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JS: This is a visual history interview with Eiichi Edward Sakauye, whose family has owned and operated a farm in San Jose, California, since the early 1900s. The interview, titled, "Eiichi Sakauye: A Lifetime of Farming," is being conducted by Jiro Saito and is taking place on February 8, 2005, at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, 535 North Fifth Street, San Jose, California. The interview is funded by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program. Thank you, Mr. Sakauye, for taking the time to participate in this interview today.

[Interruption]

JS: I'd like to start the interview with some background information about your father. What was your father's name and where was he born?

ES: My father's name was Yuwakichi Sakauye, born in Okayama-ken, Japan.

JS: And how old was he when he left Japan?

ES: He was twenty-six years of age.

JS: Oh, so he was an adult when he, pretty well an adult when he left.

ES: Yes.

JS: And what was his reason for leaving?

ES: Well, just like the rest of the immigrants; to seek adventure and have a future for himself.

JS: What, was he living on a farm, or what kind of occupation was he involved in at that time?

ES: He was a carpenter by trade, but he felt that that's into what he wanted to do, when everybody is immigrating to the United States, but he liked to try his luck in the United States, or like the other immigrants, to make success.

JS: Do you know if he had any idea of what type of work he was going to do when he got here?

ES: No, he had no idea. He had no idea as to what his friends, or persons of Japanese ancestry, were doing here.

JS: Did he come by himself, or did he come with a group of people?

ES: He came by himself, amongst, he was one amongst a group.

JS: Okay, and did he come directly to the U.S., or did he come by way of Canada or Mexico?

ES: He came by way of Vancouver, British Columbia.

JS: Did he stay in Vancouver for any length of time?

ES: Very short time.

JS: And what was he doing in Vancouver?

ES: Well, Vancouver, he worked in the railroad for a very short time.

JS: And this was in 1900 that he came, is that correct?

ES: Yes, early 1900.

JS: Okay.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2005 Densho and The Japanese American Museum of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.