Unfortunately, the Gem State has attracted at times the undesirable element of racist organizations. Examples of publicized racism in Idaho during the 1980’s to present including Richard Butler and Aryan Nation in North Idaho, Christian identity groups, and various other White national organizations scar the reputation of the Gem State. While these groups may paint a bad image in the minds of many regarding Idaho.

Idaho has an unfortunate history of discrimination again Japanese-Americans. For example, during World War II Idaho’s Governor Chase Clark was active nationally in promoting the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans in camps such as the Minidoka War Relocation Center.[2]

However, there are examples of Idahoans welcoming Japanese-Americans. Masayoshi Fujimoto kept a diary for many of the years of his life growing up and farming in the Rexburg, Idaho, area. Fujimoto grew up in a Japanese-speaking family; after his birth in Rexburg, he was sent back for schooling in his parent’s native Japan. Because of his limited exposure to English, he was picked on by his peers in high school when he returned to Idaho. His diaries record that his English teacher Alvin Thomas, “ was ready to punish anyone who picked on me, being not able to speak English.”[3] This event helped Fujimoto feel safe and a part of the larger Rexburg community.

Miye Hikidu, who grew up in Tyhee, on the outskirts of Pocatello, shared in an interview a very similar experience to that of Fujimoto. Hikidu remembered the Irving Grade School principal, Dan Martin, who during World War II called in all 13 Japanese-American students. He wanted to make sure they were not being picked on by other students, and to ask them to report any bullying.[5]

Fujimoto was not the only Japanese-American student to feel included at their school. Kazu Kawamura, who also grew up in Tyhee, recalled feeling accepted at school by teachers and students. She stated in an interview, “I just thought that we belonged there...”.[6]

In 1946 Fujimoto returned to Rexburg and started a family and worked on his uncle’s farm. While he had close ties to the Japanese-American community in the Rexburg area, ties outside the Japanese-American community began to become more important over time. Two forces seem to have played a significant role in Fujimoto’s increasing relationships: commerce, and religion.

As Fujimoto established his own farm separate from that of his uncle, he began to have economic needs which could not be satisfied by the small Japanese community in and around Rexburg. He began to develop relationships with financial institutions in the Rexburg area for loans to buy equipment. Fujimoto also began to work with other non-Japanese-American farmers, exchanging and sharing labor and resources in support of each other’s farming operations.

Japanese-Americans gaining acceptance due to commercial relationships was not just limited to Rexburg. Mary Endo in an interview talked about growing up in Pocatello, Idaho. Endo’s father was a dentist. Due to his professional status he developed friendships with the city’s mayor and many business and community leaders.

One does not typically think typically of Rexburg, Idaho, as a heterogeneous community. The vast majority of the community are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, few realize that 14 different ethnic groups settled the Rexburg area.[9] In 1953 Fujimoto joined that church. Due to being part of that religion, he enacted with many different people in his area who were not members of the Japanese-American community and made business and social contacts he would have not otherwise made.

Miye Hikidu, in speaking about her later life in Rexburg also indicated that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints played an important role in helping Japanese-Americans assimilate to the predominate culture. According to Hikidu the role of Japanese-American groups such as the Japanese American Citizen League diminished. As she put it, “The Church was filling their needs.” [10]

While discrimination is still a problem in Idaho, the story of some Japanese-Americans paints a different tale. Many Japanese-Americans found mid-20^th century Idaho to be a welcoming place during an era of discrimination.

About the Author: Dan Cravens teaches at Idaho State University's College of Business and directs Bengal Solutions, a business consulting program at the college. He holds a Master of Arts in Government from Regent University, a Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University School of Law, and a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Argosy University - Salt Lake City. Currently, the author is a part-time student in Idaho State University's Master of Arts program in History.