Alice Imamoto Takemoto Papers
Scope and Contents
This collection is composed of correspondence, personal belongings, biographical material, and research materials related to the life of Alice Imamoto (’47 Mus. B.) Alice enrolled in the conservatory for piano at the age of 16 in 1943. During her first years at Oberlin, her family, of Japanese descent, were in an internment camp in Arkansas. Her letters to her parents, a considerable portion of the collection, provide a look at life in Oberlin during and after the Second World War, interspersed with commentary on the treatment of Japanese Americans at the time.
The collection is arranged into five records series: I. Correspondence, II. Biographical Material, III. Printed Material, IV. Research Materials, and V. Photographs. Series I is further subdivided into six subseries: 1. Correspondence from Alice Imamoto to Family, subseries 2. Correspondence, Education, 3. Correspondence to Alice Imamoto, 4. Correspondence to Mr. and Mrs. Imamoto, 5. Envelopes (No Letter Associated), and 6. Notes. There are restricted materials in Series II. Series III is subdivided into two subseries: 1. Printed Materials and 2. Sheet Music.
Dates
- Creation: 1929-2018, undated
- Other: Date acquired: 2018 July 13
Creator
- Imamoto Takemoto, Alice (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions.
Conditions Governing Access
Some materials restricted as noted on inventory.
Biographical or Historical Information
Alice Imamoto Takemoto (1926- )
Alice Setsuko Imamoto was born in Garden Grove, California, in 1926. She is the youngest of four children born to James Zenichi Imamoto (1889-1980) and Yoshiko Iwamasa Imamoto (1897-2003). At age 3, Alice began taking piano lessons; by the age of 6, she was performing concerts for churches in the Norwalk area where her family lived.
During Alice’s youth, James and Yoshiko Imamoto taught at a local Japanese school. After the Pearl Harbor attack, her parents were arrested on unknown grounds in March of 1942. Yoshiko received parole while James was declared a prisoner of war and remained in custody. Alice, her sisters, and her mother were forcibly relocated to an internment camp in Jerome, Arkansas, in October of 1942. After her father’s release from prison, he joined the family there in February of 1943.
In 1943, at the age of 16, Alice enrolled at Oberlin College Conservatory to study piano. She received clearance to leave Jerome to attend school, departing after 10 months in the internment camp in August of 1943. Her older sister, Grace Imamoto Noda (1920-2018), traveled with her, living and working in Oberlin while Alice completed her first year of study.
In June of 1944, Alice’s parents were forcibly relocated for a second time to Rohwer, Arkansas. Alice and Grace traveled from Oberlin to visit them during the summer of 1944; it was their final visit to the camp. After the closure of the internment camp in September of 1945, her parents moved to Washington DC, where they worked in domestic service.
Alice received her bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in 1947. She then studied piano under Olga Samaroff Stokowski (1880-1948) at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music for one year before moving to Washington DC in 1948. Alice met her husband Ken Kaname Takemoto (1920-2009) in the same year. They were married in 1951 and had two children, Ruth Takemoto McInroy (1955-) and Paul Howard Takemoto (1957-). Alice taught piano at American University for many years and kept a busy performance schedule.
SOURCES CONSULTED:
“Courage and Compassion: Student Biographies”. Oberlin College. https://www.oberlin.edu/courage-and-compassion-student-biographies.
“Obituary of Yoshi Imamoto.” East Bay Times (Walnut Creek, CA). 2003. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/obituaries/yoshi-imamoto/.
“Olga Lucy Jane Olga Hickenlooper Samaroff”. Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/210038390/olga-samaroff.
Kim, Sojin. “Paul Howard Takemoto and Alice Takemoto: On Resettlement, Revisiting the Past, and Reconnection - Part 1 of 2.” Discover Nikkei. May 22, 2011. https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2011/5/22/takemoto/.
Onate, Sebastian. “Obituary of Grace Kyoko Noda”. Davis Enterprise. June 6, 2018. https://www.davisenterprise.com/obituaries/grace-kyoko-noda/article_911017b6-4b52-57b7-9a60-e27cb5a09e91.html.
Student Files. Alice Setsuko Imamoto. RG28. Oberlin College Archives.
Takemoto, Paul Howard. 2012. Nisei Memories: My Parents Talk About the War Years. University of Washington Press.
Note written by Lee Must
Extent
1.05 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Source of Acquisition
Alice Imamoto Takemoto
Accruals and Additions
4/8/2024
- Title
- Alice Imatoto Takemoto Papers Finding Guide
- Author
- Lee Must
- Date
- 07/08/2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Oberlin College Archives Repository
420 Mudd Center
148 West College Street
Oberlin OH 44074-1532 US
440-775-8014
440-775-8016 (Fax)
archive@oberlin.edu