Foo : A Japanese-American Prisoner of the Rising Sun : The Secret Prison Diary of Frank 'Foo' Fujita (War and the Southwest Series, No 1) [Hardcover]

Frank Fujita (Author), Stanley L. Falk (Author), Robert Wear (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Along with others of his Texas National Guard battalion, Sgt. Frank ("Foo") Fujita was taken prisoner in the Netherlands East Indies in 1942. He was the only Japanese-American combat soldier captured by the Japanese in WW II. During his three-and-a-half year incarceration, Fujita kept a diary, on which this exceptionally interesting memoir is based. He also recounts the suspenseful period when he managed to elude the Japanese while Dutch colonials betrayed GIs to the invaders. Fujita's account of POW life in Japan, his prisoner's view of the B-29 raids on Tokyo, and the story of his liberation, return to civilian life and career as an illustrator with the Air Force are told in vivid and memorable detail. Readers will be impressed with Fujita's ebullience and humor that persisted despite the prolonged ordeal he underwent. A gifted illustrator and cartoonist, his artwork from the period gracefully illuminates the narrative.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Sergeant Fujita was one of only two Americans of Japanese descent captured by the Japanese during World War II. He risked death constantly to keep a diary of his three and a half years of captivity. In the last few years he used those pages as the basis (with some of his excellent drawings) of a more complete narrative of his experiences, and he presents them here. At first he was used as a slave laborer in a Nagasaki shipyard, then he was moved to a small camp near Tokyo, where he and other POWs made short-wave radio broadcasts for their captors. His candid retelling of these experiences is vivid and powerful and, though not sophisticated, presents the portrait of an intelligent and aware observer of life. A recommended memoir for both general reading and World War II collections.
- Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press (March 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929398467
• ISBN-13: 978-0929398464
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Emotional account of a Japanese Prisoner of War., August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Foo : A Japanese-American Prisoner of the Rising Sun : The Secret Prison Diary of Frank 'Foo' Fujita (War and the Southwest Series, No 1) (Hardcover)

Having known Foo since High School days and later being a sister-in-law, I read the original dairy and saw the pictures he drew of the atrocities experienced there in prison. This book is an excellent account of the way it was. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a factual story of what it was like to be in a POW Camp in Japan during World War II.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Memoir, August 1, 2007

By 

John P. Rooney "John" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foo : A Japanese-American Prisoner of the Rising Sun : The Secret Prison Diary of Frank 'Foo' Fujita (War and the Southwest Series, 1) (Paperback)

"Foo, A Japanese-American Prisoner Of The Rising Sun" by Frank "Foo" Fujita, with Stanley L. Falk. Subtitled: "The Secret Prison Dairy of Frank "Foo" Fujita". University of North Texas Press, 1993.

This is an interesting book on many different levels. First, it is the story of a World War II Prisoner Of War. But not just any POW: Frank "Foo" Fujita was a Japanese-American, perhaps the only Japanese-American who was held as a POW in Japan. And, on the third level, "Foo" was a Texan and a member of the Texas National Guard. His unit was called up, to be sent to the south Pacific, and, after the sneak attack, on Pearl Harbor, they were diverted to Australia. The 2nd Battalion, 131st field Artillery was assigned to the defense of the Dutch island of Java, where they were overrun by the Japanese. Most of us have forgotten the American units that were part of the ABDA, American, British, Dutch and Australian forces in this theater, with, perhaps the major exception being the cruiser, the U.S. S. Houston. (See, for example, pages 345-346, where a contemporary "bird-colonel" does not believe that Fujita's unit was never in the Pacific.)

To make the story even more interesting, Sergeant Fujita was an accomplished sketch artist, and he includes contemporary drawings of himself and of the Japanese mistreating POWs. So, on this level, he has enhanced his story visually. His entire diary was in a code of his own fabrication. His diary and his drawings were hidden in a wall of a building in his POW camp; the diary and drawings were recovered after the war. This recovered material makes this book a primary source for the history of Japanese-held POWs.

Excellent primary source supported by explanatory notes supplied by Stanley L. Falk.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Based on his secret prison diary, July 5, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foo : A Japanese-American Prisoner of the Rising Sun : The Secret Prison Diary of Frank 'Foo' Fujita (War and the Southwest Series, 1) (Paperback)

Foo, A Japanese-American Prisoner Of The Rising Sun is the true and riveting account of Frank "Foo" Fujita's experiences of being a Japanese American combat soldier who was captured by the Japanese during the Pacific campaign of World War II during the defense of Java in early 1942. Based on his secret prison diary, we are provided a "window in time" regarding the daily life and experiences of a prisoner of war which vividly recounts the privations of the POWs and the living conditions in Japan. The text is illustrated with drawings, maps and photographs. What is surprising is the humor that was to be found -- even in the midst of the most severe circumstances. Foo, A Japanese-American Prisoner Of The Rising Sun is a unique contribution to the annals of World War II literature and highly recommended for academic, community, and personal library collections.