Series I: Personal and Biographical Materials, circa 1890-2004, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The files contained in this series document Shimanouchi-Lederer's personal life. Materials include legal and personal documents, unpublished book transcripts, personal correspondence, research articles, and newspaper clippings. Included in the family history files are media clippings, pamphlets belonging to Shizue Shimanouchi, and writings of Henry Toshio Shimanouchi, former General Consul of Japan. The bulk of materials are photo albums covering family history during their settlement in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California (1890-1970). Of significance are Shimanouchi-Lederer's NARA files that document her family's forced removal and incarceration at the Topaz Relocation Center, with government records and her application to the War Relocation Authority for leave of clearance to pursue a university education. This series also includes extensive oral history transcripts her childhood struggles where Lederer describes her childhood struggles growing up as a Japanese American during the pre-WW II era, her marriages, incarceration experience, career rise in the Hollywood publicity circuit, and grassroots organizing to create JASSI. Also of note are copies of scholarly publications and news articles that integrate Shimanouchi-Lederer's interviews on her incarceration experience.
