Location: California

Narrator:Frances Kaji

Interviewer: Midori Kamei

Densho ID: ddr-densho-400-10

01:12:44

1 segment

Frances Kaji was born on April 30, 1928, in Gardena, California. She grew up in Gardena as the daughter of pioneer physician Kikuwo Tashiro. She remembers Gardena as it changed from a rural to suburban community. During World War II, her family moved to Fresno to avoid incarceration but was eventually imprisoned at the concentration camp at Poston concentration camp, Arizona. After leaving camp, Kaji endured primitive conditions at a Colorado sugar beet farm and moved to Denver. After the war, her family resettled in Boyle Heights where she married Bruce Kaji and moved back to Gardena. She and her husband became involved in civic activities, including the sister city programs. They also helped found the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo. This interview is part of the South Bay History Project created by the South Bay Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. Visit Densho for more information.