This collection consists of the diaries of Japanese Americans Toranosuke (George) Fujimoto from 1913-1968, and George Fujimoto Jr.from 1942-1948. The diaries notably cover their experiences during World War II, when the family was forcibly removed from their Riverside, California home to an incarceration camp in Poston, Arizona.

Toranosuke Fujimoto was born July 11, 1882, and grew up in Kokawa, a town in the Wakayama Prefecture in Japan. In 1902 he emigrated to the United States, where he lived in Washington and Orange County, California before settling in Riverside, California. He also adopted the name "George," as Americans had difficulty pronouncing his first name. In 1911, Fujimoto married his wife Suna and the couple became farmers in Riverside, raising chickens and growing strawberries and walnuts, along with their six children. George Fujimoto, sometimes referred to as George Fujimoto Jr., was born on January 2, 1921, and was the couple's first son and fourth child out of six.

4.65 linear feet (4 boxes)

Copyright of these records has been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Distinctive Collections.

This collection is open for research.