The Honda family nursery post-World War II. The nursery fronted on Eastshore and Potrero avenues and was later displaced by freeway construction. The buildings in the background are wartime housing built for Richmond shipyard workers. Photo courtesy Honda family, EC Historical Society collection.

Beginning in the late 19th century, Japanese immigrants landing in the East Bay began building a robust flower nursery industry by the 1930s -- despite anti-Asian prejudice as embodied by the Alien Land Act, which forbid persons of Asian citizenship from owning land. Another potentially lethal blow came in 1942, after the U.S. entered World War II., when all west coast residents of Japanese ancestry were forced to leave their homes and businesses, bringing only what they could carry, and report to assembly centers for deportation to wartime internment camps in remote areas far from their homes.

Before WWII, the Japanese-American flower growers in El Cerrito and Richmond had achieved great success in the flower industry, turning vacant land into outdoor nurseries and expansive greenhouses. Among these Japanese-American families were the Adachis, Fujiis, Fukushimas, Higashis, Hitomis, Hondas, Hoshis, Itamis, Mabuchis, Maidas, Mayedas, Miyamotos, Nabetas, Oishis, Oshimas, Sakais, Sakurais, and others., Hitomis and Higashis had established themselves as contributors to the local economy by running nurseries and floral shops throughout the area.

Many of these families came to the Bay Area from Japan’s Wakayama prefecture. Mostly well-educated, they came to America to seek greater opportunities. Once here, they learned from one another as they built their businesses.

The community’s success in growing flowers, led by the Domoto brothers of Oakland, led to the establishment of a twice-weekly flower market in San Francisco in the 1890s, according to the California Historical Society. Following the 1906 earthquake, under the leadership of the Domoto brothers in Oakland, 42 local grower-vendors organized as the California Flower Market, a more permanent wholesale facility in San Francisco for selling cut flowers to businesses throughout the Bay Area and beyond. The market regularly outgrew its facilities, moving to larger spaces over the years. Although purchased by a Los Angeles-based developer in 2014, the marker remains in business today as the San Francisco Flower Market and recently moved to a new building the corner of 16th and Mississippi streets in San Francisco. This success was demonstrated by their ability to produce a large majority of Northern California’s nursery-grown flowers, up to 70 percent by 1929, according to the California Historical Society.

The California Flower Market in San Francisco, circa 1940. The market was first organized by 42 East Bay grower-vendors under the leadership of Oakland’s Domoto brothers following the 1906 earthquake. Photo U.S. Department of Agriculture library.

Forced removal

This success came to an abrupt halt following the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The attack by Imperial Japan on the U.S. territory of Hawaii led to the United States’ entry into WWII. This attack also fueled widespread anti-Japanese sentiment, with people associating the actions of the Japanese government with the local Japanese-American community. In February 1942, the issuance of Executive Order 9066 ordered the immediate, forced removal of all Japanese-Americans (whether U.S. citizens or not) away from military installations on the west coast. All residents of Japanese descent – with as little as 1/16 Japanese ancestry – were relocated. These forced relocations were abrupt, traumatic and strictly enforced, resulting in the forced removal of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans from their homes.

This included children of these immigrants were born here, went to school here, spoke English as their first language, and considered themselves to be average American kids in every way. Among them was Clara Mabuchi, who had entered the new El Cerrito High School in September 1931 as the only Japanese-American student. By May of 1942, she and her family had been forced to move to the Tanforan racetrack south of San Francisco, where they lived in horse stables until October, when they were resettled at the Topaz Internment Camp in the Utah desert.

These images are from a display about El Cerrito High School student Clara Mabuchi, whose family was ordered to leave their home and business in April 1942. After spending five months living at the Tanforan horse racing track, they were moved to the Topaz Interment Camp in Utah, where they were held until the end of WWII. Photo by Jon Bashor.

They were intentionally imprisoned farther away from the west coast due to fears that the Japanese military would attack the U.S. mainland and that Japanese-Americans would be sympathetic to an invasion. While many of those interned lost their homes and businesses, the growers in El Cerrito and Richmond fared better. Although many of their greenhouses had been smashed and razed, others found their properties had been tended and protected by neighbors. Local growers who owned their land retained it through the efforts of Mechanics Bank. Only one nursery, owned by the Hoshi family, was lost.

The Adachi family nursery and florist shop circa 1940. The business was located on San Pablo Avenue at the northern end of El Cerrito and closed in 1992. Today, the site is occupied by the Home Depot store. Photo courtesy of the Adachi family, EC Historical Society collection

The chart below, created by the El Cerrito Historical Society for a commemorative booklet about the Japanese growers published in 2009, shows how the various nurseries fared before and after the war. The Adachi nursery, located on San Pablo Avenue at the north end of El Cerrito, reopened and expanded for more than 40 years before closing to make way for the Home Depot store. The Seizo Oishi Nursery in Richmond (listed as the fifth-to-last family in the chart below) also reopened and thrived for decades, becoming the last Japanese-American-run nursery in the area to eventually close in 2006.

*This chart, compiled by the EC Historical Society for a booklet about the Japanese flower growers, shows the number of nurseries in the area before and after World War II.*

The Adachi family circa 1940. From left: Hideyo Adachi, Wakako Adachi (Paul’s grandmother), Toshitatsu Adachi (Paul’s father), Ruby Adachi, Sonoko Adachi and Isaburo Adachi (Paul’s grandfather). Photo courtesy of the Adachi family, EC Historical Society collection

The Adachi family’s story

One of the original flower-growing families was the Adachi family. Paul Adachi, whose grandfather immigrated to the United States around the start of the 20th century, still lives in El Cerrito. Sonoko Adachi came, like many others, seeking a better life. Initially working as a houseboy, he grew to hate the job after an incident where he burned an important batch of biscuits. He eventually saved enough money to purchase a plot of land and establish a nursery in El Cerrito, a decision that would later prove to be critical. He began growing flowers with guidance from established Japanese families, like the Domoto brothers in Oakland. Paul Adachi emphasized how the community often worked together, helping one another. By the 1920s, roses had become the family’s most popular flowers, which they sold at the California Flower Market. They were good for the business too, chosen for their perennial nature, which allowed the family to grow them in the background while also raising other types of plants and flowers.

This success, like the others’, came to a halt in 1942. Paul recalled his grandfather being arrested by the FBI on false charges of leading a Japanese ex-servicemen’s club. He also recalled how his father got drafted into the U.S. Army and how his grandmother, aunts and uncles were sent first to the Tanforan racetrack in San Bruno and later to the Topaz internment camp in Millard County, Utah. As a teenager, Paul’s mother and her family were sent to a camp in Arkansas Harsh conditions in the camps, including overcrowded, uninsulated barracks and unsanitary conditions, were common and completely disrupted their lives.

When the war ended in 1945, his whole family returned to El Cerrito. It was fortunate they owned the land because this meant that their property and business was still there. Paul Adachi described how the greenhouse frames were still standing, but everything “was just trashed,” despite the Adachis having arranged for another family to look after the property. The rose bushes were dead and had to be replanted. They started growing vegetables, raising chickens and rabbits, and planting fast-growing crops like snapdragons to earn money until they could grow roses again. He told how the community worked together in the aftermath of the war and how everyone tried to help those struggling, but added that his parents and grandparents “preferred not to talk about their hardships.”

The Adachi family re-opened their retail florist shop and nursery at the site and later opened a second store and nursery in El Sobrante. Paul Adachi worked in the family business until he retired in 2017. The El Sobrante site is now known as The Good Table and is run by a non-profit which employs formerly incarcerated people. Paul Adachi sees a symmetry in this, noting that members of his family were also imprisoned, but rebuilt their lives. The new owners plan to paint a mural honoring the Adachis on one of the site’s water tanks.

He also talked about how meaningful it is to see his family’s legacy being remembered, such as the sidewalk panels in front of the Hana Gardens senior housing complex near El Cerrito City Hall. The 12 panels tell the story of the Japanese-American florist community and include a photo of Adachi Nursery. He said the gestures make him feel that their contributions to the community are still being honored.

Returning and rebuilding

Like the Adachis, other families returned to find their businesses in ruins. They discovered that their nurseries and homes had been ransacked during their years in internment. Greenhouses were shattered, flower fields overgrown or dead and equipment either stolen or destroyed. According to research done for a 2009 commemorative booklet published by the El Cerrito Historical Society, only 12 of the 16 Japanese-American nurseries in El Cerrito and East Richmond reopened. To accomplish this, families pooled resources and knowledge to rebuild the greenhouses and replant the fields.

However, families in other parts of California did not fare as well as those in West Contra Costa County. According to Densho, an organization dedicated to Japanese-American history, many properties rented out during the war were sold off without consent and some families faced predatory contracts or lost their land entirely due to discriminatory practices.

Some of the local nurseries that survived the war would later lose their land to infrastructure projects, such as the Eastshore Freeway, which was built in the 1950s and cut right through some nurseries and some flower shops. When the freeway was rebuilt and expanded as Interstate 80, a number of the affected nurseries relocated to North Richmond, where they found enough vacant land to rebuild. Land once home to some of the nurseries, now vacant, is still visible west of I-80, north of Cutting Boulevard. The gradual decline of this industry in the Bay Area concluded with the closure of the last Japanese nursery in 2006,as mentioned earlier.

From their success found after immigration to the injustices suffered during internment, the Japanese-American community’s history contains important lessons. What this community was made to endure – the forced removal of families, vandalism of homes and businesses, and imposition of systemic barriers – were clear violations of the U.S. constitution and laws. Yet, the strength and collaborative spirit shown by this community are also examples of how people can overcome disruptive challenges when they work together.

This history also shows the importance of such reminders, especially local ones. Famous for his legal battle against Executive Order 9066, which was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Fred T. Korematsu of Oakland has been honored through the renaming of El Cerrito’s Portola Middle School to Fred T. Korematsu Middle School, keeping alive his legacy. Similarly, the transformation of former nursery sites into the Miraflores Sustainable Greenbelt also serves as a tribute to this community, keeping alive the memory of those who were instrumental to East Bay horticulture and who helped build the community of El Cerrito.

Editor’s note: This article grew out of a story written by EC High School senior Umar Aybar as part of a program to interest students in local history. Tom Panas of the historical society provided additional information and Jon Bashor edited the text.

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