May 7. On this date in 1976, Saichiro Fujita, the second Japanese to become a Bahá'í, died in Haifa, Israel.

 

May 7. On this date in 1976, Saichiro Fujita, the second Japanese to become a Bahá'í, died in Haifa, Israel.

Sachiro Fujita was born in Yanai, Japan, on April 15, 1886.

He went to the United States when he was a teenager as he wanted to complete his education there. While he was attending school in Oakland, California in 1905 he was taught the Faith by Kathryn Frankland who also helped to teach Kanichi Yamamoto and his children.

Sachiro Fujita converted to the Bahá'í Faith in 1905. The American Bahá'ís had trouble pronouncing Fujita's name so while there he took the first name, Harriston, but that was eventually dropped.

When 'Abdu'l-Bahá made his trip to America, Fujita met him in Cleveland, where he was working for a Bahá'í doctor. 'Abdu'l-Bahá invited Fujita to travel with him, so Fujita joined the group. Fujita would accompany ‘Abdu'l-Bahá across many American cities including Kenosha, Wisconsin, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, Denver and Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Salt Lake City, Utah, and San Francisco and Stanford, California.

Fujita expressed the desire to go to Palestine with 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and spend the rest of his life serving him. 'Abdu'l-Bahá accepted Fujita's offer but for the next seven years guided Fujita's studies in the United States for the special services that he would do for him. In 1919 Fujita left for Palestine and stayed there until 1938. He helped in many ways: maintaining 'Abdu'l-Bahá's car; installing electric wiring; gardening; and serving pilgrims.

Perhaps one of his greatest services was after the death of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, when Shoghi Effendi left for rest and relaxation in the Bernese Oberland with his cousin Ruhi Afnan. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's sister, Bahiyyih Khanum, took over the affairs of the Faith until Shoghi Effendi returned to Haifa to assume his duties as Guardian of the Faith. As Fujita's English was fluent, he wrote letters at the direction of the Greatest Holy Leaf. 

In 1938, Shoghi Effendi sent to Sachiro Fujita to live with his family in Yamaguchi Prefecture. This happened around the same time that Shoghi Effendi disbanded the Haifa Spiritual Assembly and sent the small Palestinian Bahá'í community, all of them Persians, to leave the territory of Mandatory Palestine and move to Iran.

In 1955, Shoghi Effendi permitted Fujita to return to what had become Israel, where he would continue to work under the Custodians and the Universal House of Justice until his death on May 7, 1976.