to the American Embassy in Peru during World War II. There are also other government memos included. Warren Rucker's unpublished Master's Thesis on Japanese-Peruvians is also contained in this collection. In addition, there are newspaper articles dating from the 1940's through the 1980's on various subjects. These include the internment of Japanese-Americans, Japanese-Peruvians, and Japanese-Canadians. There are also articles from Japanese language newspapers.

The photographs in the collection belonged to Manuel Ykari. The original photographs are in the collection as well as xerox copies and some of the negatives. Most of the pictures seem to be from the time he worked at Seabrook Farms after the war. There are a few which seem to be from an internment camp. There are some term papers by various authors in this collection. There are several on Japanese-Americans and two on the Japanese-Peruvians. Mr. Mochizuki's finished term paper, for which he did this research, is included. Mr. Mochizuki got copies of some of his material from Michi Weglyn. He also collected quite a bit of personal documentation from his interviews with Manuel Ykari. The related term papers were added to the collection by Dr. Hata.

Dates

1942-1998

Creator

Mochizuki, Yukio (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material is in English and Japanese.

Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Publication Rights

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 of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

History

Materials in the Mochizuki Collection were accumulated by Yukio Mochizuki. Mr. Mochizuki was an undergraduate student at California State University Dominguez Hills during the late 1970's. Mr. Mochizuki's research focus pertained to the Japanese-Peruvian internment during World War II. The collection was left in the care of Dr. Donald Hata, Professor of History at California State University Dominguez Hills. Dr. Hata graciously turned the collection over to the University Archives in May of 1998. The collection was processed during the Summer of 1998 and is open to research without restrictions.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This order led to the removal of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the west coast of the United States. The War Relocation Authority set up ten internment camps to house the Japanese-Americans. However, the United States also had internment camps for Axis nationals from South America. As early as 1938 many South American governments were working with the United States to intern or repatriate all Axis nationals. This included people of Japanese, German, and Italian ancestry in South America. It was the hope of the participating governments that these nationals could be used in POW trades. Thirteen countries from South America participated in this plan. However, eighty percent of the internees from South America were sent by Peru.

The first group of Japanese-Peruvians left Peru aboard the Etolin on April 5, 1942. Many others followed soon after.The Japanese-Peruvians were housed in three different camps in Texas: Kenedy, Seagoville, and Crystal City. They lived in these camps for the duration of the war.

After being released from the camps at the end of the war, the Japanese-Peruvian internees were not allow to return to Peru, regardless of their citizenship. Lawsuits were filed on behalf of some of the Japanese-Peruvians to allow them to stay in the United States because they had no other place to go. The U.S. Department of Immigration tried to deport the internees because they entered the country illegally. Some were still living in the old internment camps as late as 1948 because of the legal difficulties. Eventually some of the internees went to Japan and a very few were allowed back into Peru. The majority remained in the United States.

In 1988, the Japanese-American internees were offered a formal apology along with $20,000 from the United States government. Since that time, a group of Japanese-Peruvians have been lobbying for the same consideration. In June of 1998, President Clinton formally apologized to the survivors of the Japanese-Peruvian internment and each survivor living in the United States received $5000. As of this date, no apology has been forthcoming from Peru.

Extent

4 boxes

2 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Abstract

Colleciton of notes, articles, correspondence, photographs, and term papers collected by Yukio Mochizuki, a student at CSUDH, while researching Japanese-American and Japanese-Peruvian internment during World War II.

Arrangement

Arranged in four series:

Series I: Correspondence (1942-1977)
Series II: Manuel Ykari Documents (1943-1959)
Series III: Publications (1943-1998)
Series IV: Audio Interview Tapes (1977) (Addition)

Acquisition Information

Materials received from Dr. Donald Hata, professor at CSUDH, 1998.

Related Material

Asian Pacific Collection

Processing Information

Originally processed by Traci Liley, 1998.

Project Information

This finding aid was created as part of Early Los Angeles/Rancho San Pedro Manuscript Cataloging Project, a CSU Dominguez Hills Library project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project started in 2005. Project Director was Greg Williams. Project Archivists were Thomas Philo and Jennifer Allan Goldman.