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Jugoro Ishii Poultry Ranch

Larry Ishii

Jugoro Ishii was born May 8, 1887, the third son of Hisakichi and Toku (Chiyoda) Ishii, in Karashima Tanushimaru, which is now part of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan (on the southern island of Kyushu). A second son, Tsunezou, died at age seven, leaving Kyutaro and Jugoro as the two oldest. Thus, at one point and being the oldest living sons, they had to leave the home and go out on their own.

Being the oldest, Kyutaro left Japan first and went to Hawaii. Jugoro intended to follow his older brother to the United States. But by the time Jugoro was ready, his entry into the U.S. was impeded by the Asian Exclusion laws and prejudice against Asians. But undaunted, Jugoro persisted and at first went to Mexico where he spent a few years. He finally entered the U.S. via El Paso on August 8, 1907, with a plan to join his older brother (who by this time had come to the U.S. mainland and settled in the Talbert area of Orange County, California).

Jugoro did make his way to Talbert and reunited with Kyutaro, joining with his brother in farming. In 1912, Kyutaro returned to Japan and married Sada Nakamura. Jugoro went back to Japan the following year and on October 27, 1913, married Mumeno Kanegae, who lived in Kaneshima, a neighboring village to Tanushimaru. It was almost as if Kyutaro and Jugoro worked as a sort of “tag team” returning to Japan one after the other: one seeking a wife while the other watched over the farming at home.

It is interesting to note, however, that the land that Hisakichi Ishii (their father) farmed in Japan is still owned by the family – for five generations now. Hisakichi was a rice farmer and rice is still grown on the family land today. Currently, a great granddaughter of Hisakichi, Hisami Ishii and her husband, Noriyoshi, (who had to take the “Ishii” last name) live in the Ishii home and farm the land.

By late 1918, Jugoro moved his growing family to the growing community of Norwalk in Los Angeles County. There, he rented land at what is today the well known “Five Points/Norwalk Square” area and grew sugar beets. By 1924, his family included five children: Mary, George, Frank, Lily, and John.

But Jugoro had bigger goals in mind – the American dream. He moved the family to another location in Norwalk on Carmenita Road and started a poultry ranch, selling eggs. Being a poor immigrant whose mastery of English was virtually nonexistent for his entire life, Jugoro never borrowed money to pay for anything: land, cars, homes, farm equipment, etc. He saved and paid for everything in cash. He bought the land (a bit over ten acres) on Carmenita Road but because of the laws of the time, as an Asian alien, he could not himself take title to land. Thus, he had to buy the land in the names of his American-born children who were citizens, Mary and George. (That law, incidentally, was not repealed until AFTER WWII in 1952.)

World War II was for Jugoro and his family, as it was for all West Coast people of Japanese descent, a most traumatic experience. Once he and Kyutaro realized what was going to happen, the brothers formed a plan. Jugoro found a friend to run the poultry ranch during the family’s “internment” and took his family to Talbert. That way, both families would evacuate at the same time and be at the same internment camp together – Poston, Arizona. Frank, however, was already serving in the U.S. Army and remained on active duty for the duration of the War. Upon returning to California after the War, Jugoro was very fortunate, in that the family was able to get the poultry ranch back and resume operations. Most other Japanese-American families, however, were not so fortunate.

More specifically, coming out of Poston in 1944, most of the family initially went to Colorado because they could not come back to the West Coast because the War was still in progress. According to War Relocation Authority records, as of January, 1944: Jugoro, Mumeno, and Lily were in Ft. Lupton (where Jugoro was picking sugar beets) and Mary and John in Denver (living at different locations). Frank was in still the Army located at Camp Howze, Texas. George, however, had not been living at home when the War broke out and had been sent to the internment camp at Rohwer, Arkansas. When he left camp, George went to Dayton, Ohio, trying to get employment in the aircraft industry.

The story of George Ishii is an interesting “sidebar” in and of itself. When the War broke out, he was employed as chief engineer at an aircraft manufacturer in Van Nuys, California, Philips Aviation. Obviously, he was forced to leave that job – against the fierce objections of the president of that company, James Philips. George was actually one of the pioneers in the aviation industry. He knew Bill Boeing (yes, that one) and Jack Northrup (before there was a Northrup Corporation), and Herman “Fish” Salmon, Lockheed’s lead test pilot of the time. But his career was dashed. Upon, release from Rowher, he was hired – apparently mistakenly – at a bomber modification plant in Vidalia, Ohio (near Dayton), and fired as soon as they figured out he was Japanese-American. The U.S. Army forced Northwest Airlines (who operated the plant) to fire George. Despite several letters from experts and his previous employer as to his qualifications and loyalty to the United States, he could not get employment in any aviation related job during that time. Ironically, after the war, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corp at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska.

John was drafted in January, 1945 and served in the U.S. Army with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, arriving in Italy in spring of 1945. He returned home in 1946, and initially went back to Colorado. When evacuation hit, John was in the middle of his senior year at Excelsior High School. Thus, he was not there for graduation ceremonies and, I am told, his diploma was mailed to him at Poston.

After WWII, and their discharge from the U.S. Army, both Frank and John joined with Jugoro working the poultry ranch. John raised his family in the original family house on Carmenita Road while Jugoro built a new home just down the road. The poultry ranch operated successfully until 1967 when suburban “sprawl” into the outlying areas of Los Angeles County made it too difficult to continue farming in that area but Jugoro was not to be deterred.

In 1959, Jugoro had invested $200,000 in a 40-plus acre piece of property in Oceanside – paying, as always, in cash. With the end of the poultry ranch in Norwalk, the family sold the land and formed a new corporation. This new family business entered the mobile home park community business. At first, the land was leased to parties that owned and operated Laguna Vista Mobile Home Estates on the land. Then in 2013, the family acquired Laguna Vista, completing Jugoro’s dream.

Throughout the years, the Jugoro Ishii family was an extremely close-knit family, gathering to celebrate, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and New Years Day. Including the early years with Kyutaro’s side, gathering for Thankgiving and Christmas Eve went on for over 100 years – over three generations. During their lives Jugoro and Mumemo were held in very esteem by all of the family and friends. Today, the Jugoro Ishii family still has annual reunions. And, every other year, there are reunions between the Kyutaro and Jugoro Ishii sides. Also, Auntie Kuni, is now 103, and we celebrate her birthday with gatherings that include both sides of the family. In April, 2022, Auntie Samie turned 100.

In retirement, Jugoro and Mumeno moved off the land on Carmenita to a home in a quiet neighborhood near Norwalk Park. There, they continued have a vegetable garden, fruit trees, and most importantly a koi pond. Mumeno crocheted beautiful tablecloths for her daughters, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters and won awards for her efforts.

Jugoro passed away in August, 1976, and Mumeno in July, 1989. They were married 63 years. Their long and loving marriage served as a wonderful example: their sons were all married over fifty years: George & Mary for 58; Frank & Samie for 62, and John & Toyo for 57 years. A grandson, Larry and wife, Georganne, have been married for 53 years. Jugoro has one great grandson, Jeffrey, and two great-great grandsons, Jordan and Jaret, that carry on the “Ishii” name.

Jeffrey is a baseball scout for the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team and (pre-pandemic) would travel to Japan twice a season to scout players. That did enable him to sometimes make his way to Fukuoka to watch players for the Hawks or opposing teams. This also enabled Jeffrey to be in contact with certain of the Ishii relatives. Jeffrey, Jordan, and Jaret have all learned to speak Japanese and can read Japanese as well.

While Jugoro was alive, he made three only three trips back to his homeland: the first time to marry Mumeno, another in 1934 (to bring Mary back home and at which time he took John), and lastly in 1957 with Mumeno. Otherwise, contact with the family was only by written letter or later by telephone.

In recent years, our family members from California in the have been able to meet with family in the “old country” in 2017 and in 2019. Georganne Ishii, the wife of grandson, Larry, has become the genealogist and historian of the family and through her efforts, the vast majority of this history has been compiled and saved for the benefit of those living and our posterity. To this end, great thanks is due Georganne for her efforts so that this history and opportunity has not been lost.

Thankfully, we have a cousin, Masamitsu Ishii, in Japan (that fluently speaks English) that Georganne communicates with regularly and as a result, she organized three trips to Japan: in 2015 and the two mentioned above. The first meeting in 2015, was before a cruise that Georganne and Larry took at which time they met with Masamitsu and his family in Yokohama and discussed the possibility of having a reunion at a later date in Fukuoka.

In 2017, that first reunion became reality in Fukuoka at which Larry, Georganne, Karie (Ishii) Lasko (granddaughter of Jugoro), Adrienne (Lasko) Chamberlain (great granddaughter of Jugoro), Jeffrey Ishii, and Jaret Ishii met with many of the Ishii family descendants.

Then in 2019, a second and larger reunion took place also in Fukuoka at which time the following attended from California: Larry Ishii, Georganne Ishii, Karie Lasko, Nina (Martin) Nagel (granddaughter of Jugoro), Debbie (Ishii) Chiya (granddaughter of Jugoro), and Candace Chiya (great granddaughter of Jugoro). Attending from the Kyutaro side were: Donna (Ishii) Chiamori (granddaughter of Kyutaro); Erin (Chiamori) Takemoto (great granddaughter of Kyutaro) and husband, Mark; Erin’s daughters, Emiko and Megumi (great great granddaughters of Kyutaro); Andrea (Chiamori) Arakawa (great granddaughter of Kyutaro) and husband, Tatsumi; Andrea’s sons, Keiren, Kojorio, and Keizo (great great grandsons of Kyutaro); Anthony Ishii (grandson of Kyutaro) and wife, Jeanette; Michael Ishii (great grandson of Kyutaro) and his fiance, Sky Shields.

Jugoro was well respected and known in the community. I remember very old family friends. There were the Franciosi’s that grew flowers and lived across Carmenita from the poultry ranch. There were the Pellitier’s who lived north of the poultry ranch on Carmenita. So close were the families that we called the elderly Mrs. Pellitier “Grandma” Pellitier. Then there were the Tripepi’s who had the car wash in town. When the new Norwalk City Hall was opened, Jugoro had his name on a plaque as a contributor to its building.

Jugoro and Mumeno could not have imagined what their legacy would eventually be nor what they would leave behind for the generations that would follow. It has been a truly amazing story – the American Dream!

Jugoro Ishii Family: Jugoro standing, Mumeno sitting; children from left: Mary, John (in Mumeno's lap), Lily, Frank, George

Jugoro Ishii Farm House, Carmenita Road, Norwalk, California; c. 1930

Ishii rice fields, Japan: from left: Masamitsu Ishii, Noriyoshi Ishii, Georganne Ishii, Hisami Ishii, Adienne Chamberlain, Karie Lasko

Kyutaro and Jugoro Ishii Combined Family Reunion, 2017 in Anaheim, California

Ishii Family Reunion in Fukuoka, Japan in 2017

Ishii family crest (mon) on headstone at family cemetery in Tanushimaru village

Aerial view of Jugoro Ishii poultry ranch (taken in early 1960's)

Hamada Family nurseries: Blossom City, Garden City, Batavia Garden

By Ellen Crane • 30 Apr, 2021
At the turn of the 20th century Yasaburo Hamada came to America from Jigozen, Hiroshima, at the age of 15. A man of small statue and a quick temper, “Harry” Hamada was adept in judo and kendo and was not afraid to use his skills. One family story recounts a job he had in San Francisco in the basement of a building. He argued with his boss and walked off the job. The next day the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake happened and buildings everywhere collapsed killing thousands including the people in the basement of Yasaburo’s building. At the age of 38, after more than twenty years in the U.S., Yasaburo returned to Hiroshima to find a wife. He was recommended to the beautiful youngest daughter of a prosperous farming family, Shiki Nagaoka. Shiki’s older sister had left several years earlier to marry a man in Hawai’i and she was also open to going to America. Shiki agreed to marry Yasaburo, 18 years her senior. She recalls the initial meeting he had with her father where she was expected to serve tea. Too afraid to even look at him, Shiki didn’t know what Yasaburo looked like until after she consented to marry him. They wed in Japan in 1920 and left for the U.S. soon after. Their son, Ben, was born in 1921 in Hollywood. Two more children followed, Namiye in 1923 and George in 1925. Ben recalls living in various places in Southern California: San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, San Pedro. They family worked hard at various endeavors but gravitated to farming and the nursery busines. Yasaburo, a man of many talents, had a gift for growing, not just plants, but animals too. Namiye remembers moving a lot but said they always had nice houses. The family spent the war years in internment camps, initially in Jerome, Arkansas, and later at Tule Lake, California, camp for the infamous “No-No Boys.” After the war, like everyone else coming out of camp, the Hamada’s worked hard to make a living. By then, Namiye was married to Manabu Okada who farmed with his brothers Taka and Shigeru. Yasaburo and Shiki had various jobs and 24-year-old Ben worked as a gardener, using trimmings to propagate new plants. Through their friends, the Gotos, who had a thriving flower shop in Montebello, the Hamada’s arranged to open a nursery next to the shop on Beverly Blvd, and called it Blossom City Nursery . Meanwhile, Ben who also wanted to farm, leased land in Huntington Beach on Talbert Ave. and Beach Blvd, while still helping his parents with Blossom City. By then he was married to Masako and they eventually had four children: Ellen, Ron, Kent and Joanne. The family’s nursery business was joined by George and his wife, Hazel, in 1950 when they returned from Chicago, baby Karen in tow, soon to be followed by Gerry, Teri and Parry. In 1953 the family purchased four acres in Garden Grove on Harbor Blvd and opened Garden City Nursery . The thriving business supported Ben and George’s families, Yasaburo and Shiki. They remained there until 1963 when the nursery was forced to move because of the construction of the Garden Grove Freeway. Garden City Nursery relocated to East Chapman Ave, Orange, in 1963. In 1971 brothers Ben and George parted ways and took ownership of separate properties and nurseries. George and Hazel continued operating Garden City and Ben and Masako opened Batavia Garden Nursery next to their home in Orange. Garden City Nursery closed in 1987. Batavia Garden Nursery remained in business until 2019, operated initially by Ben and Masako and and their children, Ron, Kent and Joanne.

Sakuma Farm

29 Apr, 2021
In 1907 Takeo Sakuma left Kyushu, Japan to go to America. He moved to Bainbridge Island, west of Seattle and began farming; taking the ferry he sold produce at terminal markets and Pike’s Place Market. Returning to Japan, he married Nobu in 1914, immigrated in 1915 and they started a family. Takeo became known for strawberries, challenging due to growing conditions on Bainbridge Island. The fertile Skagit Valley near Burlington was recommended as ideal for strawberries. Atsusa Sakuma moved to Burlington in 1935. Atsusa was the oldest Nisei, first born in the U.S., and first to grow berries in Skagit Valley. One by one, Atsusa’s brothers moved to Skagit after high school to help with harvesting. In 1941 the brothers farming in Burlington supported the family remaining on Bainbridge Island. Then Pearl Harbor was attacked in December. The Sakuma family was imprisoned at Manzanar in March. In June the brothers from Burlington were ordered to Tule Lake (northern California), five hundred miles from the rest of the family. While family was treated as the enemy, three of eight Sakuma boys joined the famed 442 nd Infantry Regiment. Three other sons served with the MIS. After the war, the Sakuma family returned to Bainbridge, but their property was lost, so they moved to Burlington. During the war, their farm was maintained by the Oscar Mapes family—a never forgotten act of kindness. With success, the brothers went into the certified plant business in 1948. They provided the start for strawberry farmers throughout the West Coast. Two brothers in Redding, northern California, ran the growing Norcal Nursery around 1970. Norcal acreage covered Oregon and California. The Sansei generation started management from 1997 until 2000 when the last Nisei retired. Bryan, Glenn, and Richard managed Washington operations; Ron and John managed California operations. The Sakumas entered fruit processing in 1990, and Sakuma Brothers Processing, Inc. began in 1997. Since 1997, plant propagation, research, commercial operations and sales, berry and fruit farming, harvesting and beginning a fruit stand. Sakuma berries sell throughout the U.S. and worldwide. 2004 brought the first female board member and first Yonsei to the business. The tradition of excellence continues today. The new generation is committed as the first to their corporate vision: “Honoring our past, growing our future.”

Kayano Farms Inc.

By Tommy Kayano • 21 Feb, 1970
In the late 1950’s a small farm was started in the Westminster area of Orange County, CA. It was a farm consisting of three families. it was made up of the Nakatani family, Hashiba family and the Kayano family. It was known at the time as NHK Farms. As the families grew and got older they eventually split into three separate farms, Nakatani Farms, Hashiba Farms and around 1970 Kayano Farms was started by Hajime and Noriko Kayano. Hajime’s family came from Okayama, Japan while Noriko Nakatani’s family were from Hiroshima, Japan. Coming to the United States by way of Seattle they eventually settled in Downey, CA. WWII came and they were interned in Rowher, Arkansas. Kayano Farms was based in Westminster, CA but had plots of land that they worked in Garden Grove, Stanton, and Riverside. Growing primarily leaf lettuce the operation eventually downsized and opened a roadside stand at the Westminster location. The farm and roadside stand stood until 2011 before it was permanently shutdown .

T. Ohara Farm

By Lisa Ohara • 11 May, 1968
Toyoaki Ohara was born in Japan on December 7, 1903. He came to America at the age of 16 and worked as a gardener for Fox Studios. When he saved enough money, he married Teruko Kuboyama in 1934. In the 1930s they started to grow flowers in Inglewood, CA. When WWII started they were put in a concentration camp in Rohwer, AK. When the war was over, they returned to California and had to start over. They started growing flowers in Harbor City, CA on leased land. Here they grew stock, aster, and lochspur. Toyoaki and Teruko Ohara had six children – Sachiko (Susie), Toshiaki (Tom), Yoko, Teruaki (Ted), Etsuko (Patsy), and Masaki (Roy). In 1950 the family bought some land in Orange County and started to grow chrysanthemums under cheesecloth, and later in plastic greenhouses. In 1968 brothers, Tom and Ted, bought the flower business from their dad and leased his property while they looked for their own land. In 1979 Tom and Ted bought 10 acres of land in Anaheim, CA. Here they built 250,000 sq ft of steel greenhouses and a few saran ones and grew chrysanthemums, china, pom poms, and spiders all year round. They had a side crop of stephanotises, myrtle, and ivy. Even though Tom and Ted owned the business, it was still very much a family affair. Grandma, Susie, and Barbara (Ted’s wife) worked on the farm. Grandpa and Grandma lived in a house on the property (Tom lived in a separate house on the other end). Ted took the flowers to the Southern California Flower Market three times a week. They farmed on this land until 2004 when they sold their property under imminent domain to the Orange County Water District and were forced into early retirement.

Takahashi Farms

By Faith Ishibashi • 22 Apr, 1964
Henry Takahashi graduated from Garden Grove High School and began strawberry farming in Garden Grove in 1964. A son of a farming family who grew various vegetables in Cypress, he concurred with other farmers that the most profitable crop to grow in Garden Grove, because the soil and temperature were both right, was strawberries. Not having any background in strawberries, Henry turned to Paul Murata for guidance, and within a year, Henry was a successful strawberry farmer. Henry says farming has changed through the years. As a farmer, he was not just a grower, but also a mechanic, carpenter, truck driver, horticulturist, pesticide specialist, welder, truck driver, human resource manager, accountant, and more. Henry Takahashi retired from farming in 1972 and now resides in Fullerton. The family has many stories to tell, such as actor James Colburn's mother lived over the fence ®gularly bought strawberries to give to her son. Their farming days were full of many wonderful memories.

Mitsuuchi Farms

By Marti Hosoda • 22 Apr, 1963
Strawberry farming meant a steady income for Roy and Nancy Mitsuuchi, who began farming strawberries in Santa Ana in 1963. The Mitsuuchi found that the sandy soil was ideal for strawberry farming and eventually all their farming was switched to strawberry growing. Prior to strawberries, the Mitsuuchis farmed beans, celery, cauliflower, and tomatoes. The strawberries the Mitsuuchi harvested by the efforts of family and migrant workers were sold at their stand, to various restaurants and to the co-ops.

Sakamoto Farms

By Ann Imayanagita • 22 Apr, 1961
Haruki and Shizu Sakamoto began strawberry farming in Garden Grove in 1961, while continuing to work on the Fountain Valley farm of their relatives Paul and Hatsuye Nagamatsu. The Sakamoto farm in Garden Grove was small and was handled by the family and a couple of migrant workers. For over 30 years, Teruko Shimoda drove from Los Angeles every weekend to help the family stand (see photo below). In 1977, Haruki moved to Yorba Linda and continued farming until 1995.

Kotake Farms

By John Kotake • 22 Apr, 1960
After World War II, Masajiro Kotake returned to strawberry farming in Norwalk. Over the years, Masajiro began accumulating land and expanded the strawberry farm. The height of the Kotake strawberry farming came in the early 1980s with their farms in Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura. In 1960 the Kotake brothers joined Naturipe Berry Growers Association as charter members. Strawberries were a good source of cash income and held high retail prices at the stands. Strawberry farming provided a comfortable life for the family but farming required everyone to pitch in and help from preparing boxes with baskets to picking strawberries. Strawberries were a good “mix” as it was a “winter” month crop between the tomatoes and other crops.

Matsumoto Farm and Nursery

By Eileen Matsumoto • 08 May, 1959
Nobu and Masako Matsumoto came to the U.S. in February, 1922. He was 18 years old and she was 17; both from Tottori, Japan. They were farmers in Fountain Valley and Garden Grove, California. During WWII, the Matsumoto family was incarcerated in the Santa Anita Assembly Center and the Poston Camp in Arizona. From 1922 to 1932 they had five sons; Key, Tak, Terry, Hiroshi, and Fred or “Freddy;” during the Korean War he served in the U.S. Army, 3rd Infantry Division, from 1952-54; he became squad leader of a mortar platoon and returned as a decorated sergeant. Soon after, brothers Fred, Terry and Hiroshi began farming in Niland, California, near the Salton Sea. In 1959 they built a packing facility, North Shore Produce, Inc., with specialized equipment for handling cherry tomatoes. Fred, a talented inventor, developed and improved machinery to chill, wash, color-sort, dry, wax, and convey the fruit in baskets. A grower’s son who worked with the brothers recalled one of Fred’s inventions: “a planter with seed hoppers capable of planting four rows of tomato seeds from the back of a tractor plow attachment! ….Another ingenious idea was to use airplane propellers to blow away the frosty winter morning temperatures in the desert, thus helping the tomato plants survive the frigid cold.” The three brothers helped popularize the cherry tomato through growing and shipping their “Mr. Tomato” brand, until bad weather and a voracious pest ended their operations in 1965. Fred returned to work with his parents and brothers Key and Hiroshi, running the Exotica plant nursery in Fountain Valley. Fred continued to create and refine machinery and devise equipment to remove large trees from the ground for transplanting. He became adept at the trimming technique need for cultivating black pines and Hollywood junipers, trees for which he was best known. He helped specialize in niwaki (garden trees). After his parents passed, the nursery became Fred’s. The family continued to gather there and enjoy his delicious persimmons, avocados, and sweet grapefruit. The nursery ran from the mid-60s until recently. Condensed from Rafu Shimpo Newspaper and Eileen Aiko Matsumoto
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