A People’s History of the Inland Empire Digital Archive

Michiko Yoshimura Oral History

2025.001.004

Sound

Michiko Yoshimura was born on January 22, 1941 in the San Gabriel Valley before she and her family were incarcerated at Heart Mountain and Tule Lake. After their incarceration, in the early 1950s, her family moved to West Riverside. During this time, her family ran a successful fruit stand which she helped with. Growing up, she brought her sisters to Japanese language classes in Casablanca and attended church events at the Japanese Union Church because it was a central place for the Japanese American community. Michiko graduated from Poly High School and studied education at the University of California, Riverside. At the time, she noted women could only be secretaries, nurses, or teachers. Michiko taught in the Riverside Unified School District for 36 years at three different elementary schools. Oftentimes, at these educational institutions, she was the only Japanese American person in her classes. She noted how she wanted to blend in and not stand out. She described where different Japanese American farms were and the racial make-up of different parts of the city. Also, she got involved in the Riverside chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) helping with the Sendai Festival, Thanksgiving, and summer picnics. Michiko has maintained the records and photos from her family and has collaborated with the Harada House, UCR, Save Our Chinatown Committee for cultural and historic preservation.

Agriculture

Americanization

Asian American

BIPOC

Casa Blanca Elementary School

Chinese Community

Cultural Celebrations

Farming

Farmworkers

Feminism

Harada House

Housing

Immigration

Internment

Japanese Americans

Japanese Incarceration during WWII

Racism

Ranching

Religion

Sexism

University of California, Riverside

Women

Riverside (Calif.)

1940s-2000s

Kahleia Corpuz

Catherine Gudis

Michiko Yoshimura

03-04-2026

People's History of the IE.

.mov

eng

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