Series IV. Tomie Arai Early Life and Family, 1937-2006, inclusive; 1942-1965, bulk

This series contains materials documenting Arai's early adult life, as well as items created and collected by other family members including her parents, Tim and Tomoe, and her uncle. Arai's school awards, class photographs, and newsletters containing Arai illustrations are mostly from Booker T. Washington Junior High School. Later 1960s photographs of Arai as a young activist are also in this series.

Record albums from Tim and Tomoe's personal collection in this series include a 1937 Billie Holiday album, a signed copy of the soundtrack for the Broadway show, Flower Drum Song, and Asian American Broadway performer Pat Suzuki's signed album. A history and correspondence related to the New York Buddhist Church in this series relates to the life-long involvement of Arai and her parents in this church community, which also includes photographs from the 1950s of a Bon Odori Festival in Riverside Park. Other items collected by Tim and Tomoe include a print portfolio and newsletters of the Nisei Progressives from the 1950s, publications related to Tim's publication editorial work in the 1940s and 1970s, including a program that also includes Tomie Arai's artwork on the cover.

Material collected from Arai's parents also include items specifically related to the Japanese American experience during and following World War II in the United States. Items include two Japanese American "yearbook" directories from 1948 and 1949, printed in Japanese and English, one for New York and the other for the entire United States. These directories listed addresses for Japanese individuals which included Tim and Tomoe, and Asian-owned companies. A master's thesis including an interview with Tomoe Arai related to college women and Japanese American wartime incarceration is in this series. Other materials collected by Tomoe Arai include general informational booklets, publications, and articles on the incarceration of Japanese Americans with some specifically related to Tule Lake War Relocation Center and the Granada Relocation Center (also known as Camp Amache), concentration camps in California and Colorado, respectively. Also of note in this series are 15 original watercolor paintings of the Topaz Relocation Center by Arai's paternal uncle, Unosuke Sasahi, which were created during 1943 to 1944 during his incarceration. A 1943 informational booklet on the Granada Relocation Center in Amache, Colorado was given to Tomie Arai's grandparents when they were transferred from the Tule Lake War Relocation Center. Promotional material and schedules from a 1991 pilgrimage event to Tule Lake National Park are also in this series