Group Media & Photos
Monkey pod tray in shape of a leaf with inscription on bottom, carved by Masami Furukawa. JCCH/Masami Furukawa Collection.
Bottom of monkey pod tray in shape of a leaf with inscription, “Interned on March 11th, 1943,” carved by Masami Furukawa. JCCH/Masami Furukawa Collection.
Honouliuli Internment Camp, Oahu Island
Tule Lake Segregation Center, California
11月 1944 - 2月 1946
Returned to Hawaii
February 1946
Masami Furukawa, born in Honolulu, was one of three sons of Kurakichi and Jimi Furukawa. Masami was sent to Japan to receive an education and returned to Hawaii in 1940 at age 20.
The Furukawa brothers suffered different fates during World War II: Tsuyoshi, the eldest, served in the 100th Infantry Battalion and was killed in action in Salerno, Italy in November 1943; he was postumously awarded the Purple Heart. Masami was arrested and interned, and Kasuma served in the Japanese Army in Manchuria.
After the war, Masami returned to Hawaii, where he met and married Ruby Toshiko Yano. They had two sons. Masami worked as a mechanic for 36 years and died in 2010.