Permission to publish the image must be obtained from the CSUDH Archives as owner of the physical item and copyright. In instances when the copyright ownership is not clear it is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright permission.
Description
A letter from Masao Okine to his parents, Seiichi and Tomeyo Okine in Hawthorne, California. This letter is written in Japan where Masao is stationed as a U.S. military soldier and mailed via San Francisco by the U.S. Army Postal Service. Masao describes his stay in Japan, being transferred from Sagamihara, Kanagawa, to Tokyo, possibly being transferred to the Tohoku area later. He resides in a building in Tokyo, which used to be a building for Nihon Yūsen Kabushiki Kaisha [=Japan Mail Steamship Co.] and is located near the Tokyo Imperial Palace. He describes the living conditions in the building, such as a good room like a hotel, well functioning heating system, and good meals. He also writes about his efforts to locate their friends and relatives in Tokyo and Hiroshima. He locates his brother-in-law, Nobuyuki Tanimoto in Tokyo, who also stays in the same building. He learns about other relatives in Hiroshima from Nobuyuki, who has visited Hiroshima. Masao confirms that Tamasada and his family are safe but has not been able to confirm the safety of Jokichi Yamanaka or Naoji Okine in Hiroshima. The handwritten notes on the back of the envelope reads: Arrived on January 28, 1946, no. 2 [in Japanese]. The Okine Collection contains materials collected by Seiichi and Tomeyo Okine who were Issei flower growers in Whittier, California. It includes correspondence, photographs, financial documents, and a photo album. A large portion of the collection consists of family correspondence with Seiichi and Tomeyo Okine, including letters from their Nisei children, Masao and Makoto Okine, both soldiers overseas during World War II, to their Issei parents incarcerated in the Rohwer incarceration camp in McGehee, Arkansas. The correspondence also includes letters from their relatives and friends who are former incarcerees in the camps during the war and have “resettled” in Chicago, Illinois as well as letters from the Okines’ family members in Hiroshima, Japan during the Allied occupation of Japan. In addition, the collection includes a family photo album compiled by Dorothy Ai Aoki, a Nisei daughter to the Okines.
Japan--Post-World War II Identity and values--Nisei Military service--Postwar occupation of Japan World War II--Military service--Military Intelligence Service
Place
Tokyo, Japan Incarceration Camps--Rohwer
Source
CSU Dominguez Hills Department of Archives and Special Collections
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
