Nakatani (Kikuyo Morimoto) papers

1903 – Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani born in Hiroshima, Japan

1919 – Traveled to the United States (settled in California)

1921 – Married Kinjiro Nakatani

1922 – Kunio born (July 18, 1922 – April 7, 1945)

1924 – Seiji born (Sept. 20, 1924 – Jan. 17, 2004)

1927 – Kazuhisa born (March 8, 1924 – Jan. 24, 1990)

1929 – Lilly born (July 16, 1929 - July 23, 2014)

Late 1920s – June 1942 – Lived in Florin, Ca.

1931 – Satoru born (Dec. 12, 1931 – 2007)

1935 – Mamoru born (June 28, n1935 – April 6, 1995)

1938 – Koso born (May 4, 1935 – 2015)

June 1942-Aug. 1943 – Family in Tule Lake Internment Camp

Aug 1943 – Aug 1945 – Family in Minidoka Internment Camp

1945 – Kunio dies (April 7)

Oct 1945 – Sept. 1948 – Lived in Florin, Ca.

Sept. 1948 – June 1958 – Lived in Elk Grove, Ca.

1957 – Kinjiro (husband) dies

June 1958 – 2005– Lived in Los Angeles, Ca.

1960’s – Tea training and teaching in Los Angeles

1990 – Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani dies (Dec. 27)

Kikuyo Morimoto Nakatani (1903-1990) was born in Hiroshima, Japan. In 1919, she traveled to the United States, eventually settling in Isleton, California. In 1921, she married Kinjiro Nakatani, a grape and strawberry farmer in the Sacramento region. Together, they had seven children: Kunio (1922-1945), Seiji (1924-2004), Kazuhisa (1927-1990), "Lilly" Atsuko (1929-2014), Satoru (1931-2007), "Max" Mamoru (1935-1995) and Koso (1938-2015).

In 1940, her oldest son, Kunio, traveled overseas to attend school at the Mizuho Academy in Japan. While studying abroad, war broke out between Japan and the United States. He was eventually recruited by the Imperial Navy to serve aboard the Yamato battleship as a communication specialist. He died aboard the Yamato on April 7, 1945, when the ship was sunk by U.S. forces.

In the United States, the Nakatani family was incarcerated in the Tule Lake & Minidoka War Relocation Centers. Mrs. Nakatani frequently wrote in her diaries about wartime events, including her family's economic and personal hardships. After the war, the Nakatani family returned to farming in the Sacramento region. Shortly after her husband's death, Mrs. Nakatani relocated to Los Angeles where she studied Chadô [The Way of Tea] under the mentorship of Madame Sosei Matsumoto in the 1960s. Mrs. Nakatani became a tea master and licensed instructor in Chadô, and was given the name "Sokiku" by the Urasenke Headquarters in Japan. Mrs. Nakatani passed away on December 27, 1990.