Irma Sachiko Fukumoto
Irma Sachiko Fukumoto was born in Mexico to parents who were both immigrants from Japan. The family lived in Chihuahua, Mexico, where her father owned a grocery store. During World War II, the Mexican government forced Fukumoto’s family and other Japanese Americans living near the US-Mexico border to move further south. They were escorted by the Mexican police to Mexico City, where Fukumoto’s father opened another store. Fukumoto moved to the United States to attend high school, returning to Mexico after her graduation to work at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. In 1960, Fukumoto married and later moved to Gardena, California. In this interview, she describes being forced from her home, her life in Mexico City, the Japanese Mexican community there, and how her father, a community leader, was impacted by World War II.
