Toyo Suyemoto, 1936 - 1951
Scope and Contents
Ten pieces of correspondence written by Japanese-American poet, memoirist, and librarian Toyo Suyemoto to her school friend Josephine “Josie” Gordon between 1936 and the early 1950s.
The bulk of the letters are from the early days of Japanese Internment, when Suyemoto, her parents, and her infant son Kay were forcibly removed first to Tanforan in San Bruno, California, and then to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. The pre-War letters have a breezy tone as the friends exchange anecdotes from their daily lives ranging from Suyemoto’s Berkeley graduation to anxiety over hairstyles. She also discusses her career as a poet, telling Josie when a piece has been published, sending clippings, and describing what she calls the group of “outstanding second generation Japanese writers” of which she is a part, including poet and doctor Yasuo Sasaki (1911-2008) and journalists Eddie Shimano (1911-1986) and Bob Tsuda.
The internment letters are marked by a darker nostalgia: of their last visit together Suyemoto writes “your visit here was like a favorable omen, as I was able to forget that there were troublesome things like war and hate while I was chatting with you.” This kind of staunch optimism is present throughout, even as Suyemoto reports on incidents ranging from the Army’s removal of all non-English literature including her mother’s prized book of traditional medicine, to her separation from Kay when he was taken to an outside hospital after contracting a respiratory illness from the cold, dusty conditions in camp. Suyemoto also discusses everyday life in the camps – her need for scrap paper to keep out moths, the lack of pay for her work as a high school English teacher, and the inhumane living conditions. Of her experience of incarceration Suyemoto writes “there are tragedies taking place in camp, because of the things we must go without and things we must bear, but I dare not dwell upon them. Someday when the war is over these sad happenings may be no more than case histories.”
Also included are a Christmas card from the early 1950s and two newspaper clippings from the Merced Sun-Star (1972) about Japanese internment.
Dates
- 1936 - 1951
Conditions Governing Access
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Biographical / Historical
Toyo Suyemoto (1916-2003) was a Japanese poet, writer, and librarian. The oldest of ten children raised in Nihonmachi, the Chinatown of Sacramento, CA, she was educated at Berkeley, and began publishing in a variety of Nisei and mainstream literary outlets prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. When Japanese Internment was announced in March of 1942, Toyo and her family, including infant son Kay were moved to Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, California, and then to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. During her incarceration, Suyemoto continued to write and her work gained further recognition. Following the war, the family moved to Cincinnati, where Suyemoto worked at the libraries of the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Art Museum, and it was there that she suffered the death of her son from an illness contracted during their incarceration. Suyemoto subsequently worked as a librarian at Ohio State University, where she dedicated herself to bringing national attention to the impact of internment on the Japanese-American community. In the early 1980s she returned to Topaz and testified before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC).
Extent
From the Collection: 30 Cubic Feet (69 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
From the Collection: French
From the Collection: Italian
From the Collection: Welsh
From the Collection: Danish
From the Collection: Swedish
From the Collection: Spanish
From the Collection: German
From the Collection: Norwegian
From the Collection: Persian
From the Collection: Japanese
From the Collection: Russian
From the Collection: Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
Creator
- From the Collection: Scheetz, Nicholas B., 1952-2016 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu