Agriculture
Many Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants) began as sharecroppers. Others sought to buy land, but the Issei had to overcome obstacles preventing them from competing with white farmers. California and other states passed alien land laws prohibiting Asian immigrants from purchasing or leasing agricultural land. There were ways around the discriminatory laws: an Issei father could put the property in the name of his American-born child, or issei could form corporations in which a majority of the shareholders were American citizens. Despite the alien land laws, Issei farmers played a significant role in West Coast agriculture. In the years just prior to World War II, Japanese American families grew 35 percent of the produce in California. By the 1920s, Japanese Americans supplied 75 percent of the produce and half the milk to the Puget Sound region.
Industry and employment
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Agriculture
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Related articles from the
Densho Encyclopedia :
Seabrook Farms
810 items
810 items
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Orchard (ddr-densho-357-106)
Four unidentified people sit on the back of a car in an orchard. Original caption is illegible.
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Farm group panorama (ddr-densho-394-29)
Panoramic photograph of a group at a farm. Written on the back of the photograph is "Inouye Family Farm 1910 Tatsuo is the infant."
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Japanese countryside (ddr-densho-397-158)
The caption in the photo album reads "Countryside Sendai". A tilled field near Sendai on the northern portion of Honshu island. Takashi Matsui was stationed in Japan with the U.S. military during the Allied occupation of Japan after the end of World War II.
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Sansei baby (ddr-densho-325-400)
Eddie Horiuchi Written on back of the photograph "Nov. '50 1 yr. old Uratsu's Orchard"
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Current view of barn on former Issei dairy farm (ddr-densho-35-37)
An Issei couple operated a large dairy farm in a town formerly known as Days, Washington. The property line extended beyond the area shown here. With the advent of World War II, they were forced to sell their property for a fraction of its worth. This is the barn previously owned by the couple. Days, Washington …
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Current view of farmhouse on former Issei dairy farm (ddr-densho-35-34)
An Issei couple operated a large dairy farm in a town formerly known as Days, Washington. The 1,300 acre farm also included valuable timber that grew on the property. With the advent of World War II, the couple was forced to sell their farm for a fraction of its worth. This is the original farmhouse that …
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Current view of barn on former Issei dairy farm (ddr-densho-35-35)
An Issei couple operated a large dairy farm in a town formerly known as Days, Washington. With the advent of World War II, the they were forced to sell their farm for a fraction of its worth. This is the barn that housed most of the cows once owned by couple. Days, Washington no longer exists. …
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Current view of barn on former Issei dairy farm (ddr-densho-35-48)
An Issei couple operated a large dairy farm in a town formerly known as Days, Washington. The 1,300 acre farm had a property line that extended beyond the area shown here. With the advent of World War II, the couple was forced to sell their property for a fraction of its worth. This is part of …
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Current view of former Issei dairy farm (ddr-densho-35-36)
An Issei couple operated a large dairy farm in a town formerly known as Days, Washington. The property line extended beyond the area shown here. With the advent of World War II, they were forced to sell their property for a fraction of its worth. This is the original barn and house previously owned by the …
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Current view of barn on former Issei dairy farm (ddr-densho-35-46)
An Issei couple operated a large dairy farm in a town formerly known as Days, Washington. The farm was 1,300 acres. The property line extended beyond the area shown here. With the advent of World War II, the couple was forced to sell their property for a fraction of its worth. This is the interior of …
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Letter from Uhachi Tamesa to H.E. Nims (ddr-densho-333-11)
Letter of thanks for shipment of Japanese pears
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Soto Rd and Orchard Ave (ddr-densho-357-282)
Hanako Terakawa's caption: "View from top of tank, Soto Road + Orchard Ave."
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Report on Rohwer Relocation Planning Commission trip to Rio Grande Valley (ddr-densho-379-240)
Chimata Sumida puts forward to the Rohwer community that the Lower Rio Grande Valley would be a good place for resettlement especially for Japanese Americans interested in farming.
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Photo of a horse and a boy working in a field (ddr-densho-483-161)
Sepia photo of a boy with a harnessed horse in the middle of a recently ploughed field.
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Farmhouse with lane leading to it (ddr-densho-483-629)
Inscription on photo front: August, 1936. Caption below photo: Aki
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Two Japanese Americans picking strawberries (ddr-densho-2-26)
Shown here are Peggie Yorita and Sho Nakagawa of the Yamashita Shipping Company in a strawberry field.
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Woman in a tomato field (ddr-densho-2-21)
Peggie Yorita holds a bucket of tomatoes from her parents' farm.
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Photo of two women (ddr-densho-483-163)
Sepia photo of two women standing in a field. Caption on album page: "1930" written in white ink
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Form No. CL. 1: Claim for Damage to or Loss of Real or Personal Property by a Person of Japanese Ancestry (ddr-densho-483-67)
Claim filed by Fukuyama family for damages and lost property during World War II incarceration. Claim filed for $1106. Approved for $829 on 11/1/25.
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Christmas letter (ddr-densho-483-132)
Christmas letter from Tsutomu Fukuyama to family friends. The letter describes Christmas at Minidoka, housing conditions following transfers from Tule Lake and Manzanar, the agricultural impacts of the boll weaver, and the resettlement of Nisei Christians.