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Japanese American History
The Japanese played a pivotal role in the establishment of San Luis Obispo. For example, many Japanese people started farms in San Luis Obispo to supply food. Yet despite their hard work, the Japanese, like the Chinese, faced discrimination. To learn more about their story and what their life was like in San Luis Obispo, click here. To view photos and descriptions from the 1800s and 1900s, click here.
Japanese History
Emily Pan
Jun 1, 2021
Obon Festival: An Oral History
This is a summary of the Obon Festival that took place on July 31, 1965 at the San Luis Obispo Veterans' Memorial Hall. Obon is an...
157 views
Emily Pan
May 31, 2021
Oral History by Kofuji Eto Fukunaga
This is a summary of the oral history by Kofuji Eto Fukunaga, about her father's life story. Her father, Tameji Eto, was born and raised...
166 views
Emily Pan
Jul 13, 2020
Honoring the Past
Japanese Farmers (Photo Courtesy of Richard Waller Family Archives) The mark left by Japanese Americans can be seen all over the country,...
213 views
Emily Pan
Jul 12, 2020
Haruo Hayashi After Executive Order 9066
Before Pearl Harbor In 1918, Haruo Hayashi's father, Yeiji Hayashi, immigrated to the U.S. from Japan by going through South America and...
512 views
Emily Pan
Jul 10, 2020
Japanese Field Workers at Waller Seed Company
Video Courtesy of Richard Waller Family Archives Story The Waller Seed Company's story begins over 100 years ago when Lionel Duncuff...
192 views
Emily Pan
Jul 9, 2020
Life After Pearl Harbor for the Nagano Family
Nagano Family (Photo Courtesy of History Center of San Luis Obispo County) The Nagano family had been living in Morro Bay since 1917, but...
97 views
Emily Pan
Jul 5, 2020
Life in a Japanese Detention Camp and The Kind Mr. Wilkinson
Expensive maple dressers, love seats, dining room sets, and bedsteads, all imported from Japan, filled the homes of many Japanese...
67 views
Emily Pan
Jul 5, 2020
He Lost His Wife to the Spanish Flu; Umekichi Tanaka's Fascinating Story
A True Immigrant Born in Japan in March of 1872, Umekichi Tanaka was a true immigrant, having landed in Mexico in the early 1900s. While...
87 views
Emily Pan
Jul 4, 2020
The Matsuura Family and the Japanese Children's Home
How the Japanese Children's Home Started The Matsuura Family's story begins during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1919, similar to the...
111 views
Emily Pan
Jul 1, 2020
A Racist View of the Japanese during World War II
Gila River Detention Camp in Arizona (National Archives) During World War II, the head of Japanese households in America were taken away...
46 views
Emily Pan
Jul 1, 2020
The Minami Story
Minami family (Image Source here) Yaemon Minami: 1880 - he is born in the village of Wakayama Japan 1905 - he arrives in San Francisco...
762 views
Emily Pan
Jun 30, 2020
Japantown - San Luis Obispo
Japantown in San Luis Obispo (Image source here) Japantown in San Luis Obispo: One block long on Higuera Street Between South and French...
502 views
Emily Pan
Jun 29, 2020
Japanese Immigration to Arroyo Grande
Overview Japanese Picture Brides (National Archives) Many Japanese people immigrated to Arroyo Grande in the 20th Century. Many of them...
135 views
Emily Pan
Jun 27, 2020
The Struggle Japanese Immigrants Faced: Take Eto
These are quotes from Grace Shibata, Take Eto's daughter, which protrays the struggle Japanese Immigrants faced: when coming to the...
71 views
Emily Pan
Jun 27, 2020
Take Eto's Story During and After World War II, Told by her Daughter
Below is a retelling of Take Eto's life during and after World War II. To learn more about her life before World War II, click here. On...
65 views
Emily Pan
Jun 27, 2020
Take Eto's Story up to World War II, Told by her Daughter
This is the story of Take Eto, a Japanese Immigrant who came to the United States at the age of 19, told from the perspective of Grace...
57 views
Japanese American Stories
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