The Fujita Family

Four people standing in front of a truck. — Katsumi (Henry) Fujita, Michi (Grace) Fujita, Eigi (George) Fujita, and their father Tsuneji Fujita, 1934. View in Our Digital Collection

Things went better for T. Fujita and his family. Fujita was another Penngrove chicken rancher who filed letters of guardianship for his children who were the legal owners of the family property, the eldest being 15 when the case was brought in 1928 … as in the others it was ‘The People’ who brought suit, accusing him of fraudulence in placing land in his children’s name to evade the land laws.
It was Judge Percy S. King, sitting in Superior Court of Sonoma County, who ruled in favor of the Fujita family. When the decision was appealed, the attorneys for the Fujitas … drew heavily on the arguments from the Harada case in Riverside. In 1932 the appeals court upheld the decision. The Fujita children were entitled to all the rights of American citizens, including title to the family ranch.

— LeBaron, Gaye. “No Welcome Mat for Japanese in the Golden State.” Santa Rosa Press Democrat, April 26, 1992.

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