[Photograph album of the Torii family at California and Japan].

[California], [approximately 1918-1981, bulk 1948-1955]

Purchased from William Reese Co. on the Arthur Corbitt Hoskins Memorial Fund, 2019.

This material is open for research.

Roy Masaru Torii (1925-2016) was the Japanese American owner of the Torii Market, which the Torii family operated since 1907 at Selma, California. He was the son of Maki Nakamura Torii (1897-1986) and Tadaki Torii (1895-1938). His siblings include Yoshiki Torii (born 1917), Margie Matsuye Torii (1919-2014), Helen Fusaye Torii Wakabayashi (1921-2000), Bessie Miyeko Torii (born 1923), and Charles Yoshikatsu Torii (born 1928). During World War II, Torii initially relocated to Chicago, Illinois, and then served in the United States Army, November 1944-October 1946, before returning to Selma.

Photograph album compiled by Roy Masaru Torii, chiefly 1948-1955, with additional material, approximately 1918-1942, as well as laid-in photographs and material, 1953-1981, that chiefly consists of informal portraits of his immediate and extended family as well as friends in California and Japan, which include images of birthday parties and weddings. It also includes views of sites in California including views of the Torii Market and Selma Nursery at Selma, the Japanese mausoleum at the Mountain View Cemetery at Fresno, and Yosemite National Park.

English

November 12, 2019

Roy Masaru Torii, Photograph Album of the Torii Family at California and Japan. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Roy Masaru Torii, Photograph Album of the Torii Family at California and Japan. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.