Chieko N. Okazaki papers
Collection
Identifier: ACCN 2839
Scope and Contents
The Chieko N. Okazaki papers (1924-2012) consist of correspondence, administrative documents, and memorabilia from her teaching career, the Japan-Okinawa and Japan Central Missions, her term as the first woman of color to serve as a Relief Society General Presidency member, as well as speeches and manuscripts from her time as an author and speaker. Click here to view the digitized journals from the collection.
Dates
- 1924-2012
Creator
- Okazaki, Chieko N., 1926-2011 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical Sketch
Chieko Nishimura was born on October 21, 1926 in Hawai'i. Raised Buddhist, she converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1942. She attended the University of Hawai'i where she met Edward Yukio Okazaki, a veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and a graduate student in Social Work, whom she married on June 18, 1949. After graduating, Chieko worked as a teacher in Maui, and then moved to Utah where Robert and Kenneth Okazaki were born. In 1968, Edward was called to serve as president of the Japan-Okinawa and Japan Central Missions, and Chieko was called to serve as the president of the missions' auxilliaries. After returning to the United States, she resumed her career as a teacher, and later moved to Denver, Colorado with her family. She earned her master's and administrative degrees, and then worked as a school principle for several years. In 1990, Chieko was set apart as the First Counselor of the Relief Society General Presidency, making her the first woman of color to serve on the Relief Society General Presidency, and the first woman to serve on all three of the women's general boards of the LDS church. During this period, Chieko began her public speaking and authorial career which focused on LDS women's issues, and she is one of the first major LDS figures to directly address sexual abuse. Edward died on March 20, 1992, after which Chieko established the Edward Yukio Okazaki Memorial Award for students in the College of Social Work at the University of Utah to commemorate Edward's work in the field of gerontology. Chieko was also a member of several boards and organizations including the Boards of Trustees of Southern Virginia University, a liberal arts college that promotes the tenets of the LDS church. Chieko continued to speak at many church conferences, Firesides, and other LDS church events until her death on August 1, 2011.
Extent
59.5 Linear Feet (146 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Japanese
Abstract
The Chieko N. Okazaki papers (1924-2012) consist of correspondence, administrative documents, and memorabilia from her teaching career, the Japan-Okinawa and Japan Central Missions, her term as the first woman of color to serve as a Relief Society General Presidency member, as well as speeches and manuscripts from her time as an author and speaker. Click here to view the digitized journals from the collection.
Arrangement
The collection is organized chronologically and by format according to original order.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Kenneth Okazaki in 2015.
Separated Materials
Photos transferred to Multimedia Division of Special Collections. Books and other printed materials transferred to Print and Journal Division of Special Collections.
Processing Information
Processed by Sean Taylor and Julia Huddleston from 2015-2016.
Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.
Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.
- Asian American Latter Day Saints -- West (U.S.) -- Archives
- Awards
- Biographies
- Business correspondence
- CD-Rs
- Christian converts from Buddhism -- 20th century -- Archives
- Christian life -- Latter Day Saint authors
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Archives
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Central Pacific Mission
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Diaries
- Diplomas
- Family histories
- Floppy disks
- Genealogical tables
- Hawaii -- Emigration and immigration -- Religious aspects -- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
- Instructional and educational works
- Interfaith marriage -- Religious aspects -- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Japanese American women -- West (U.S.) -- 20th century -- Archives
- Japanese Americans
- Latter Day Saint converts -- West (U.S.) -- 20th century -- Archives
- Latter Day Saint women -- West (U.S.) -- 20th century -- Archives
- Latter Day Saint women authors -- West (U.S.) -- Archives
- Latter Day Saint women missionaries -- Japan -- Archives
- Latter Day Saints -- Missions -- Japan -- Archives
- Minority women teachers -- West (U.S.) -- Archives
- Minutes (Records)
- Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- Notebooks
- Obituaries
- Okazaki, Chieko N., 1926-2011 -- Archives
- Okazaki, Chieko N., 1926-2011 -- Family -- Archives
- Okazaki, Edward Yukio, 1923-1992 -- Archives
- Oral histories
- Personal correspondence
- Planner
- Posters
- Primary Association (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- Relief Society (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) -- Records and correspondence
- Religious materials
- Scrapbooks
- Speeches
- Teaching -- Religious aspects -- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- University of Hawaii at Manoa. College of Education -- Alumni and alumnae -- Archives
- Women
- Women authors, Japanese -- West (U.S.) -- Archives
- Women school principals -- Colorado -- Archives
- Yearbooks
Creator
- Okazaki, Chieko N., 1926-2011 (Person)
- Title
- Inventory of the Chieko N. Okazaki papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created by Sean Taylor.
- Date
- 2016 (last modified: 2018 and 2020)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid encoded in English.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu