They came to San Mateo County as sojourners, a few at a time at first, then by the hundreds and thousands as their dreams in this new land took root. The Japanese who settled in the county just south of San Francisco shared the dreams of many immigrants, seeking a better life.The San Mateo Japanese Americans built a unique community based on family, education, and enterprise that reflected their ethnic roots as well as their American experience. Through personal interviews and rememberances, "Building A Community" tells the story of the early days of the Japanese, their struggles to survive and flourish, their incarceration during World War II in imprisonment camps in the western United States, and rebuilding their lives after the war.