[The New Japanese American News 1959 Year Book] Zenbei Nikkeijin jushoroku 1959-nendo

Los Angeles: Shin Nichibei Shinbunsha, 1959. Hardcover. Very good. A massive (nearly 1500 pages) national directory of Japanese Americans, primarily in California but with entries from around the United States. The directory is organized by state and then city, followed by the name, address, and phone number of the head of each household and of Japanese owned businesses. The directory was supported by more than 100 pages of ads from Japanese, Japanese-American, and Japanese-friendly businesses.

The city of Hiroshima, quickly rebuilding after the US dropped the atomic bomb on it, has a two page spread extolling its natural beauty and newly rebuilt facilities. Many Japanese in the US originally came from Hiroshima Prefecture and the Hiroshima Kenjinkai (Hiroshima Prefecture Association) chapters were important community organizations, particularly on the West Coast.

This directory was published by the Los Angeles Japanese newspaper Shin Nichibei and printed in Japan, like most books destined for the Japanese community in the United States. The directory's size and geographical reach shows both it's widespread influence and close-knit nature of the Japanese American community which stayed connected in part by supplying their information to the directory and by subscribing to them.

122, 12, 1245 pages.

OCLC: 24924667 (this issue); 54447680 (the series). A very good copy, with weakness to the rear hinge. Lacking the printed cardboard box the book was issued in.