Mizusawa Brothers Farm and Mizu Company
Steven and Ron Mizusawa
Early years
The farms of the Arikawa, Mizusawa and Takahashi families were run much like a coop with the core being the Kitasaki sisters (Chieko, Tomoko and Tomiko), spouses of Seigo Arikawa, Fred Minoru Mizusawa and Ko Takahashi. The Farms were located in Santa Ana near Newhope and First Street, Garden Grove near Westminster and Harbor Blvd and Fountain Valley near Newhope and Warner Ave.
Frank Mizusawa was founder of Mizu Company which was located at 11905 E. Westminster in Garden Grove on essentially the same property as the Mizusawa Farm at 11911 E. Westminster Blvd.
First products were made for the Mizusawa Brothers’ farm and nursery. The Mizusawa farm was purchased in late 1940’s after the brothers returned from incarceration at detention camps for U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry. Fred and Tomoko Mizusawa were married in camp in 1943 and went to Denver before the camps closed down.
Early crops on the farm included Cauliflower, Celery, Bell Peppers. The main crop grown during the summer was tomatoes. The Arikawas grew flowers on the farm in later years and the Takahashis grew Strawberries and Olallieberries.
Two homes, a packing shed and the Mizu Company factory were built on the property by Frank and Fred Mizusawa with help - most likely the other close relatives and friends. It also included a large glass green house taken care of by Mie (Moe) Mizusawa and the three Kitasaki sisters, which was used to grow seedlings of tomatoes for transplanting to farms in the area.
One of the first products of Mizu company was a mechanized tomato sorter which sized the tomatoes before packing. This sorter used a series of belts with holes of different sizes which the tomatoes traveled along. The smallest tomatoes fell into the first bin as that belt had the smallest holes. When packed in wooden lug boxes the tomatoes had varying sizes from 7x8 up to 4x4. 7 by 8 tomatoes were about 1 and ½ to 2 inches in size. 4 by 4 tomatoes were about 5 or 6 inches in diameter. One of the kids’ duties when we were elementary and junior high school age was to put labels (Mizusawa Brothers) on the wooden boxes before they were packed with tomatoes. We were paid one cent per label and was one of our first sources of spending money. After the boxes were packed, we nailed slats on the top of the boxes which prevented stacked boxes from falling into boxes below. These boxes were picked up every evening and taken to the vegetable markets in Los Angeles. One of the problems with the first tomato sorter was that once in awhile a tomato would get stuck in the hole in the belt and get crushed. When the belt reached a roller which the belt traveled around. When that happened the machine had to be stopped and a clean up was done to keep other tomatoes from getting tomato juice all over them.
A new sorter was developed by Frank which used a rotating series of slats that got further apart as they progresses along the length of the sorter. This stopped the occasional crushed tomato.
Early on small farm items were developed which helped with harvesting various crops. Special knives were created for harvesting cauliflower and celery. Special carts were created so tomato pickers could push several boxes for putting tomatoes in. The kids had fun turning these into toys like attaching sails to them when the Santa Ana winds blew. We had little land sailing carts. I think those carts were popular with other farmers as I can remember. We made quite a few of them, many more then we needed for our farm.
One non-farm invention that my Uncle made for us was a gas powered go-kart. To me ( 80 pound weakling in those days) it weighed a “ton” and it didn’t go all that fast but it was still fun.
Our farm also had a couple of buildings to house our migrant farm workers. The same workers seemed to come back every year to help with the harvesting of crops. We came to know them and I loved eating their home made tortillas.
We had other workers who helped with tomato picking and packing who had permanently relocated to our area from Mexico. They of course made the best tamales every Christmas.
Work at the Mizu company
Many of the nephews of Uncle Frank and Auntie Moe got their social security numbers and first paychecks due to the Mizu Company. My Social Security report shows my first “reportable” earnings in 1965 when I would have been 15 years old. This would have been when I started working at Mizu Company.
By this time Mizu Company was making a range of products. All of the nephews went through the apprenticeship process. I didn’t work on the many products as I was the clean up crew. I cleaned all the machines after they had been used. Slowly over time I was taught how to use all these machines and hand tools as well. Over time my main machines were the lathe, band saw, drill presses, and hydraulic punch presses. I did less work with the sheet metal bender.
The work crew (varied over time)
Frank and Mie Mizusawa (owners and head engineer and painter)
Clifford and Harry Matsukane (head welder and craftsman)
Steven Mizusawa (Clean up crew and machinist/craftsman)
Ron Mizusawa (Clean up, machinist and painter)
Robert Mizusawa (Clean up, machinist)
Walter Takeda (Machinist and craftsman)
Rik Takeda (Clean up crew and machinist)
Bernardo (Paint preparation and craftsman)
Ko Takahashi (Occasional help, machinist and welder)
What did Mizu Co. make?Don Takahashi/John Nakamine (Occasional help)
Most of the products were for tomato crop farming as I’ve already mentioned. As small scale farming of tomatoes became more difficult, the main crop in and around Orange County became strawberries. Strawberries also became a popular crop in Central and Northern California.
Most of the tools we made were to make harvesting and planting strawberries easier. Fumigation of the ground in preparation for planting strawberries became popular at the time. A special fumigant was marketed by Great Lakes Chemical and it was called Methyl Bromide. This was injected into the soil and quickly covered with plastic sheets to keep the fumigant in the soil for a few days.
Frank designed and built a modified a plow type attachment for tractors so that is would channel Methyl Bromide from tanks mounted on the plow and into the ground. Also attached to the rear of the plow was a wide spool of plastic sheeting which was laid down as the plow was pulled down the field. Discs dug trenches at the edges of the plastic and buried one side of the plastic into the ground. On the second pass another sheet of plastic was laid down adjacent to the first. This time the 2nd sheet was glued to the first. The plow was fitted with a glue dispenser to accomplish this task. This ended up being a fairly complicated piece of equipment since it had so many functions to do. You may have seen large plots of land covered with plastic many years ago, and maybe still today in some places. At one point I remember working on a metering pump that would put a measured amount of the Methyl Bromide in the ground. I got my fair dose of Methyl Bromide working on that pump. Hope I don’t get cancer from that!
After a few days the Methyl Bromide had done its work and the plastic needed to be removed from the field. For this Mizu Co. devised another product to pull the plastic up. This looked like a rectangular box which attached to the tractor. It had two wheels one of which drove a chain drive mechanism up on the top of the box which pulled the plastic up and into the box. After the box was full it could be emptied from the bottom and the used plastic was shipped off to the dump.
Another use of plastic with Strawberry crops was the use of the plastic to cover the tops of the rows where the berries were planted. This kept the berries up off the ground and prevented spoilage and kept them cleaner since they would sit on the plastic instead of on the ground. We made the machines that would shape the Strawberry row (bed) and put the plastic on top of it and bury the sides so a nice plastic covered soil bed was made for the strawberries. We also made some handheld burners to burn holes in the plastic so the plants could be planted in the soil beneath the plastic. The burners were propane tanks with a brass attachment which was heated so that a hole was melted in the plastic quickly when touched to the plastic.
I remember building several of these Strawberry machines for customers down in South America. After we build the equipment we built a wooden shipping crate around the equipment so it could be loaded on a ship and taken down to maybe Brazil.
We also built some very large plow type equipment. They were so wide that we had to make them “foldable” so each end could be folded in so they could be driven on the street.
During my years with Mizu Company we had a couple of Japanese Engineers from Kubota Tractor working in our shop. They had hired Uncle Frank to help them develop farm equipment for their compact sized Kubota Tractors. These days I see those Kubota Tractors all over the farms and landscaping businesses here in the U.S. One of the projects I remember working on was a rotary mower. This worked like the rotary lawn mowers you can buy today. The units were larger as they were attached to the rear of the compact Tractors.
Another project I remember working on were large tanks on wheels which were probably used for spraying crops with pesticides. These tanks were made of stainless steel and welded inside the tank. We had to go inside and paint the seams of the welds so they wouldn’t rust. I remember getting a little high on those paint fumes.
One of our self improvement projects was required when the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) department came out to look at Uncle’s shop. The shop had multiple rooms that were cobbled together with no real planning. Some of the passage ways were not up to code so we had to put warning signs up to tell people there was a low doorway.
So, that is some of the history of the Mizu Company. Sorry no photos of the things that were made. I remember we took Polaroid photos of everything that was made but who knows where those are today. Uncle Frank and Auntie Moe have been gone for a while now. There were drawings of most things we made as I often was the drafting person for those. Thanks to the Mizu Company for giving all of the Sansei relatives education and experience In so many areas.
By Steve and Ron Mizusawa, former employees of Mizu Company
Fred Mizusawa on his tractor in front of the home in Garden Grove
Celery harvesting on the Mizusawa brothers farm
Celery harvesting on the Mizusawa brothers farm
Packing celery in the fields
Washing bell peppers before packing
Packing bell peppers
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.
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.”
In September 1903 at the age of 23 years, Juichi Nawa, the eldest son of nine siblings, left Gifu, Japan for America, arriving in San Francisco he worked for several years and by 1911 saved enough money to purchase ten acres of farmland in Norwalk, California. At the age of 19, Sakaye Okawa, one of eight siblings left Wakayama, Japan for America to marry Juichi in a marriage arranged by family and friends. On the Norwalk property they grew oranges, vegetables and raised chickens for eggs. They had four children, Jimmy, Mary, Stella and Jiro. Juichi and Sakaye were active in starting the Norwalk Gakuen, now the Southeast Japanese School Community Center in Norwalk. Life changed suddenly in April 1942 when the U.S. Department of Justice identified Juichi as a dangerous enemy alien and was detained at the Tuna Canyon Detention Center, Tujunga, California. In May 1942, unknown to his family he was transferred to the DOJ Internment Camp in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In August Juichi was reunited with his family at the Santa Anita Assembly Center and in September the Nawa family was transported to the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas. Fortunately after the war ended the Nawa family was able to return to the Norwalk property. Starting over, they farmed and egg production became the primary family business again. Eventually, egg production gave way to a successful wholesale nursery business that lasted for many years. In 1977 the land was sold and within the residential area built on the property a street was named Nawa Lane.
Our Jichan Hisataro Nakagawa immigrated from Nukushina, Hiroshima, Japan to Olaa, ( Big Island, Hawaii ), when he was fourteen years old. He worked at the Kaiwiki Sugar Cane Company and in 1886, moved to the mainland of Bowles, CA. He obtained twenty acres of wine grapes. Hisataro, his wife Sasayo, sons Johnny and Dyna would run the farm from the turn of the century to the 1960’s. During WWII, The Nakagawa family entrusted their farm to neighbors and friends Jeppe and Alma Raven during their 'incarceration' at Jerome, Arkansas. After the war the Ravens picked up the Nakagawa’s from the train station and brought them back to their home and farm. Jeppe Raven gave our Jichan ( Grandfather ), Hisataro a cigar box. Inside was filled with the cash profits the farm made for four years! Not only did the Raven work the farm, they gave them back the profits too! Baseball has been in the Nakagawa family for five generations and Uncle Johnny was the Shohei Ohtani of the 1920's and 1930's. We feel very blessed to come from 'Earth People,' Baseball Ambassadors and great family cooks. Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa from the Nakagawa family!
Like so many new arrivals of Japanese immigrants to the West Coast of the United States in the early 1900’s, Tomejiro and Kino Hoshino were no exception. Japan had sapped most its wealth financing the Sino-Russian war of 1904-1905. The rural and farming community suffered the most. Therefore, the Japanese government encouraged “kuchi herashi” (reducing mouths) and assisted these folks to immigrate to North America, South America and Hawaii for better opportunities. Tomejiro Hoshino, born 5/15/1887 in Sobue-cho, Aichi-Ken, left home and arrived with his older brother and his older brother’s friend in Mexico on 11/17/1906. When they came upon the Rio Grande River, the older two built a raft, enabling Tomejiro to cross into the United States as he could not swim. After struggling along the West Coast, Tomejiro found a job as a farmer in Elk Grove, California, and settled there. On 3/29/1915, he was able to send for his fiancee Kino Hattori to join him. The following year his first child Sakiko was born on 6/6/1916. In 1926, Tomejiro and Kino were able to purchase 20 acres located at Route 2, Box 2408, Elk Grove, Sacramento County, California, for $12,800 under their first-born daughter’s name (American citizen). This property consisted of a house, a warehouse, 8 acres of fruit trees, 2 acres of grapes and 10 acres of working fields. In 1939, registered owner of the land was transferred to their eldest son Jack Hoshino. That same year Jack entered the U.S. Army, and his sister Michi was given power of attorney. When war broke out in 1941, the entire family was sent to the concentration camp at Manzanar. The Hoshino property was left in the care of a neighboring farmer, but the annual property tax of $300 accumulated to $1,200 in 3 years. Unable to pay the tax, in 1943, the family had to let go of the farm for $4,100, one third of what they paid 17 years earlier in 1926. In 1951 upon his release from the Army, Jack sought compensation under a newly created law and received $2,500, a mere moral bandaid. Seven of Tomejiro and Kino’s children settled in Southern California with Jack being the exception, who elected to remain in Sturgis, South Dakota, where his army career ended. They all fondly remember the farming days. Though the work was hard and the world was cold and left bitter memories, the experience and discipline learned on the farm became a good foundation upon which to build their own families. None in the Hoshino family went into the agriculture field after the war. Elk Grove, where the Hoshino farm was located, has now become partially residential. That 20 acres purchased in 1926 for $12,800 is now valued around a million dollars. Yes, the prejudiced, unjust and uninformed did not help the Hoshinos during the Tomejiro-Kino era. All the descendants of the family feel very grateful for the sacrifices made by them and for the lives we enjoy today. Let us always remember! Now, it is our time to lend a helping hand to others toward creating a more just world.
Ichitaro Makishima sailed from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi-ken, Japan in 1896 at age 17 to work on a sugar cane plantation. But when he witnessed whippings, he ran away. Sixteen years later he was settled in Sacramento, California, and his mother sent him a bride. Twenty-year-old Yoneyo Makishima arrived in 1913. Ichitaro started a general store, and the family lived in a boarding house in town, but Yoneyo contracted tuberculosis so doctors told Ichitaro to move to the country. That is when they started farming, about 1925. They grew strawberries, tomatoes and lettuce on 18 acres of leased land in the Florin area of Sacramento. The farm included a house and a dormitory for a seasonal crew of as many as 15 men. Yoneyo did all the cooking for her large family and the crew, and all nine children worked in the fields. When the family was evacuated in May 1942, they locked their belongings in the chicken coop. They were at Tule Lake until 1945. After camp the current tenants refused to return their belongings. Most of the family then worked as sharecroppers in Woodland. Everyone pooled their money to buy 12 acres of farmland in Rio Linda, CA, but they were not able to live as a family again. Eldest son Kaneo ran the farm and mostly grew strawberries. Ichitaro left the farm in 1955, and Kaneo sold the farm in about 1973.
Story as told by Elayne Shiohama and extended family: In 1917, Sanzo Uyeda sailed from Chikushino, Fukuoka-ken, Japan to San Francisco seeking a better future for him and his wife, Wasa, née Kawaguchi. He found work on a Caucasian family’s farm in Cutler, California. Wasa and Sanzo had two girls and two boys, starting with Mitsue, my dad Nobuo (later named Jimmie by a neighbor who couldn’t pronounce Nobuo), born June 17, 1921, then Kimiye, and lastly, Joe. As a youngster, my dad accompanied his father in many trades, including truck farming and running a pool hall in Lindsay. They farmed the area until WWII, 1941. Sanzo was torn away from the family when the FBI sent him to a prison camp in Santa Fe, New Mexico due to his membership in a kendo club. The daughters, married with families of their own, were interned, but Dad took his mother and little brother to Brigham, Utah. He worked on a sugar beet farm, in a cannery, cut the leather jackets for the US Bomber pilots, and also learned the building trade. Auntie Kimiye married a flower rancher and resided in San Diego County. Upon release of the internees, the Uyedas returned to California in 1946. Although faced with discrimination, Dad and Grandpa eventually found work in the building trade. Dad married my mom in 1947. She grew up on a tomato farm in Pomona. When Sanzo retired, he and Wasa moved to Lucerne Valley where his sons built a home. Two hours away from family, the ever busy Sanzo, built a koi pond and Japanese garden and grew Asian pears (nashi), for the Los Angeles markets for 15 years. He built a small “reservoir” but told the grandkids it was their swimming pool. He added a packing shed, refrigeration and taught Wasa, who never learned to drive a car, to drive the tractor. Stricken with cancer, Sanzo returned with Wasa to LA, where he passed away in 1976. Wasa remained in LA until her death circa 1986.
Kiyo (Kay) Ueda Hiatt (1926-2020) was a pioneer in the Florida Citrus Industry. She was one of the first women executives in the fresh produce business and wielded tremendous influence during her career. As one of the top sales agents of Florida citrus, she played a leading role in the tremendous growth of exports to Japan in the 1970’s to the 1990’s. Kay was a first-generation Japanese American citizen born in Fife, Washington. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kay’s family was forced into an internment camp along with tens of thousands of other Japanese Americans. But she rose above the injustice and indignity of the long three years there to persevere and achieve success in the business world. Against great odds, she was accepted to Bucknell University soon after being released from the internment camp. After marrying Roy Hiatt, they moved to Florida where she began working at a citrus packinghouse grading fruit. Because of her insatiable appetite for learning, she queried employees in other departments at the packinghouse and gained a deep understanding about the overall operation. Soon, her curiosity paid off and she was asked to run the shipping office. That experience led to an offer to join the sales desk. In a few short years, she was promoted to sales manager. Kay was known for her keen intellect and love of language. She was a voracious reader and a talented writer. Kay was an iron-willed woman full of strength and stamina tempered by patience and self-sacrifice.
“Mr. Higashi was a farmer. He saw the wide prairies filled with waving grasses dotted with wildflowers. He decided it was the perfect place for a harvest of happiness.” So begins the story of the Higashi Family Farm in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Shiichi “Sam” Higashi immigrated from Hiroshima, Japan, to western South Dakota with his brother, Sanichi “Tom” Higashi, around 1916. They discovered the area after working during the sugar beet harvest. Sam returned to Japan to marry Kiwano, and after a short partnership with Tom and his family in Belle Fourche, SD, Sam and Kiwano moved to rented land in Spearfish, SD. Their children Clarence, Kenny, Mae, Jean, and Lily helped with planting and harvesting, providing the surrounding community with produce. Kiwano was widely known for her ability to raise strong, healthy greenhouse seedlings in the spring despite the frigid northern climate. Unfortunately, Sam passed away in 1940, but Kiwano and the children kept the truck farm going, raising sugar beets, cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, and other vegetables. During WWII, Kenny enlisted in the military so that the family would be permitted to remain on the farm rather than face internment. From 1942-1946, he served in the 100th/442nd RCT, the only American of Japanese Ancestry from South Dakota in that unit. Clarence and Kenny eventually purchased the property, allowing Kiwano to remain in the family home until her death in 1978. Though the acreage is smaller, family members still reside there today. In total, the Higashi Farm operated for over 50 years. (Quotes and illustrations used with permission from the children’s book, “A Place for Harvest: The Story of Kenny Higashi”, by Lauren R. Harris, illustrated by Felicia Hoshino, copyright South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2022. www.SDHSPress.com)
