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{ "url_title": "Aiko Fujitani", "title_sort": "fujitaniaiko", "links": { "json": "http://encyclopedia.densho.org/api/0.1/articles/Aiko%20Fujitani/?format=api", "html": "http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Aiko%20Fujitani?format=api" }, "modified": "2024-01-15T21:16:44", "title": "Aiko Fujitani", "body": "<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n <div id=\"databox-PeopleDisplay\">\n <table class=\"infobox\" width=\"200px;\">\n <tbody>\n <tr>\n <th scope=\"row\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n Name\n </th>\n <td style=\"text-align:left;\">\n Aiko Fujitani\n </td>\n </tr>\n <tr>\n <th scope=\"row\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n Born\n </th>\n <td style=\"text-align:left;\">\n January 6 1902\n </td>\n </tr>\n <tr>\n <th scope=\"row\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n Died\n </th>\n <td style=\"text-align:left;\">\n February 11 1965\n </td>\n </tr>\n <tr>\n <th scope=\"row\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n Birth Location\n </th>\n <td style=\"text-align:left;\">\n Toyama Prefecture, Japan\n </td>\n </tr>\n <tr>\n <th scope=\"row\" style=\"text-align:left;\">\n Generational Identifier\n </th>\n <td style=\"text-align:left;\">\n <p>\n <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Issei/\" title=\"Issei\">\n Issei\n </a>\n </p>\n </td>\n </tr>\n </tbody>\n </table>\n </div>\n <div id=\"databox-People\" style=\"display:none;\">\n <p>\n FirstName:Aiko;\nLastName:Fujitani;\nDisplayName:Aiko Fujitani;\nBirthDate:1902-01-06;\nDeathDate:1965-02-11;\nBirthLocation:Toyama Prefecture, Japan;\nGender:Female;\nEthnicity:JA;\nGenerationIdentifier:Issei;\nNationality:;\nExternalResourceLink:;\nPrimaryGeography:;\nReligion:;\n </p>\n </div>\n <p>\n Community and religious leader in Hawai'i.\n </p>\n <div aria-labelledby=\"mw-toc-heading\" class=\"toc\" id=\"toc\" role=\"navigation\">\n <input class=\"toctogglecheckbox\" id=\"toctogglecheckbox\" role=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" type=\"checkbox\"/>\n <div class=\"toctitle\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n <h2 id=\"mw-toc-heading\">\n Contents\n </h2>\n <span class=\"toctogglespan\">\n <label class=\"toctogglelabel\" for=\"toctogglecheckbox\">\n </label>\n </span>\n </div>\n <ul>\n <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-1\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#Background\">\n <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n 1\n </span>\n <span class=\"toctext\">\n Background\n </span>\n </a>\n </li>\n <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-2\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#Family_Life_and_Community_Efforts\">\n <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n 2\n </span>\n <span class=\"toctext\">\n Family Life and Community Efforts\n </span>\n </a>\n </li>\n <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-3\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#World_War_II_and_Postwar_Activities\">\n <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n 3\n </span>\n <span class=\"toctext\">\n World War II and Postwar Activities\n </span>\n </a>\n </li>\n <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-4\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#For_More_Information\">\n <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n 4\n </span>\n <span class=\"toctext\">\n For More Information\n </span>\n </a>\n </li>\n <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-5\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#Footnotes\">\n <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n 5\n </span>\n <span class=\"toctext\">\n Footnotes\n </span>\n </a>\n </li>\n </ul>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"Background\">\n <h2>\n <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"Background\">\n Background\n </span>\n </h2>\n <div class=\"section_content\">\n <p>\n Aiko Furukawa Fujitani was born on January 6, 1902, the second and only surviving child of Asajiro and Shite Furukawa in Kami Niikawa Gun, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. When she was four, her parents immigrated to Hawai'i where they worked as masseurs in Līhu'e, Kaua'i, catering to planters' families. As a child, Fujitani attended both English and Japanese language schools and she and her parents were active members of the Līhu'e Hongwanji Mission. Eventually her parents sent her to Honolulu where Bishop Yemyo Imamura and his wife Kiyoko raised her. Under the guidance of the Imamuras, Fujitani continued her studies and attended the Royal Grammar School and the Normal Training School to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher. However, as an\n <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Issei/\" title=\"Issei\">\n Issei\n </a>\n , she was prohibited from obtaining citizenship that was necessary to become a teacher. Unable to teach, she attended the Philips Commercial School where she learned bookkeeping, typing, and shorthand. Her eldest son, Reverend\n <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Yoshiaki_Fujitani/\" title=\"Yoshiaki Fujitani\">\n Yoshiaki Fujitani\n </a>\n explained that \"Mother's attitude was to think positively rather than worry about things that you have no control over.\"\n <sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-ftnt_ref1_1-0\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_note-ftnt_ref1-1\">\n [1]\n </a>\n </sup>\n Although she was unable to become a teacher, Fujitani continued her education and intellectual growth.\n </p>\n </div>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"Family_Life_and_Community_Efforts\">\n <h2>\n <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"Family_Life_and_Community_Efforts\">\n Family Life and Community Efforts\n </span>\n </h2>\n <div class=\"section_content\">\n <p>\n Eventually Fujitani married Reverend Kodo Fujitani of Maui's Pauwela Hongwanji in 1921 and together they had eight children: Teruko, Yoshiaki, Ann Nobuko, Flora Shigeko, Minnie Mineko, Shigeaki, Akiko, and Aileen Michiko.\n <sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-ftnt_ref2_2-0\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_note-ftnt_ref2-2\">\n [2]\n </a>\n </sup>\n As a priest's wife, Fujitani assisted in temple duties, volunteered in the community, and became a Japanese language school teacher. As the temple served as the religious, social, and educational center of the community, Fujitani began to expand her activities and worked as a substitute teacher and interpreter and was a foster parent for orphans and juvenile delinquents. The Fujitanis also opened their home to people of different ethnicities, and Yoshiaki Fujitani recalls that his mother was \"very good at relating to people of different races . . . Mother made them feel comfortable. I guess I learned from that—that we might look different, but we’re the same.\"\n <sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-ftnt_ref3_3-0\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_note-ftnt_ref3-3\">\n [3]\n </a>\n </sup>\n </p>\n <p>\n Eventually the Fujitanis moved to Honolulu where Reverend Kodo Fujitani was assigned to the Mō'ili'ili Hongwanji, one of the largest temples in Honolulu with annexes in Kaimukī, Kapahulu, Waialae-Kāhala, McCully, and Mānoa. There Fujitani taught religious classes, managed the temple dormitory that housed students from other islands, and was a member of the Ka Moiliili Council (now Mō'ili'ili Community Center) where she worked to address health and environmental problems caused by a nearby quarry. Additionally, Fujitani organized a summer program to reduce juvenile delinquency at nearby Kūhiō Elementary School.\n </p>\n </div>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"World_War_II_and_Postwar_Activities\">\n <h2>\n <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"World_War_II_and_Postwar_Activities\">\n World War II and Postwar Activities\n </span>\n </h2>\n <div class=\"section_content\">\n <p>\n When war broke out, authorities arrested and incarcerated Reverend Kodo Fujitani at the\n <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Santa_Fe_(detention_facility)/\" title=\"Santa Fe (detention facility)\">\n Santa Fe\n </a>\n , New Mexico, internment camp. Fujitani took over temple duties from her husband and occasionally conducted temple services while her eldest son, Yoshiaki, served as a volunteer in the Hawai'i Territorial Guard, the\n <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Varsity_Victory_Volunteers/\" title=\"Varsity Victory Volunteers\">\n Varsity Victory Volunteers\n </a>\n , and eventually joined the\n <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Military_Intelligence_Service/\" title=\"Military Intelligence Service\">\n Military Intelligence Service\n </a>\n . As the head of Mō'ili'ili Hongwanji's\n <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Fujinkai/\" title=\"Fujinkai\">\n Fujinkai\n </a>\n , she helped to mobilize the temple's members in war readiness preparations and Red Cross efforts. Many priests' wives like Fujitani managed the temples that authorities closed with the outbreak of war. These\n <i>\n bōmori\n </i>\n provided cultural and religious continuity during a period of great upheaval and uncertainty while their husbands were incarcerated during World War II.\n </p>\n <p>\n After her husband returned after the end of the war and became the first elected Bishop of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission, Fujitani established the Hongwanji Mission School in 1949. It would be the first English-language Buddhist elementary school in America. While Fujitani never taught at the school, she served as the executive secretary to the board and was involved in the school's operation until her husband's retirement in 1952. The Fujitanis returned to Maui for Reverend Kodo Fujitani's final assignment at Wailuku Hongwanji. While Aiko Fujitani would pass away in 1965, the Hongwanji Mission School still stands as a testimony to her community activism and commitment to education.\n <sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-ftnt_ref4_4-0\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_note-ftnt_ref4-4\">\n [4]\n </a>\n </sup>\n </p>\n <div id=\"authorByline\">\n <b>\n Authored by\n <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Kelli_Y._Nakamura/\" title=\"Kelli Y. Nakamura\">\n Kelli Y. Nakamura\n </a>\n , University of Hawai'i\n </b>\n </div>\n <div id=\"citationAuthor\" style=\"display:none;\">\n Nakamura, Kelli\n </div>\n </div>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"For_More_Information\">\n <h2>\n <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"For_More_Information\">\n For More Information\n </span>\n </h2>\n <div class=\"section_content\">\n <p>\n Miyasaki, Gail. \"Aiko Fujitani.\"\n <i>\n Hawaii Herald\n </i>\n , Oct. 17, 2008, D-2.\n </p>\n <p>\n Stone, Scott C. S.\n <i>\n Living Legacy: Outstanding Women of the 20th Century in Hawai'i\n </i>\n . Honolulu: Japanese Women's Society Foundation, 2002.\n </p>\n </div>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"Footnotes\">\n <h2>\n <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"Footnotes\">\n Footnotes\n </span>\n </h2>\n <div class=\"section_content\">\n <div class=\"reflist\" style=\"list-style-type: decimal;\">\n <div class=\"mw-references-wrap\">\n <ol class=\"references\">\n <li id=\"cite_note-ftnt_ref1-1\">\n <span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_ref-ftnt_ref1_1-0\">\n ↑\n </a>\n </span>\n <span class=\"reference-text\">\n Gail Miyasaki, \"Aiko Fujitani,\"\n <i>\n Hawaii Herald\n </i>\n , Oct. 17, 2008, D-2.\n </span>\n </li>\n <li id=\"cite_note-ftnt_ref2-2\">\n <span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_ref-ftnt_ref2_2-0\">\n ↑\n </a>\n </span>\n <span class=\"reference-text\">\n Barbara Bennett Peterson,\n <i>\n Notable Women of Hawaii\n </i>\n (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984), 132.\n </span>\n </li>\n <li id=\"cite_note-ftnt_ref3-3\">\n <span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_ref-ftnt_ref3_3-0\">\n ↑\n </a>\n </span>\n <span class=\"reference-text\">\n Miyasaki, \"Aiko Fujitani,\" D-2.\n </span>\n </li>\n <li id=\"cite_note-ftnt_ref4-4\">\n <span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\">\n <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_ref-ftnt_ref4_4-0\">\n ↑\n </a>\n </span>\n <span class=\"reference-text\">\n \"Fujitani, Mrs. Ai,\"\n <i>\n Honolulu Advertiser\n </i>\n , Feb. 12, 1965, C-7.\n </span>\n </li>\n </ol>\n </div>\n </div>\n <!-- \nNewPP limit report\nCached time: 20240418160711\nCache expiry: 86400\nDynamic content: false\nComplications: []\nCPU time usage: 0.017 seconds\nReal time usage: 0.025 seconds\nPreprocessor visited node count: 208/1000000\nPost‐expand include size: 2141/2097152 bytes\nTemplate argument size: 316/2097152 bytes\nHighest expansion depth: 6/40\nExpensive parser function count: 0/100\nUnstrip recursion depth: 0/20\nUnstrip post‐expand size: 1382/5000000 bytes\nExtLoops count: 0\n-->\n <!--\nTransclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)\n100.00% 18.869 1 -total\n 42.84% 8.084 1 Template:Databox-People\n 16.37% 3.088 1 Template:Reflist\n 8.82% 1.664 1 Template:AuthorByline\n 8.56% 1.615 1 Template:Published\n-->\n <!-- Saved in parser cache with key encycmw:pcache:idhash:3780-0!canonical and timestamp 20240418160711 and revision id 35923\n -->\n </div>\n </div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"toplink\">\n <a href=\"#top\">\n <i class=\"icon-chevron-up\">\n </i>\n Top\n </a>\n</div>", "categories": [ "http://encyclopedia.densho.org/api/0.1/categories/People/?format=api" ], "sources": [], "coordinates": {}, "authors": [ "http://encyclopedia.densho.org/api/0.1/authors/Kelli%20Y.%20Nakamura/?format=api" ], "ddr_topic_terms": [], "prev_page": "http://encyclopedia.densho.org/api/0.1/articles/Against%20Their%20Will:%20The%20Japanese%20American%20Experience%20in%20World%20War%20II%20Arkansas%20(exhibition)/?format=api", "next_page": "http://encyclopedia.densho.org/api/0.1/articles/Aiko%20Herzig-Yoshinaga/?format=api" }