Fugetsu-Do (film)

Documentary film on the Fugetsu-Do Japanese confectionery shop in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, narrated by third-generation proprietor Brian Kito. Kito discusses the history of the shop that was founded in 1903 by his grandparents, the decision to take over the shop from his Nisei father, his trials and tribulations as the shop owner, the different kinds of manju and mochigashi the store carries, and the hopes for the future of the shop now that his son has expressed a desire to take it over one day. The film also explores the Kito family's wartime incarceration at Heart Mountain and its long-term impact. Filmmaker Kaia Rose shot the film at the shop itself and at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center , sometimes using archival footage against the backdrop of contemporary scenes.

Fugetsu-Do and the Kito family were featured in an earlier documentary, From a Different Shore: An American Identity (1994).

Rose, a Washington, D.C., based filmmaker, later co-directed Stamp Our Story: Honoring America's Nisei Veterans (2022), about the campaign that led to a postage stamp that pays tribute to Nisei World War II veterans.

Might also like Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm (2015); Lost LA: From Little Tokyo to Crenshaw (2022); Toyo Miyatake: Infinite Shades of Gray (2001)