Overview of the Collection
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Repository Name:
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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
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Collection Number:
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Ms 202
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Creator:
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Hirata Family
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Title:
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Hirata Family Papers
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Dates:
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1900-1973 (inclusive)
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Quantity:
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6.5 linear ft.
10 boxes
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Languages:
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Materials are inEnglish and
Japanese.
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Summary:
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
Related Information
Bibliography Biographical note received from information compiled by Rose Krause,
Curator of Special Collections.
Subjects
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.
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| Hirata Family--Archives |
| Hotels--Spokane (Wash.) |
| Japanese
American families--Business records |
| Japanese
American families--Spokane (Wash.)--History |
| Japanese
Americans--Evacuation and Relocation, 1942-1945--Washington State |
| Japanese
Americans--Spokane (Wash.)--History |
| Japanese--Spokane (Wash.)--Business enterprises |
| Japanese--Spokane (Wash.)--History |
| Vegetable
gardening--Spokane (Wash.) |
| Correspondence |
| Photographs |
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
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Correspondence
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Kazuma Hirata: From Internment
Camp: Missoula, MT
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1941 December-1942 April 7 |
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Kazuma Hirata: From Internment
Camp: Fort Sill, OK
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1942 April 14-1942 May 28 |
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Kazuma Hirata: From Internment
Camp: Livingston, LA
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1942 April 24-1942 December 31 |
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Kazuma Hirata: From Internment
Camp: Livingston, LA
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1943 January 7-1943 June 2 |
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Kazuma Hirata: From Internment
Camp: Santa Fe, NM
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1943 June 11-1943 December 27 |
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Kazuma Hirata: Miscellaneous
correspondence
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1920 May-June 1944-1952 |
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Kazuma Hirata: Miscellaneous
correspondence
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1943-1953 |
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Jun Hirata: Miscellaneous
correspondence
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1942-1971 |
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Michiho Hirata: Miscellaneous
correspondence
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1942-1948 |
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Shingo Hirata: Miscellaneous
correspondence
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1942-1952 |
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Sam Hirata: Miscellaneous
correspondence
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1943 |
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Hirata Family: Miscellaneous
correspondence
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1943-1962 |
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Hirata, miscellaneous
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Postcards, blank
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Bag that held letters
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Children's Materials
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Certificates: Spokane Japanese
Language School
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Certificate: Spokane Public
Schools High School Promotion: Sam Hirata
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Certificate: Spokane Public
Schools Reading: Michiho Hirata
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Michiho Hirata, high school
annuals,
"
Tiger" Lewis and Clark
H.S.
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1935-1939 |
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Michiho Hirata, college annuals,
"
Natsishi" Whitworth
College
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1945-1946 |
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Sam Hirata, high school annuals,
"
Tiger" Lewis and Clark
H.S.
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1939-1940 |
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Michiho Hirata, address
book
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Michiho Hirata, Iowa State
College Bulletin
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1946-1947 |
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Michiho Hirata,
Travel information: MS Hidawa
Maru
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1973 August 13-28 |
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Michiho Hirata,
"
The Romance of
Cheese"
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Michiho Hirata, Ephemera: Musical
& Pirette Reunion
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1948 1952 |
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Travel
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Jun & Kazuma: Inspection
Cards
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1920 June 10 |
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Travel
Recommendations
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1919 1942 |
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Michiho Hirata: travel info.
Yokohama to Seattle
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1941 |
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Financial
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Shingo Hirata: Savings Account
Ledger
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1936-1937 |
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Accounts ledgers [2]
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1915-1921 undated |
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Bank Bond
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Bills: Pacific Telephone &
Telegraph Co.
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1938 July-September |
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Bills: Sacred Heart
Hospital
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1937 November-1942 October |
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Life Insurance
Premiums
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circa 1920-1940 |
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Sale of Altia Vista Addition
Lot
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1924 November 10 |
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American Red Cross
receipts
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1917-1918 |
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Kazuma Hirata:
Employment-related
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1900-1904 |
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Spokane Vegetable Growers
Association
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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“Spokane, Washington
Organization and Churches”
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Business cards
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Automobile
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Canceled Checks & Bank
Statements
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1937-1938 |
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Accounts Information
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Loan
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1933 March 13 |
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Sales & Expenses
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1938 |
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International Money Order
Receipts
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1919-1927 |
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Crop inquiry from U.S.
Department of Agriculture
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1938 February 23 1938 March 23 |
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Bills
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1938 March |
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Clem Hotel
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Blank stationary
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Vouchers for
Residents
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1955-1961 |
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Property Assessments
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1957-1958 1960 |
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Correspondence
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1942 August 25 1943 April 29 |
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Accounts
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Inspections and
Licenses
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1937 1956 |
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Miscellaneous Hotels – Accounts,
Leases, etc.
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Purchase of Boston
Hotel
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1937 August 17 |
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Hotel Accounts:
Furnishings
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Hotel Register
[Clem?]
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1938-1940 |
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Hotel Accounts:
Miscellaneous
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House Property Accounts and
Hotel Accounts
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Tax Returns and
Leases
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Attorney Files – Alien Internment,
Lease Agreements, Liquor License
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Attorney’s Files: Alien
Rehearing and Property
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after 1942 |
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Attorney’s Files: Hotel
Employees and Property [Clem, Eagle and Boston Hotels]
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circa 1940 |
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Japan Relief Fund
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Japan Relief Fund: Pamphlet:
"
Japanese Relief Committee of the
Northwest"
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1947 |
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Japan Relief Fund: Deposit Slips
and Donation Lists
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1946-1947 |
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Japan Relief Fund:
Correspondence
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1946 |
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Military Intelligence School:
Japanese Language Course, Presidio, CA
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1947 February |
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Japan Relief Fund:
"
Japanese Relief Committee of the
Northwest", return correspondence
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Periodicals
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Newspaper: Santa Fe, NM
Internment camp
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1944 |
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Newspaper:
Manzanar Free Press
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1943 May 22 |
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Newspaper:
Pacific Citizen
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1943 October 23 |
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The Donchiki
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1921 January |
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Newspaper clippings
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1947 |
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New Japanese American News
subscriptions
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1949 |
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Miscellaneous
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Books
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Organ Method
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Japanese Judo Champions [Belonged
to Seiki Kan Dojo, Spokane]
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New Japanese American Times
Yearbook
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1949 |
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Ikebana
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Japanese Navy
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circa 1930s |
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Photography:
The Year’s Photography
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1930-1931 |
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Photography:
The Japan Photographic
Annual
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1929-1930 |
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Photography:
The Camera: The Photographic Journal of
America
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1930 July |
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Photography:
Photograms of the Year
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1934-1935 |
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Photography:
Das Deutsche Lichtbild
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1930 |
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Photography:
XXIV Salon International d’Art
Photographique de Paris
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1929 |
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School books:
The Newlon-Hanna Speller, Grade
Five
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School books:
Mathematics for Everyday
Use
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Notebook: Mathematic
problems
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School books:
Homemaking Education in the High
School
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School Books:
A World Book in United States
History
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School Books:
Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory
Manual
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School Books:
General Ethics
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School Books:
Buenos Días
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Notebook: Gonzaga University
School of Engineering
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Notebook: Letters to
Michiho
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1941 May |
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Notebook: English, Economics,
History, Spanish, Philosophy
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Japanese School Book:
My Lantern
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Michiho Hirata's from school in
Japan
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Michiho Hirata's from school in
Japan
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Michiho Hirata's from school in
Japan
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Michiho Hirata's from school in
Japan
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Michiho Hirata's from school in
Japan
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Michiho Hirata's from school in
Japan
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Poetry, Poston
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1944 July |
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Scrapbook: Souvenir
Cards
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Photographs
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Photo Albums
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Photo Albums
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Seiki Kan Dojo
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1960 |
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Frank Hirata and man
[Japan?]
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circa 1910 |
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Michiho Hirata,
graduation
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unidentified man
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Hirata Family and
friends
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1920s |
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Hirata Family
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late 1920s |
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Shingo Hirata
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Michiho Hirata
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Group, Japan
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circa 1960s |
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Photos found together in box
[Japanese]
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Photos researched
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Hirata Family
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Hirata Family & Friends
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Hirata Business
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Japanese Association Picnic
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Groups
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Photos from Japan
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Color Photos
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Mt. Rainier Trip
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Michiho (Hirata) Sakai
Wedding
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Hirata Family
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Jun Hirata’s Family in
Japan[?]
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In front of Boarding House,
Spokane [?]
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Yamamoto Family
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Unidentified Japanese Families
& Children
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Scenery
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Boats on lake
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Buildings
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House at 510 W. 3rd
[?]
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Miscellaneous
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Photos from suitcase
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[Suitcase now in Museum Collections, #4134.22]
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Biography –
Unidentified
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Biography –
Identified
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Michiho Hirata
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Michiho Hirata with
Friends
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Michiho Hirata’s
Friends
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Hirata Family
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Clem Hotel
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Buildings
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Keiseu Day [?]
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1940 |
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Poston, Arizona
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1945 |
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Crater Lake
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Football Game
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Kamakura, Japan
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Unidentified lake or
river
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Mountain Scenes
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Miscellaneous
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Lincoln School
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1935 |
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Architectural Drawings and
Ephemera
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Container(s)
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Description
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Dates
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Architectural Drawings: “Bldg.
for C.A. Trimborn, Spokane.” 317 W. Trent Avenue [later Clem Hotel], Spokane.
W.A. Ritchie, Architect
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undated |
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Ephemera: Spokane Vegetable
Growers Association, Spokane Celery Label with Japanese Writing [label was
wrapped around architectural drawings],
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[1938] |
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