Sugino, Chica, 1898-1986

Biography / Administrative History

Chica Sugino was an Issei research analyst for Alexander Leighton, head of the WRA's Sociological Research Bureau at Poston. Her research contributed to Leighton's book, The Governing of Men, one of the first monographs published on the Japanese American wartime experience.

Born Chica Tadakuma in 1888 in Taiwan, Sugino spent most of her early childhood in Japan. In 1906, she and her family came to the United States where her father worked as a cobbler and her mother as a teacher and seamstress. With the family struggling financially, in 1915, Sugino's father arranged for her and her older sister to take ballet lessons in the hopes that they would be able to earn a living performing on stage. Unsuccessful in vaudeville, Sugino and her sister traveled to Hollywood to find work in movies and to establish themselves as performers. Sugino's career as an entertainer was cut short, however, when her sister eloped in 1917.

Leaving show business behind her, Sugino attended USC on a scholarship, where she studied sociology and graduated in 1924. That same year she married Kenzo Arthur Sugino, one of the first practicing Issei optometrists in Little Tokyo. Together, the couple had three children: Arthur (aka Techy) in 1925, Paul in 1927, and Elizabeth in 1931. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, their family life was disrupted when Kenzo was arrested by the FBI and incarcerated at the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) center in Tujunga as an alien enemy. Sugino and her children were forced to relocate to Poston, Arizona where Kenzo eventually joined them. During her time at Poston, Sugino worked as a research analyst for the Sociological Research Bureau, simultaneously earning course credit from the University of Chicago's graduate program in sociology. After she and her family returned to Los Angeles, Sugino was active in the Women's Welfare Service program, organizing donations of old stockings to provide work for women in Japan. At the age of 88, Sugino passed away in 1986.

Chica Sugino was an Issei research analyst for Alexander Leighton, head of the War Relcoation Authority's Sociological Research Bureau at Poston, Ariz. Her research contributed to Leighton's book, "The Governing of Men," one of the first monographs published on the Japanese American wartime experience. Born Chica Tadakuma in 1898 in Taiwan, Sugino spent most of her early childhood in Japan. In 1906, she and her family came to the U.S., where her father worked as a cobbler and her mother as a teacher and seamstress. With the family struggling financially, in 1915, Sugino's father arranged for her and her older sister to take ballet lessons in the hopes that they would be able to earn a living performing on stage. Unsuccessful in vaudeville, Sugino and her sister traveled to Hollywood to find work in movies and to establish themselves as performers. After this did not work out, she attended USC on a scholarship, where she studied sociology and graduated in 1924. That same year she married Kenzo Arthur Sugino, one of the first practicing Issei optometrists in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles). Together, the couple had three children. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, their family life was disrupted when Kenzo was arrested by the FBI and incarcerated at the INS center in Tujunga (a neighborhood of L.A.) as an enemy alien. Sugino and her children were forced to relocate to Poston, Ariz., where Kenzo eventually joined them. During her time at Poston, she worked as a research analyst for the Sociological Research Bureau, simultaneously earning course credit from the University of Chicago's graduate program in sociology. After she and her family returned to L.A., Sugino was active in the Women's Welfare Service program, organizing donations of old stockings to provide work for women in Japan. Sugino died in 1986.