Utah Nippo
The story behind the Nippo
The Utah Nippo is a gem of a newspaper run which contains a wealth of information about the early lives and settlement stories of Japanese Americans in Utah. This newspaper, was one of three Japanese language newspapers in the United States, and was published between 1914 and 1991. The paper provided news and information to the Japanese communities in Utah, Idaho, Western Wyoming, and Eastern Nevada. The first issue of the Utah Nippo appeared in Salt Lake City in 1914. The federal government forbade the circulation of the Japanese language newspapers following bombing of Pearl Harbor, but the Utah Nippo resumed circulation soon after government approval. This was due to the fact that U.S. wanted Japanese Americans to receive accurate information on official policies regarding relocation, curfews, and other wartime news. The Nippo was an especially valuable resource to Japanese readers during World War II, when the circulation reached its peak.
When Kuniko Muramatsu Terasawa died in Salt Lake City on August 2, 1991, the career of a distinguished newspaperwoman and one of the most active senior citizens in Utah came to a close. Her death at age 95 also marked the end of the Issei (first-generation Japanese American) era in Utah. Terasawa worked hard for 52 years to create the metal type bearing for Japanese characters which formed the printing for the Utah Nippo, a Japanese-language newspaper, founded by her husband, Uneo Terasawa in 1914. After his passing in 1939, Kuniko decided to continue running the business on her own.
Haruko Moriyasu is the descendent of Terasawa. She has donated the full run of the Utah Nippo to the J. Willard Marriott Library, and fully supports the digitization and the online publishing of the paper.
The J. Willard Marriott Library recognizes the value of having the full run digitized, hosted, and made available to readers throughout the world. We are applying for a LSTA grant to acquire the resources to be to make this happen. We would appreciate some feedback from you as we assess the wider need to have this valuable resource made readily available for public access.
