Ueno-Obayashi Family Collection
The Ueno-Obayashi Collection comprises hundreds of historic photographs, along with letters, documents, memorabilia and textiles related to the Ueno-Obayashi family, prominent Japanese American business owners and community organizers in San Diego that were interned and repatriated during World War II. The proposed project aims to archive and digitize the collection, while also creating curriculum materials for education programs. This project preserves part of the history of San Diego's Japanese American World War II internees.
During World War II, the West Coast was divided into military zones, and on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 that authorized military commanders to exclude civilians from military areas. Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt of the Western Defense Command first encouraged voluntary evacuation by Japanese Americans from a limited number of areas. About seven percent of the total Japanese American population in these areas complied. Then on March 29, 1942, under the authority of Roosevelt's executive order, DeWitt issued Public Proclamation No. 4, which began the forced evacuation and detention of Japanese-American West Coast residents.
In the next six months, approximately 122,000 men, women, and children were forcibly moved to "assembly centers." They were then evacuated to and confined in isolated, fenced, and guarded "relocation centers," also known as "internment camps." The 10 sites were in remote areas in six western states and Arkansas: Heart Mountain in Wyoming, Tule Lake and Manzanar in California, Topaz in Utah, Poston and Gila River in Arizona, Granada in Colorado, Minidoka in Idaho, and Jerome and Rowher in Arkansas.
Nearly 70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens. The government made no charges against them, nor could they appeal their incarceration. All lost personal liberties; most lost homes and property as well. The Ueno-Obayashi family of San Diego was typical of these families.
In 1914, Joseph U. (Uichiro) Obayashi and his wife, Suye, opened a shooting gallery and candy store in Downtown San Diego on Market Street. In 1925, the Obayashi family had saved enough money to buy the building, but due to discriminatory Alien Land Laws that prevented non-US citizens from owning property, the actual sale was recorded as a transaction between Florence Obayashi (Joseph and Suye's 14 year old daughter) and the Bank of America for $3,500. The family business prospered, becoming a popular eatery, and one of the first gathering places for the San Diego chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), which was founded in 1933. However, they were forced to sell when they were evacuated first to Santa Anita Assembly Center and then to the Poston War Relocation Center.
Florence Ueno eventually moved to Japan with her husband Chujiro Ueno and her two young sons as part of a prisoner exchange. Within four weeks of their arrival, Chujiro had passed away and Florence was left on her own. She eventually returned to her family in the United States in 1946. Her sons would go on to serve in the US military, and their letters from their mother from this time are included in this collection.
This project was supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.
