Sukeji "George" Morikami (November 4, 1886 – February 29, 1976) was a Japanese immigrant to the United States who farmed in Palm Beach County, Florida, for more than 65 years. He donated his 200 acres (80 hectares) of farm land to Palm Beach County in 1973.[3]
Morikami was born in Miyazu, Kyoto, Japan. He was 19 years old when he immigrated to the United States on May 3, 1906, to join the Yamato Colony, a Japanese farming community in what is now Boca Raton, Florida. He paid $150 and was indentured for three years in return for his passage to America and spending money. He was to receive $500 and some land at the end of the three years. He intended to take the money and return to Japan. However, Morikami's sponsor died in 1906, and he did not receive any cash or land, and was unable to return to Japan.[4][3]
Although the Yamato Colony ultimately failed, George Morikami stayed on and eventually prospered. He and other remaining Yamato colonists had their land seized by the United States as the U.S. entered World War II, when their land was taken to create an Army Air Corps training base (see also: Boca Raton Airport). Near the end of the war, Morikami bought land in Delray Beach, Florida, and he would farm it for almost 30 years.[3]
He died at age 89 in 1976, a year after the groundbreaking for Morikami Park, a county park built on the land he donated to Palm Beach County. His ashes were eventually returned to Miyazu. There is a monument to him in the Japanese gardens in the park. Delray Beach is a sister city to Miyazu in honor of George Morikami.
References
- ^ Florida, Naturalization Records, 1847-1995
- ^ Florida Death Index, 1877-1998
- ^ a b c Kleinberg, Eliot (October 4, 2017). "POST TIME: George Morikami and other ex-Yamato colonists lost assets". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
- ^ Ashton, Jacqueline (1979). Boca Raton: From Pioneer Days To the Fabulous Twenties. Boca Raton, Florida: Dedication Press. pp. 47–50. ISBN 0-9604898-1-9.
Further reading
- Marshall, Barbara. "George Morikami's stubborn dream". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
- Kleinberg, Eliot. "POST TIME: George Morikami and other ex-Yamato colonists lost assets". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
- admin (2014-10-30). "Florida Frontiers "The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens"". Florida Historical Society. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
- Curl, Donald W. (October 1977). "Yamato". Spanish River Papers. 6 (1). Retrieved 2023-05-11 – via Florida Atlantic University Digital Library.
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This page was last edited on 23 March 2024, at 03:44