PARTNER

INTERVIEW ID

ddr-densho-400-10

NARRATOR

Frances Midori Tashiro Kaji

INTERVIEW TITLE

Frances Kaji Interview

1:12:44 — 1 segments

DESCRIPTION

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.

PRODUCTION

Midori Kamei, interviewer

PERSONS/ORGANIZATIONS

CONTRIBUTOR

Densho

PREFERRED CITATION

Courtesy of South Bay JACL, Densho

RIGHTS