On a 1957 trip to India and China, Doris Duke stopped in Thailand, and it is likely that the exploration of Bangkok and its art and architecture she saw on that visit inspired her to dream of creating a Thai village in Hawaii with houses similar to those she had seen. In December of 1960, she formally hired François Duhau de Berenx to help bring it to pass. The Thai House Foundation was established on January 30, 1961; the name was changed to the Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture (SEAAC) in June of that same year. The establishment of the Foundation resulted in a project that Doris Duke saw as a gift to Hawaii, and one that occupied her for many years. At least five sites in Hawaii were considered for the Thai Village and it was the choice of an appropriate location that ultimately proved the stumbling block to completion of the project. Although her dream of a Thai Village was never fulfilled, Doris Duke's interest in Asia continued, as she continued purchasing objects right up until her death in 1993. In 2002, a significant portion of the collection was donated to two museums distinguished for their collections of Southeast Asian art; the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. The collection documents the establishment and management of Doris Duke's Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture (SEAAC). Records in the Administrative series document the purchase and transport of art objects and building parts, Doris Duke's attempts to locate a site for the Thai Village, and the financial records associated with the daily operations and management of the foundation and its assets. The Photograph series consists primarily of black and white images of the art objects and building parts purchased for SEAAC, with some images of houses in Bangkok and other Thai buildings, which served as the inspiration for the Thai Village. The architectural records in this collection include various drawings of the proposed village site and plans for the various buildings that were to be constructed.

The Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture Records (formerly SEAAC.8) are part of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives which were donated to the Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The collection spans the years 1954 to 2002, and is arranged in three series: Administrative Records, Photographs, and Architectural Records. The collection documents the establishment and management of Doris Duke's Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture. Records in the Administrative series reveal a frenzied few years of acquisition, where the curator of SEAAC sought works of art of all types - manuscript cabinets and manuscripts, Thai ceramics, Chinese porcelains, wood, stone, bronze and ivory sculptures, and complete Thai houses. It also documents Doris Duke's attempts to locate a site for the Thai Village, the transport and exhibition of the objects at the Coach Barn at Duke Farms, and the financial records associated with the daily operations and management of the foundation and its assets. The Photograph series consists primarily of black and white images of the art objects and building parts purchased for SEAAC, with some images of houses in Bangkok and other Thai buildings, which served as the inspiration for the Thai Village. The architectural records in this collection include various drawings of the proposed village site and plans for the various buildings that were to be constructed. The materials in this collection are arranged loosely in chronological order.

Katsuichi Satow was a Japanese-American pastor interned at Gila River War Relocation Camp during World War II. The collection includes Satow's diaries, dating from 1938 through 1979.

This collection consists of a group of 38 diaries, 140 x 65 mm each, kept by Katsuichi Satow (also possible as Satō Katsuichi), a Japanese-American pastor who served at various Japanese Congregational churches between 1935 and 1981. Satow appears to have used the diaries mainly as datebooks and dayplanners, recording daily pastoral and business-related activities. Typical topics include prayer meetings, sermons, church member addresses, etc. The diaries are in Japanese.

Most notably, Satow and his family were detained during World War II at the Gila River War Relocation Center, an internment camp in Arizona. Diaries from 1941 and 1942 are missing, but volumes for 1943 and 1944 include occasional descriptions of his daily life at the camp.

Satow appears to have grown more introspective as he aged; later diaries from his work as a pastor in Waimea on Kauai in Hawaii (beginning in 1967) tend to include more details about his work and personal health. The years 1962 and 1975 are also missing from the collection.

Also included are a small, red letter New Testament, and a photograph of Satow's son with a troop of Boy Scouts at the internment camp.