Carved in Confinement

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As a young man, my Jichan (grandfather), Bunzo Fujimoto, traveled from Japan to Mexico and made his way to California in the early 1900’s.

In 1942, he and his young family lost almost everything when they and 120,000 people of Japanese descent, both Americans and immigrants, were forced into concentration camps during WWII.

Jichan survived a suicide attempt in camp, but my mother said he was never the same again and he never fulfilled his wish to see his hometown in Japan before he died. Jichan made this bird carvings while incarcerated in Poston Arizona during WWII.

Phyllis Tajii • Petaluma resident

Phyllis Tajii was born and raised in San Jose in 1951. A third-generation Japanese American, or Sansei, she worked for many years in admissions at Sonoma State University before retiring. Today, she enjoys caring for horses at Hoofbeats and remains deeply involved in the community, including through her service on the board of the Japanese American Citizens League.