Guide to the Issei Oral History Project in Watsonville Collection ARS.0081

Finding aid prepared by Franz Kunst

Archive of Recorded Sound

Braun Music Center

541 Lasuen Mall

Stanford University

Stanford, California, 94305-3076

650-723-9312

soundarchive@stanford.edu

Descriptive Summary

Title: Issei Oral History Project in Watsonville Collection

Dates: 1978-1983

Collection number: ARS.0081

Creator: Nakane, Kazuko

Collection size: 3 boxes: 37 audiocassettes ; 14 folders of transcripts

Repository: Archive of Recorded Sound

Abstract: The Issei Oral History Project in Watsonville was created by historian Kazuko Nakane in preparation for the book Nothing Left in my Hands : The Issei of a Rural California Town, 1900-1942. Interviews were conducted by Nakane from 1978 to 1983 with fifteen Japanese-American residents in Watsonville, California. The collection contains the original audiocassettes of these interviews and their transcripts in English.

Language of Material: Japanese

Access

Open for research; material must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Contact the Archive for assistance.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with repository. Publication and reproduction rights reside with the creators or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Head Librarian of the Archive of Recorded Sound.

Preferred Citation

Issei Oral History Project in Watsonville Collection, ARS-0081. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Source

The Issei Oral History Project in Watsonville Collection was donated to the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound by Kazuko Nakane in 2009.

Sponsor

This finding aid was produced with generous financial support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Scope and Contents

The Issei Oral History Project in Watsonville was created by historian Kazuko Nakane in preparation for the book Nothing Left in my Hands : The Issei of a Rural California Town, 1900-1942. Interviews were conducted in Japanese by Nakane from 1978 to 1983 with fifteen Japanese-American residents in Watsonville, California. Located in the Central Valley, Watsonville and the surrounding area is overwhelmingly agricultural, and farming is a major topic discussed in the interviews. Other subjects include the impact of anti-immigration legislation, relocation camps during World War II, and the difficulty in maintaining relations with family still in Japan. The collection contains the original audiocassettes of these interviews, as well as transcripts in English.

Bibliography

Nakane, Kazuko. Nothing Left In My Hands : the Issei of a Rural California Town, 1900-1942. Berkeley, Calif.: Heyday Books, 2008.

Indexing Terms

Immigrants--California--Watsonville--Interviews

Japanese Americans--California--Watsonville--Interviews

Oral history

Box 2, Box 1

1. Audiocassettes 1978-03-29 - 1983-02-10

Language of Material: Japanese

Physical Description: 37 audiocassettes

Box 3

2. Transcripts

Language of Material: English

Physical Description: 14 folders

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