Mitsugi M. Kasai Memorial Japanese American Archive

A sampling of collections related to Japanese Americans in Utah are provided below, but many more collections are available for research. Consult Archives West for Collection Finding Aids, or visit Special Collections for more information.

Manuscript Collections include:

• Japanese Church of Christ Records - The Japanese Church of Christ Records contains church newsletters that were sent out from 1999-2004. Also included are some service programs and a letter written to the congregation from Rev. George Hanabusa.
• Japanese oral histories, 1964-1969  - The Japanese oral histories (1964-1969) consist of transcripts of a number of interviews conducted between 1964 and 1969 by members of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in Los Angeles, California, as part of the Japanese American Research Project. The original reel-to-reel tapes are housed at the University of California at Los Angeles. Topics discussed include immigration, social life and customs, adaptation to life in the United States, and the effects of World War II.
• Henry Y. Kasai Papers - The Henry Y. Kasai papers (1907-1966) contain material relating to the personal and professional life of Henry Y. Kasai, a leader in Utah's Japanese American community. The bulk of the collection consists of the minutes, history, and president's files of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) of Salt Lake City, the formation of which Kasai initiated in 1935. Kasai was elected president of the Salt Lake JACL in 1960. Other materials include an autobiography, awards, degrees, correspondence, information on the World Peace Study Mission, addresses given by Kasai, Japanese American newspapers, news clippings, examples of Japanese caligraphy, and a memorial book containing letters of condolence at the time of his death.
• Alice Kasai Papers - The Alice Kasai papers (1911-2007) contain correspondence, reports, news clippings, articles, pamphlets, brochures, programs, awards, and newsletters related to the public life of this Utah writer and community activist. Alice Kasai (1916-2007), raised in a small town in rural Utah, saw her husband taken away by the FBI and incarcerated in an internment camp in the early days of World War II. She has been active in community affairs for more than 50 years. She has been affiliated with the Japanese American Citizen's League, the Asian Association of Utah, the United Nations Association of Utah, and the Organization of Utah Citizens for Civil Rights. She was honored by YWCA of Salt Lake City with an Outstanding Achievement Award in the area of Human Services in 1994.
• Mitsugi M. Kasai Papers - The Mitsugi M. Kasai papers (1918-2013) contain assorted documents related to Mr. Kasai's early life, his career in the United States Army and his participation in various Japanese-American organizations following his retirement.
• Mike Masaoka Papers - Mike M. Masaoka served as National Secretary (1941-1943) and Washington lobbyist (1945-1953) for the Japanese American Citizens' League. He was a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II and served as president of the Japan-America Society. He was active in issues of immigration reform and compensation for victims of wartime internment. The collection includes scrapbooks, yearbooks, correspondence, court and congressional documents, articles, oral history transcripts, and autobiography of Mike M. Masaoka which document his life as a Japanese American citizen. This collection documents the history and problems of Japanese American immigration, evacuation and internment during World War II, efforts to seek redress for damages, the Japanese American Citizens' League, minority issues of Japanese Americans, Japanese trade and culture, and Hawaiian statehood.
• Shigeru Matsukawa - The Shigeru Matsukawa papers (1940s) contain material related to Matsukawa's service in the 442nd combat team during World War II. The collection includes material printed by the U. S. Army and news clippings.
• S. Floyd Mori - The S. Floyd Mori papers (1962-2005) contain correspondence, scrapbooks, student papers, meeting minutes, reports, memoranda, brochures, pamphlets, and memorabilia related to Mori's activities with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). Also included are documents related to his tenure as a California State Assemblyman. Mori attended schools in Utah and California and received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Brigham Young University. He started an international consulting firm known as Mori-Silva, and has been active in community service and state and local government.
• Ted and Yeiko Nagasawa Nagata Papers - The Ted and Yeiko Nagata papers (1934-2002) contain financial records for a local fish market and design sheets and posters related to the career of the graphic artist, Ted Nagata. Theodore Genichi Nagata relocated to the Topaz internment camp with his family in the 1940s. He founded Ted Nagata Graphic Design, Inc. Yeiko Nagasawa Nagata is a native of Salt Lake City, where her family operated the New Sunrise Fish Market for many years.