Densho Digital Archive
Japanese American Museum of San Jose Collection
Title: Eiichi Sakauye Interview
Narrator: Eiichi Sakauye
Interviewer: Jiro Saito
Location: San Jose, California
Date: February 8, 2005
Densho ID: denshovh-seiichi-01-0002

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ES: Then he moved to the United States. And why did he move to the United States?

ES: Well, he worked on the railroad just a little bit, and he said, "Well, this is not for me," so he wanted to be with, amongst his ken people, which meant that he would have to come to San Jose.

JS: Okay, so that's where a lot of the people from Wakayama-ken had come, they preceded him then, huh? So he knew about that.

ES: Right, yes.

JS: Was it his intention, when he came to the United States, to live here permanently, or was he going to make some money and then return to Japan?

ES: Well, his intention was to make a few dollars, then return to Japan.

JS: Okay, so he didn't intend to stay here permanently, then?

ES: No.

JS: When he arrived in the U.S., leaving Vancouver and coming here to, to San Jose area, what type of work did he do?

ES: Well, when he arrived here in San Jose, he arrived Wright's Station, just above Los Gatos, where Lexington Dam is now situated. And he worked on the farm there for a little bit, and then he says he wanted to start something on his own. So that's what brought him to San Jose.

JS: So he worked on, he was a carpenter by trade...

ES: Yes.

JS: ...then he became a farmer.

ES: Well, he worked on the railroad, then came out here and worked on the farm a little bit. And I think he got the taste of the farm, so he wanted to become a farmer.

JS: He had no experience in agriculture before that, then, did he?

ES: Not that I know of. He didn't say anything.

JS: That was pretty brave of him to start something practically new like that. Now, you spoke of Wright's Station. Could you describe what Wright's Station exactly was?

ES: Wright's Station is above Los Gatos on the way to Santa Cruz. Now it's Lexington Dam, that's where a number of small farmers existed there, and the reason it's Wright's Station, because the railroad train arrived at Wright's Station to pick up fruits and haul 'em out of the area.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2005 Densho and The Japanese American Museum of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.