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Utaka Hashimoto Papers, 1942-1946, undated

(Manuscript Collection #1168)

Descriptive Summary

Title:	Utaka Hashimoto Papers
Creators:	Fenich, George Fenich, Kathryn Hashimoto Hashimoto, Mitzie Hashimoto, Utaka
Repository:	ECU Manuscript Collection
Languages:	English
Extent:	0.25 Cubic feet, 1 item .

Administrative Information

Accessions Information

March 26, 2010, (unprocessed) 1 item, 0.25 cubic feet; Scrapbook (1942-1946, undated) entitled Utaka?s Over Sea Souvenir documenting the life of a Japanese-American soldier who was serving as a Technician 5th Class, in the 163d Language Detachment, 32d Division, I Corps, U.S. Army, documenting his military service & family life during World War II, compiled by his wife, Mitzie Hashimoto, & including correspondence, newsletters, photographs, post cards, printed forms, Japanese & U. S. Military & Occupation currencies, & ephemera reflecting his service in Salt Lake City, Utah; Manila, Philippines; Fukuoka, Japan & aboard the troopship SS JAMES H. KINKAID; he returned to the U.S. aboard the troopship SS MARSHALL VICTORY. English & Japanese language materials. See preliminary inventory attached. 1 box. 1 vol. 93 p. (ca. 0.25 cubic feet) Recd 2/15/2010. Donor: George Fenich & Kathryn Hashimoto Fenich

Access Restrictions

No restrictions

Copyright Notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Preferred Citation

Utaka Hashimoto Papers (#1168), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.

Acquisition Information

Gift of George Fenich & Kathryn Hashimoto Fenich

Processing Information

Accessioned & processed by Shelby Sapp & Jonathan Dembo
Encoded by Jonathan Dembo & Shelby Sapp, May 26, 2010

Biographical / Historical Note

The Utaka Hashimoto Papers consist of documents relating to the service of Utaka Hashimoto during WWII, a Japanese-American and his family life. His wife, Mitzie Hashimoto compiled the scrapbook as a souvenir of his military service. The Hashimotos were from Brigham City, Utah. He and Mitzie were married on 8 September 1943. Hashimoto entered the military at Ft. Douglas, on 27 May 1944. He attended the Military Intelligence Language School in Fort Snelling, Minnesota graduating in May of 1945. He went overseas in August 1945 aboard the troopship SS JAMES H. KINKAID arriving in Manila, Philippines on 29 Oct. 1945. He departed Manila on 6 Nov. 1945 aboard the KINKAID and arrived in Japan on 13 November 1945. He served in Japan as part of the 163rd & 171st Language Teams, 32nd Division, from late 1945 to May 1946. He returned to the United States on 30 May 1946 aboard the SS MARSHALL VICORY. He received his honorable discharge from the Army on May 7th 1946, ending his military career.

Description

The Utaka Hashimoto Papers consists of a loose-leaf scrapbook complied by Mitzie (Mrs. Utaka) Hashimoto as a souvenir for her husband. The volume contains photographic prints, postcards, newspaper clippings, currency, letters, printed forms, ephemera & other items relating to Utaka's deployment to Japan with the 163d Language Detachment, 32d Division, I Corps, U. S. Army (1945-1946). Mrs. Hashimoto labeled many but not all of the items as holograph notes. Mrs. Hashimoto pasted or glued most of the items into the scrapbook but a few are attached with corners or remain loose. The scrapbook remains arranged in its original order, which is generally but not strictly chronological. The Photographic prints and postcards record various locations in Japan and some of Utaka's Japanese relatives; others show the ruins at Manila, Philippines (1945). Notable objects within the scrapbook include handkerchiefs from Japan and the Philippines, Utaka's dog chain, a Japanese dog tag, and Japanese Army shoulder insignias. Correspondence mostly includes letters between Utaka and his wife Mitzie Hashimoto; some correspondences, letters and postcards are entirely in Japanese. The collection also includes selections from the troopships SS KINKAID and SS MARSHALL VICTORY that carried Utaka to and from Japan.

The repository has assigned a page number to each page of the scrapbook. The page numbers are at the bottom of each page inside brackets. The preliminary inventory serves as a table of contents to the scrapbook. The call numbers indicate the page number of each description.

Preliminary Inventory

Below is material taken from a preliminary inventory and represents content from the collection that is unprocessed.

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Box 1#1168.1
- Folder a#1168.1.a
  Scrapbook (1942-1946, undated) entitled Utaka’s Over Sea Souvenir
  - Japanese arch in sea at night (undated) Photograph Print. Black and White. 1 item. 1 p. (item #1)
  - Utaka Hashimoto in military uniform, Fukuoka, Japan (undated) Photograph Print. Black and White. 1 item. 1p. (item #2)
  - Merry Christmas! Post card with Japanese Landscape (undated) Photograph Print. Black and White. 1 item. 1 p. (item #3)
  - Hashimoto, with wife & son (July - Aug. 1945) Photograph Prints. 1 color, 2 black and white. 3 items. 1 p. (item #4)
  - Utaka's Change of Address Since 1945 till he return. (ca 1946) Holograph. 1 item. 2 p. (item #5)
  - Hashimoto in Fukuoka, Japan; 3 post cards of scenes Salt Lake City, Utah including the State Capitol Building, "Mormon" Battalion Monument, and "Mormon" Temple Illuminated; also biographical notes by wife (1942-1946). Photographic prints. 5 items. 2 p. (item #7)
  - Domain of the Golden Dragon Certificate (11 Sept. 1945) signifying the passage of the troopship The S.S. JAMES H. KINKAID over the international date line. Printed form. 1 item. 1 p. (item #9)
  - Ruins of Manila, Philippines (11 Oct. 1945). Clippings. 10 items. 2 p. (item #10)
  - The Kinkaid News, Vol. 1, No. 1 - Vol. 8, (6 - 13 November 1945), includes maps off the coast of Japan showing the ships location and information about the ship. Clippings. 9 items. 5 p. (item #12)
  - A Price of Victory cartoon showing seasick soldiers & "Merry Christmas!" postcard (ca Nov. - Dec. 1945) Mimeographed Cartoon & Photographic print. 2 items. 1 p. (item #17)
  - Dog Tag Chain worn by Utaka Hashimoto during his service in the U.S. Army (1945). Ephemera. 1 item. 1 p. (item #18)
  - Post war Japanese Peso & Centavo banknotes (undated). Currency. 11 items. 3 p. (item #19)
  - "Merry Christmas!" Mt. Fuji in Winter & After Snow has melted, Japan, (1945). Postcards. 2 items. 1 p. (item #22)
  - Pre war Japanese banknotes (undated). Currency. 6 items. 2 p. (item #23)
  - Pre war Japanese Currency; Newspaper clipping about newly minted Japanese Currency; & Allied Military Currency issued in Italy (1945). Currency. 6 items. 1 p. (item #25)
  - Utaka Hashimoto's Christmas telegram, Tokyo, Japan to his wife Mitzie Hashimoto, Salt Lake City, Utah (19 Dec. 1945). Telegram. 1 item. 1 p. Note: Western Union. (item #26)
  - Utaka Hashimoto, Japan painted postcard of Mt. Fuji, to his wife Mitzie Hashimoto, Salt Lake City, Utah; also Mitizie Hashimoto telegram to Utaka Hashimoto, Yokohama, Japan (Dec. 1945) Postcard & Telegram. 2 items. 1 p. (item #27)
  - Collection (ca. 1945) including Military Post Exchange ¥10 Yen scrip; Domain of the Golden Dragon miniature certificate; Japanese Army Dog Tag. Currency, Printed form & Ephemera. 3 items. 1 p. (item #28)
  - Collection (Dec. 1945 - Jan. 1946) of Images of Utaka Hashimoto in Atsugi, Fukuoka, & Omori, Japan . Photographic prints. Black & white. 9 items. 1 p. (item #29)
  - Collection (5 - 14 Nov. 1945) of images of Manila, Philippines, including image of Utaka with fellow Japanese-American soldiers. Photographic prints. Black & white. 13 items. 2 p. (item #30)
  - Collection (Dec. 1945) of aerial views of various locations in Japan, including Omori, Nagasaki, Atsugi [Atsuji] Air Field, Yokohama, Hibya Park, Honshu Island, Tokyo, with Japanese civilians & family relatives, Cora Shrine, 127th Infantry base, Yame Gun, Fukuoka, Hashimoto Cemetery, (undated) Photographic prints. Black & white. 114 items. 11 p. (item #32)
  - Japanese Army insignia (undated). Ephemera. 3 items. 1 p. (item #43)
  - Collection (undated) of unidentified images of various locations in Japan. Photographic prints. Black & white. 10 items. 1 p. (item #44)
  - Letter written in Japanese by unidentified author (undated). Correspondence. 2 items 1 p. (item #45)
  - Collection (undated) of unidentified images of various locations in Japan. Photographic prints. Black & white. 16 items. 2 p. (item #46)
  - Collection (undated) of images of unidentified locations in Japan; also Embroidered patch of fabric. Photographic prints. Black & white. Ephemera. 3 items. 1 p. (item #48)
  - Piece of silk parachute from Japan (undated). Ephemera. 1 item. 1 p. (item #49)
  - Utaka Hashimoto, Japan, Letter (27 Feb. 1946) to his wife Mitzie Hashimoto, Salt Lake City, Utah including portraits of Japanese relatives. ALS & Photographic prints. Black & white. 4 items. 1 p. (item #50)
  - Embroidered handkerchief from Manila, Philippines (1946). Ephemera. 1 item. 1 p. (item #51)
  - Handkerchief from Japan (undated). Ephemera. 1 item. 1 p. (item #52)
  - Demobilization, Servicemen's Airmail, & Rationing (28 April 1946). Clippings. 3 items. 1 p. (item #53)
  - Utaka Hashimoto Portrait, Kakura Fukuoka, Japan (18 April 1946). Photographic prints. Black & white. 1 item. 1 p. (item #54)
  - Poems: To A Soldier Husband, by Martha Wright; Portrait of a Soldier, by Mary Carolyn Davies (undated) Clippings. 2 items. 1 p. (item #55)
  - Letters written in Japanese, by unidentified authors (13 April 1946) Correspondence. 6 items. 8 p. (item #56)
  - Utaka Hashimoto, Kyoto, Japan, Letter (19 April 1946) to his wife Mitzie Hashimoto, Kaysville, Utah including postcards & photographic prints of various locations in Japan. 5 items. 1 p. (item #64)
  - Post cards from Japan with Japanese writing, images of Utaka Hashimoto in Japan (undated). Photograph/Correspondence. 5 items. 2 p. (item #65)
  - Civilian Temporary Pass (19 April 1946) issued by the office of Headquarters Commandant to Utaka Hashimoto (undated). Ephemera. 2 items. 1 p. (item #67)
  - Letters written in Japanese by an unknown author (undated) ALS. 6 items. 2 p. (item #68)
  - Telegram and printed forms (19 Dec. 1945 - 4 April 1946) sent from Utaka Hashimoto in Japan to his wife in Salt Lake City, Utah concerning his return to the United States (1946). Correspondence. 5 item. 2 p. (item #70)
  - Images of Utaka Hashimoto & unidentified Japanese civilians [relatives?] & views; also unidentified U.S. Army personnel (undated). Black and white photographic prints. 101 items. 7 p. (item #72)
  - Utaka Hashimoto, Seattle Washington, Telegram to his wife in Kaysville, Utah (31 May 1946) announcing his safe arrival in the U. S.; images of Japanese-American soldier William Shinaki & Japanese civilian Michinya Kishimoto, in Japan. Telegram & Photographic prints. Black & white. 5 items. 1 p. (item #79)
  - Home Run (Souvenir Issue) Newsletter of the SS MARSHALL VICTORY, vol. 14, no. 10 (29 May 1946) Mimeographed typescript. 2 item. 1 p. (item #80)
  - Military Certificates (2 Feb. 1946) allowing Utaka Hashimoto to keep a Japanese pistol & saber as souvenirs & stating he is disease & vermin free. Mimeographed printed forms. 3 items. 2 p. (item #81)
  - Envelope with Japanese writing (undated). Correspondence. 1 item. 1 p. (item #83)
  - Collection (undated) of envelopes, cards with Japanese writing. Holograph & Ephemera. 12 items. 5 p. (item #84)
  - Japanese ¥1 - ¥5 - ¥10 Yen banknotes (undated). Currency. 3 items. 1 p. (item #89)
  - Various documents, envelopes, and cards with Japanese writing (undated). Holograph. 6 items. 4 p. (item #90)

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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Special Collections Division, J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University. The materials described here are physically available in our reading room. None of the original documents in this collection are digitally available online at this time.