Kajito Kusumoto (Poston 32-14-D) was
born in Gilroy, California in August of 1912 to Japanese immigrants, and was raised
in Hiroshima-ken, Japan when he was 6 years old. Kajito received 8 years of
education in Japan. At the age of 18,
Kajito returned to the U.S. with his brother, Kajizo, both laborers.
Kajito returned to Japan in 1938 and returned the following year, and married
Masumi Yamada. Masumi was born in 1917
in Watsonville, and received 8 years of education in Japan. She returned from Japan to Brawley when she
was 23 years old.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and
signing of Executive Order 9066, Kajito and Masumi Kusumoto were forcibly
evacuated from Watsonville to the Salinas Assembly Center. While detained, Masumi gave birth to Kimi who
was born in May of 1942. Kajito, Masumi, and Kimi, were incarcerated at the Poston,
Arizona concentration camp on June 30,
1942. They lived at Poston camp 1 block 32-14-D with Kajizo's
family. On December 27, 1943, Kajito and his family left the Poston
concentration camp after he gained agriculture employment in Preston, Idaho.
In 1946, Kajito and his family returned to
Watsonville and went into the strawberry business with Johnson Ranch and later
with Clint Miller Farms. He retired in 1985 and two years later, his wife died.
For
the last 14 years, he lived with his oldest daughter, Ida in Mountain View, California. He was a member of the Watsonville Buddhist
Temple and the J.A.C.L.
Kajito Kusumoto died on March 1, 2005, in Santa Cruz at the age of 92 years. He was predeceased by his wife, Masumi (1987); brother Kajizo Kusumoto (2000).
Kajito Kusumoto died on March 1, 2005, in Santa Cruz at the age of 92 years. He was predeceased by his wife, Masumi (1987); brother Kajizo Kusumoto (2000).
He is survived by his daughters, Ida (Bob)
Fujii of Mountain View, and Doris Kusumoto of Orange County; and sons, Robert
(Jane) of Sunnyvale, and Kenneth (Dori) of Watsonville.
Source: Published in San Jose Mercury News on
March 4, 2005
