This image is the cover for the book Sawtelle, Images of America

Sawtelle, Images of America

A 1.48-square-mile piece of unincorporated Los Angeles County when it was annexed by the City of Los Angeles in 1922, tiny Sawtelle has lived very large in the hearts and minds of Japanese Americans. Their homes, livelihoods, religions, businesses, language, and other ethnocentric and social involvements are rooted in the area, with the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle as the cultural nexus. Bisected by Sawtelle Boulevard, this particular Japantown flourished through a close-knit network of immigrants who were denied citizenship until 1952 and were excluded by law from land ownership. Only through second-generation, American-born children could they buy real property. These vintage images�collected from local families, businesses, and organizations�provide rare glimpses into the Japanese immigrant experience in Los Angeles.

Jack Fujimoto Ph.D., ,

Author Jack Fujimoto, Ph.D., is a 50-year resident of Sawtelle. He has been president of the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle and its Japanese language school for more than a decade. He has also served as president of the West L.A. Buddhist Temple, the Japanese American Historical Society of Southern California, and several community colleges. He was the first Nisei to head a mainland U.S. college when he became president of Sacramento City College in 1977.

Arcadia Publishing