Orange County West Justice Center to be renamed after Justice Stephen K. Tamura

Mary Adams Urashima

On April 16, 2020, in the middle of statewide stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19, the California Judicial Council approved the re-naming of the West Justice Center of the Orange County Superior Court in Westminster, California, for Stephen K. Tamura. An effort led by Presiding Judge Kirk H. Nakamura, Central Justice …

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

George Freeth, the Village of Maikura, and the 1918-1920 Pandemic

Mary Adams Urashima

The Wintersburg Village Japanese Association and fireworks in the Huntington Beach Township

Mary Adams Urashima

Mas Masuda: A Hero’s Century in Orange County

Mary Adams Urashima

“Acts of courage can be remembered for ages”, wrote columnist Stephen Greenhut fifteen years ago, in November 1992, as he recalled R.C. Hoiles, publisher of the Santa Ana Register (later, Orange County Register and Freedom Communications). Hoiles bought the newspaper in 1935 with a guiding philosophy to “believe in moral …

Two Decembers: 1934 and 1948

Mary Adams Urashima

In December 1934, the communities of Wintersburg Village and Huntington Beach gathered to dedicate the newest house of worship for the Wintersburg Japanese Mission. Formally recognized as a Church with the Presbyterian Church USA in 1930, the Wintersburg Japanese Mission was marking its 30th anniversary in 1934.

Moving Day: May 17, 1942

Mary Adams Urashima

May 10, 1942: Civilian Exclusion Orders 60 and 61

Mary Adams Urashima

The day everyone had been both waiting for and dreading was finally here. Civilian Exclusion Order No. 60 and No. 61 were published on May 10, 1942. Within 24 to 48 hours, every individual or family with full or partial Japanese ancestry—both those classified as “alien” and those who were …

May 5, 1942: Within days, Civilian Exclusion Orders and saying goodbye in Orange County

Mary Adams Urashima

Cherry blossoms and poppies: A 1935 banquet with the Japanese Consul in Huntington Beach

Mary Adams Urashima

The Marriage that Made Headlines

Mary Adams Urashima

Imagine having your marriage examined on the front page of metropolitan newspapers across the country and around the world. This was the case for the Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Mission’s first minister and his bride in the winter of 1910, the Reverend Joseph Kenichi Inazawa and Miss Kate Alice Goodman.