Japanese American family who, by 1925,
had made their residence in Spokane, WA. Kazuma Hirata managed the Spokane
Vegetable Growers Association and the family operated the Clem Hotel. These
materials consist of letters written while Mr. Hirata was interned as an enemy
alien during World War II, business records from the the Vegetable Association
and Clem Hotel, and materials related to the Hirata children's schooling. Also
books and photographs.
Repository:
Eastern Washington State Historical
Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives
2316 W. First Avenue Spokane, WA 99201 Phone: (509) 363-5313 Fax: (509) 363-5303 Email: archives@northwestmuseum.org
Languages:
Materials are inEnglish and
Japanese.
Sponsor:
Funding for preparing this
finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission.
Biographical Note
Mr. Kazuma (Frank) Hirata and his wife, Jun, were first generation
Japanese Americans who, by 1925, had made their residence in Spokane, WA. It
appears that Mr. Hirata first came to the U.S. in 1895 and likely returned to
Japan long enough to marry his wife who was from Okayama. Beginning in 1925,
Mr. Hirata managed the Spokane Vegetable Growers Association located at 16 S.
Stevens. By 1940, in addition to their responsibilities at the Growers
Association, the couple also began to manage the Clem Hotel.
On December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor Day), Mr. Hirata, along with
Umenosuke (Hugh) Kasai, both leaders in the Spokane Japanese community, was
arrested by the FBI and incarcerated at Fort Missoula, MT in a Department of
Justice camp. Mr. Hirata spent the next several years at Fort Sill, OK,
Livingston, LA, and Santa Fe, NM in respective internment centers. In February
1944, Mr. Hirata was released from camp and allowed to return to Spokane.
During her husband’s internment, Mrs. Hirata continued to reside in
Spokane and ran the family’s Clem Hotel, retiring in 1961. She was especially
known in the community for her skill in flower arranging and tea ceremony.
Mr. and Mrs. Hirata had three children. Michiho (Hirata) Sakai
(1921-2001), Shingo (1922-1992), and Sam (1924-2005). Their daughter, Michi,
upon graduation from Lewis & Clark High School in 1939, went to Japan to
attend a finishing school. When she returned to the U.S. she attended Whitworth
College receiving a Bachelor’s degree and later received a Master’s degree from
Iowa State. In 1952 she married Richard Sakai. Shingo took over the Clem Hotel
in the 1960s and married Motoko, a distant relative, in an arranged marriage
during the 1960s. The youngest, Sam, was a lifelong resident of Spokane.
Graduating from Lewis & Clark High School in 1942, he attended both
Whitworth College and Gonzaga University for a short time. In 1945 he served in
the U.S. Army and returned in 1947 to work 28 years for the City of Spokane. He
married Lili Kajiyama in 1956 and raised 7 children.
Content Description
The collection consists of various business and family records. These
include correspondence, particularly letters written from Kazuma Hirata during
the time he was incarcerated, records from the Spokane Vegetable Growers
Association and the Clem Hotel, materials related to Mr. Hirata’s
incarceration, miscellaneous materials related to the family’s education or
travel, and the Japanese Relief Fund. Additionally, this collection contains
books, largely related to photography and the Hirata children’s schooling,
family photographs, architectural drawings, and ephemera.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Collection is not restricted.
Restrictions on Use :
Collection is open for use.
Preferred Citation :
Hirata Family Papers (Ms 202), Eastern Washington State Historical
Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information :
Donated by Motoko Hirata, 2005 and 2006 (L2005-17).
Processing Note :
Arranged and described according to Mark Green and Dennis Meissner's
"More Product Less Process" method.
Processed to the file folder level.
Separated Materials :
Hirata Family three dimensional objects are located in the Museum
Collection (Accession #4134). Contact the repository for details.
Bibliography :
Biographical note received from information compiled by Rose Krause,
Curator of Special Collections.
Related Materials :
"Spokane Japanese Business Men and their Enterprises" Photograph Album
(L2003-11)
Motoko Hirata Oral History Interview (OH 960), conducted 9 December
2006 by Ryosuke Suzuki.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Online
Computer Library Center (OCLC) WorldCat database. Researchers desiring
materials about related topics, persons, or places should search WorldCat using
these headings.
Family Names :
Hirata Family--Archives
Subject Terms :
Hotels--Spokane (Wash.)
Japanese
American families--Business records
Japanese
American families--Spokane (Wash.)--History
Japanese
Americans--Evacuation and Relocation, 1942-1945--Washington State
