, a native of

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

, was the second Japanese to become a member of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

from Japan. He was also distinguished by serving for many years at the

Baháʼí World Centre The Baháʼí World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Baháʼí Faith, representing sites in or near the cities of Acre and Haifa, Israel. Much of the international governance and coordination of the ...

through many of the heads of the religion from the time of

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 un ...

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...

, the period of the Custodians, and then the

Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate on issues not already addressed in the ...

. While attending school in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

he joined the religion in 1904-5.Interview of Sachiro Fujita
by Sylvia Ioas Later he met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá during his journeys to the West in 1912. Initially Fujita was living in Cleveland working for a Doctor Barton-Peek, a female Baháʼí, but failed to meet ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as he came through. Later on ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's next trip west Fujita caught up with him when he reached Chicago at the home of Corinne True and from there traveled with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to the west coast and back. During the trip there was an incident similar to the well known one of

Louis George Gregory Louis George Gregory (June 6, 1874 – July 30, 1951) was a prominent American member of the Baháʼí Faith who was devoted to its expansion in the United States and elsewhere. He traveled especially in the South to spread his religion as well a ...

in that at a dinner a place at the table was not set for Fujita and ʻAbdu'l-Baha asked for a place be set. Fujita was separated from ʻAbdu'l-Bahá when he left the United States until 1919 when ʻAbdu'l-Bahá offered an invitation for him to serve the interests of the religion in Haifa at the Baháʼí World Centre. During his lifetime two tablets were addressed to Fujita specifically by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Siegfried Schopflocher, who would later be appointed a

Hand of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá, who died in 2007. Hands of ...

, converted to the Baháʼí Faith during a meeting with Fujita in 1921 shortly after the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. From his arrival in Haifa, Fujita would serve the rest of his life there except during the tensions of World War II. At the end of World War II contact was re-established with Fujita after some searching by Michael Jamir and later Fujita was able to return to continue to serve at the Baháʼí World Centre. He attended the first Asian Regional Teaching Conference, held in Nikko, Japan, 1955.The Macau Baháʼí Community in the Early Years
, Compiled by Barbara R. Sims, 1991, page 15-16 Until his death in 1976 he continued to serve in Haifa.Bábí and Baháʼí history
Volume 1 By

Moojan Momen Moojan Momen (b. 1950) is a retired physician and historian specializing in Baháʼí studies who has published numerous books and articles about the Baháʼí Faith and Islam, especially Shia Islam, including for Encyclopædia Iranica the British ...

He is buried in Haifa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujita, Saichirio 1886 births 1976 deaths Japanese Bahá'ís Converts to the Bahá'í Faith 20th-century Bahá'ís

See also

References