Akamine and Fuchita Family Papers

Kumantaro Fuchita (1881-1969) moved from Wakayama, Japan to the U.S. when he was 18 years old. His original intention was returning to Japan after a few years of work. While he was working in the U.S., he sent the money that he earned to his brother in Japan, but he discovered that his money was misused and decided to be settled in the U.S, instead. He owned a fish market, “Fresno Fish,” in Fresno, California and his business was successful. He invited Kuni Mary (Yasumura) Fuchita (1891-1967), who was a picture bride, from Japan around 1916. Initially, they were settled in Grand Junction, Colorado, working on a farm, and their children, Chiyoko Jean (1917) and Sakae Frank (1918-2008) were born. Since the farmer’s life was severe, they moved to Los Angeles, renting a house from an African American landlord, and ran a produce stall on the corner of the 3rd Street and Flower Street in Downtown. Their youngest son, Joseph Isamu (1920-2002) was born in Los Angeles. The Issei parents were concerned about lack of supervision for their small children, and Kuni brought all the children to Japan so that their relatives would take care of them: Chiyoko Jean was left with the mother’s side family (Yasumura family) and Sakaye Frank was raised by the father’s side family (Fuchita family). They both spent their early lives in Japan and returned to the U.S. in 1930s. On the other hand, the youngest son, Joseph Isamu, insisted on staying with the parents, and Kuni took him back to the U.S. with her. He grew up in the ethnically diverse communities in Los Angeles, including Virgil, Van Nyys, Hollywood, Norwalk, and Boyle Heights.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Joseph Isamu was 19 years old and lived in Boyle Heights. In 1942, the Fuchita family was removed from the West Coast and Tokutaro, Kuni, Frank Sakae, and Joseph Isamu were incarcerated in the Manzanar incarceration camp. Since Jean Chiyoko had left for New York prior to the mass removal, she was not incarcerated in a camp. During the incarceration, Joseph Isamu worked as a policeman from midnight through 6 AM, earning 16 dollars a month, while Tokutaro and Kuni worked at a mess hall. Sakae Frank left the camp for Michigan in 1943, Joseph Isamu left for Chicago in 1944, and Tokutaro and Kuni returned to Los Angeles in October 1945 that was a month before the closure of the Manzanar camp.

Sakae Frank and Yasuko Fuchita

Sakae Frank Fuchita attended the Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) in Berrien Springs, Michigan in 1943 and went on to receive his Master of Arts in Religion from the Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary in 1949. After completing two years at seminary school, he moved to Japan and began his career as a theology teacher and pastor. He taught theology and history at the Japan Missionary College. During his missionary in Japan, he and his wife, Yasuko, had two children, Esther Junko and Joseph Naoru. In 1962, the Fuchita family moved back to the United States. Sakae Frank continued his education at the University of Southern California and received his teaching credential for junior high and high school.

Joseph Isamu and Marjorie Tamiko Fuchita

Joseph Isamu Fuchita left the camp for Chicago to reestablish his life in 1944. Soof after he found a job in Chicago, he was drafted and left for basic training at Camp Balding in September 1944. He was stationed in several locations in Europe and served in the Army over 4 years. Because of his mother’s illness, however, he decided to leave the military and returned to Los Angeles to support the family. Postwar California was uninviting Japanese Americans and he faced discrimination when purchased a house. He finally bought a house in Compton and found a job at a fish market in Downtown which was run by Italian Americans. He met Marjorie Tamiko (Morioka) Fuchita (1923-1980) though their mutual friend, and they married on June 19, 1952 in Alhambra, California. They had two children, Lynn (Fuchita) Akamine (1957-) and Gary Fuchita (1963-)

Morioka Family

Kan’ichi Morioka (1875-1947) was born in Hiroshima, Japan and came to San Francisco, California around 1906. His wife, Yuku Morioka (1876-1957), and son, Tokuichi Fred Morioka (1894-1945), immigrated to the U.S. to join him in 1914. Their Nisei daughter, Mildred Kishino Morioka, was born in 1918. Tokuichi married Asako Nakano and had a daughter, Marjorie Tamiko Morioka, in 1923. Asako, however, died very young around 25 years old, and Tokuichi returned to Hiroshima and remarried. He immigrated to Manchuria and died of illness in 1945 at 51 years old. The rest of the family, Marjorie Tamiko, Kanichi, Yuku, and Mildred, remained in the U.S. and worked on a farm. When the war broke out, the Morioka family was incarcerated in the Rowher incarceration camp. Marjorie Tamiko and her aunt Mildred Kishino left the camp for New York together, and Kan’ichi and Yuku returned to Los Angeles after the war ended.