Takuichi Fujii (1891-1964) left Japan in 1906 to make his home in
Seattle, where he established a business, started a family, and began
his artistic practice. When war broke out between the United States and
Japan, he and his family were incarcerated along with the more than
100,000 ethnic Japanese located on the West Coast. Sent to detention
camps at Puyallup, Washington, and then Minidoka in Idaho, Fujii
documented his daily experiences in words and art. The Hope of Another
Spring reveals the rare find of a large and heretofore unknown
collection of art produced during World War II. The centerpiece of the
collection is Fujii's illustrated diary that historian Roger Daniels has
called "the most remarkable document created by a Japanese American
prisoner during the wartime incarceration."
Barbara Johns presents Takuichi Fujii's life story and his artistic
achievements within the social and political context of the time. Sandy
Kita, the artist's grandson, provides translations and an introduction
to the diary. The Hope of Another Spring is a significant contribution
to Asian American studies, American and regional history, and art
history.