Japanese Doll Collection

The Japanese doll collection, located on the first floor of the library, belonged to Anita Shepardson who taught math at Fullerton Union High School and Fullerton College from 1913 to 1945. After her death in 1945, her family presented the doll collection to the college. The dolls reflect Anita Shepardson’s ties with the Japanese community and Fullerton College. During a time in Orange County when Japanese and Japanese Americans were sometimes faced with anti-Japanese sentiments and segregation, Ms. Shepardson strove to promote cultural understanding and friendship between students. She organized and sponsored the Japanese Club for Japanese students at Fullerton Union High School and Fullerton Junior College. The club presented Fullerton Junior College with a landscaped Japanese garden. Extracurricular activities were common because Ms. Shepardson took Japanese students on field trips to the Huntington Library, Red Rock Canyon and other areas of educational and cultural interest.

Anita Shepardson promoted Japanese arts and culture by organizing Japanese folk dances, flower arranging or other events on campus through her numerous contacts in the Japanese community. Students would remember that Ms. Shepardson displayed the Japanese dolls in March to celebrate Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival or Girls’ Festival). Traditionally on this day, girls celebrate girlhood at parties with delicacies such as rice cakes and mild rice wine as they receive best wishes for health and happiness from friends and relatives. In Japan, a set of hina dolls are displayed to celebrate Hina Matsuri. A full set of these special dolls consists of fifteen dolls dressed in costumes from the Heian Period (794-1185). A typical set includes the emperor and empress, three ladies-in-waiting, three guards, two ministers, and five musicians. They are normally displayed on a tiered stand with miniature furniture and household items with the imperial couple on the highest tier.

Besides her activities on campus, Ms. Shepardson was active in the International Relations Club of Fullerton and the Japan-America Society of Los Angeles. Because of her involvement with the Japanese community, Ms. Shepardson was invited to go to Japan in 1938 on a tour sponsored by the Japanese consulate and members of the Japanese community. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Ms. Shepardson continued to be a friend and supporter of the Japanese community. She made numerous trips to the Poston internment center where most of the Orange County Japanese were incarcerated.

The Japanese doll collection is on display in remembrance of an instructor who dedicated her life to her students and worked to promote understanding between two cultures.