The Personal Files series contains files regarding Sano's biographical information and pre-war employment, chiefly his work with the California Bank. Also in this series are identification cards and permits with dates spanning from 1920 to 1951, correspondence between Sano and his family during his time in in Japan (1946 to 1951), and a letter of appreciation from Scout Troup 33 in Los Angeles, sent to Sano in 1961.
The War-time Imprisonment and Military Service series documents the Japanese American Incarceration by the United States government in 1941-1943, as well as Sano's work for the Army Intensive Japanese Language School in 1944. It also includes materials related to Sano's work for the Strategic Bomb Survey and translation and arbitration for the International War Tribunal trials in Tokyo. Reports and documentation of Sano's position as Property Control Officer for the Bank of Japan is also included in this series.
The Scrapbooks and Artifacts series contains two scrapbooks, and a series of artifacts collected by Sano during and after World War II. The first scrapbook ranges from 1923 to 1929 and 1941 to 1943. Included are newspaper clippings of ads and announcements from the Japanese branch of the California Bank. Most of the text is in Japanese. Also included are papers relating to the relocation of Sano and his family. The second scrapbook contains newspaper clippings and photographs from the war crime trials, one of which was used in the January 26, 1948, issue of Life magazine. Also included are newspaper clippings discussing the forced removal of Japanese Americans, certificates awarded to Sano by the University of Michigan, photos of gold bars from the time he worked as a property control officer, and personal photos of Sano and his family in Japan and at his sister's funeral.
Artifacts include a sign from Santa Anita detention center; two "doggies" created out of burlap and other natural fibers by prisoners at the Santa Anita detention center; two metal bowls, likely for rice and sauces, picked up from Hiroshima in 1946; a small wooden box containing coins from war-time Japan. It also includes an entry permit and envelope of paper currency signed by military officials on trial during the International War Tribunal for the Far East.