Kamekichi Tokita Papers, circa 1900-circa 2010, bulk 1900-1948

Biographical materials include an immigration document for Kamekichi and Karuko Tokita; a file relating to the closure of the War Relocation Authority's Minidoka Camp; a file on the Public Works of Art Project which contains a report, bulletins, and two letters, including one from Edward Bruce dated 1934. There is also a biographical sketch on Tokita written by Shokichi and Elsie Tokita.

The material in this series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

This series has been digitized in its entirety.

The bulk of Tokita's scattered correspondence concerns his exhibitions at the Seattle Art Museum (formerly called the Art Institute of Seattle), but there are also includes letters from friends, other galleries, and institutions. Correspondents include Kenneth Callahan, Henry Gallery, and the Seattle Art Museum. Some letters are in Japanese.

This series is arranged in alphabetically order by correspondent.

This series has been digitized in its entirety.

This series consists of diaries written by Tokita (in Japanese) between December 7, 1941 and 1944 while his family was forcibly removed to and incarcerated in Minidoka Relocation Camp in Idaho, and other notebooks and notes. There is also a transcript translated from prewar to modern Japanese by Haruo Takasugi and a subsequent translation of the diary from modern Japanese to English by Naomi Kusunoki-Martin. Two additional notebooks written by Tokita much earlier are also in this series. There is a fragment of a letter written in English from Minidoka, school notes, and a poem about an orange in Japanese. An unsigned note contains a sketch of a pig and concerns receipts discarded after Tokita's death. There are also some annotated scattered notes in Japanese, perhaps written by Tokita or others.

The diaries and transcriptions are at the beginning of the series in chronological order. The diaries are followed by notebooks and notes in loose chronological order.

The bulk of this series has been digitized, except for blank pages of notebooks.

There are a few scattered personal business records documenting unemployment, sale of the furniture of the Cadillac Hotel, a patent application filed in 1928 by Tokita for a device designed to lift manually-operated vehicles, and a claim made by the Tokita family to the Department of Justice, Office of Alien Property.

This series is in alphabetical order by folder title.

This series has been digitized in its entirety.

Published books include an annotated copy of Modern French Painters by Jan Gordon and Japanese books on art and religion. There are exhibition catalogs for group shows in which Tokita participated including various annual exhibitions held at the the Seattle Art Museum and the Group of Twelve exhibition of 1937. Also found are clippings in English and Japanese, annual reports from the Seattle Art Museum, blank stationery from Tokita's Noto Sign Company, and reproductions of works of art by others.

The material in this series is grouped together by type of printed material: books, clippings, exhibition catalogs, etc.

The bulk of this series has been digitized, except for duplicates. Most of the books and annual reports and some of the exhibition catalogs have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages digitized.

A scrapbook focuses on Tokita's exhibitions and contains letters from museums, including a letter from Dorothy Morrison of the Seattle Art Museum inviting Tokita to exhibit; clippings in English and Japanese; catalogs; and photographs of works of art.

The scrapbook is housed in an oversized box while the loose materials from the scrapbook are inside a separate folder.

The bulk of this series has been digitized, except for blank pages of the scrapbook.

Pencil sketches are unsigned but likely by Tokita. They depict landscapes, people, boats, Japanese architecture and traditional costume. Watercolor drawings are of street scenes and buildings. Also found is a sketch of a sign banning Japanese or those of Japanese-descent.

Most of the sketches are unsigned and undated, so they are loosely grouped by size with the oversized sketched housed separately from the smaller sketches.

This series has been digitized in its entirety.

A family photograph album includes snapshots and portraits of the Tokita family and friends, in traditional Japanese and Western dress. Snapshots show the family on vacations, car trips, and practicing kyudo (Japanese archery). Also found are photographs of Tokita's Noto Sign Company and the Cadillac Hotel. Likely written by one of Tokita's children, notes identifying some of the individuals are included.

This scrapbook has been disbound and is divided into two separate folders.

The bulk of this series has been digitized, except for blank pages.