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Hirata, Kazuma

Last Name: Hirata
First Name: Kazuma
Dates:
(Date of Birth)
*1955 (Date of Death)
Biography/History: Kazuma “Frank” Hirata came to the United States in 1895, returning to Japan to marry his wife Jun in 1920. During the 1920s and 1930s he managed the Spokane Vegetable Growers Association, a co-operative of Japanese-American farmers. In 1940, the Hiratas began operating the 130-room Clem Hotel on Trent Avenue (now Spokane Falls Boulevard) adjacent to many other downtown Asian businesses. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Frank Hirata was arrested and sent to a Department of Justice camp in Montana. As a leader of the Spokane Japanese community, Hirata was viewed as potentially dangerous. He spent two years in Department of Justice camps across the U.S. before his release in 1943. During this time, Jun managed the Clem Hotel, along with the help of their three children. After the war, thousands of Japanese Americans leaving internment camps temporarily lived in Spokane until they could return to the coast. Many stayed at the Clem Hotel.
Related Participants:
Related Objects:
4134.22 (Suitcase, Hirata Suitcase, 1918-1920)
4134.24 (Game, Homemade Mahjong Set, 1942-1945)