[Japanese Internment]

Burakku Ni Ichi Ichi Seimeiroku [Block 211 Name Directory]

Poston, Az. [1943]. [19]pp. Mimeographed. Oblong quarto. Original printed wrappers, brad bound. Light wear and soiling, corners bumped and creased. Light wear and soiling to text. About very good. Item #6428

An unrecorded mimeographed directory of the incarcerated Japanese individuals living in Block 211 of the Poston, Arizona internment camp. Poston, located in the Arizona desert near the border with California, was situated on the Colorado River Indian Reservation and was far enough from other populated areas and transportation that guard towers were deemed unnecessary. At its peak, it housed more than 18,000 Japanese-American citizens in three neighboring camps and was the third largest "city" in Arizona. The present volume provides the names of the inmates of Block 211 grouped by family, noting the family's Japanese ancestral town or district and their city of residence in America (written in English). The majority of the inmates appear to have come from Salinas, San Francisco, and Watsonville. The illustrated front wrapper depicts a desert scene of mountains, cactus, and a cow skull. Though unsigned, it is possible that it was illustrated by Nisei cartoonist Jack Matsuoka of Watsonville, who later published a book of cartoons titled Poston Camp II, Block 211, which he composed while a teenager in the camp. The Matsuoka family is listed on page twelve. A rare and ephemeral artifact.

Price: $9,500.00