Kamikawa and Omata Family Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Omata, Hiroko
topic: label: Topic
content: Merchants -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945
label: Topic
content: Japanese American families -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Japanese American families
label: Topic
content: Immigrants
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by Hiroko Omata, 2006.
creator: label: Creator
content: Omata, Hiroko
setName: label: See more items in
content: Kamikawa and Omata Family Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The collection documents family history in Japan and in America and consists of photographs, documents and genealogical charts.  There are also original audio recordings of Japanese poetry recitations and a transcript of an oral history interview relating to the internment of Japanese Americans.
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: : Four Kamikawa brothers, Riichi, Mitsuiji, Masuichi and Koichi, emigrated from Japan to Fresno, California, just before the turn of the twentieth century. They married and started a merchant business, Kamikawa Brothers, which operated in Fresno, Selma, San Francisco and Del Rey, California, and in Japan. The brothers expanded the business to include banking, a hotel, grocery, restaurant, public bath, vineyard and other enterprises. During World War II, family members were interned at a camp in Arkansas.  After the war many settled in New Jersey and Maryland. 

Members of the Omata family -- a brother, George, and two sisters, also immigrated to California in the 1890s, though the sisters eventually returned to Japan. George established grocery and dry good stores in Hanford, California, and was successful in securing day laborers for community businesses. George's son, Robert, married Hiroko, the daughter of Masuichi Kamikawa, in 1948.  Some members of the Omata family also were interned, and they too eventually settled on the East Coast.  

The Matsumoto family was a well-to-do family in Japan. They were involved in the production of fertilizer and steel.  Katsu (Kazu) Masimoto was the wife of Masuichi Kamikawa, and mother of Hiroko Kamikawa Omata.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Cubic foot (1 box)
unitdate: label: Date
content: ca. 1900-2006.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0924
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Genealogical tables
label: Type
content: Genealogies
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into two series. 

Series 1: Kamikawa, Omata and Matsumoto Families Papers, 1850-2006, undated

Series 2: Oral History Interview, 2004
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Adrienne Cain, intern and Kiley Orchard, intern; supervised by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, archivist), 2008.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Genealogical tables
label: Genre/Form
content: Genealogies
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: The families maintain the originals of some of the materials.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection consists of genealogical and historical information about the Kamikawa, Omata, and Matsumoto families and their descendants compiled by Hiroko Kamikawa Omata. The materials include ancestry charts, copies of photographs, letters, interviews, and copies of official documents such as diplomas, naturalization papers, as well as announcements regarding the internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II. The collection was arranged by the donor, and the Archives Center has maintained this arrangement. All dates in this collection refer to the original creation date of the collected materials.  The family papers were originally amassed in 2004 and were edited in 2006.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center

Bishop Mitsumyo Tottori Memorial Notebooks (NMAH.AC.0926)

Japanese American Documentary Collection (NMAH.AC.0305)

Gerald Lamboley Collection of Japanese-American Letters (NMAH.AC.0450)

Catherine Hann Papers (NMAH.AC.0921)

Juanita Tamayo Lott Filipino American Photographs and Papers (NMAH.AC.0925)