Photos of the Garden
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Shibata Family Tree
Zenjuro, the patriarch of the Shibata family, crossed the Pacific and arrived in San Fransico in 1902. To survive in the Bay Area, he worked grueling manual labor jobs, including employment with the railroad and harvesting crops.
Zenjuro discovered that he could earn greater profits by growing and selling flowers. After saving his earnings, he purchased a three-acre parcel of land on 105th Avenue in Oakland. After three years, he was financially stable enough to marry and accepted a marriage proposal with Koyuri Otsuka. He traveled back to Japan, and they were married in Itoshima Fukuoka on October 11, 1913. The newlyweds made Oakland their home and began to expand their family while managing a successful floral business. They had two of their six children, Yoshio and Yoshimi, before their move to Hayward.
Of the land Zenjuro purchased, not all was dedicated to the operation of the Mt. Eden Nursery. Immigrants of Japanese and later Mexican and Portuguese descent were hired as laborers to address the increasing demands. To accommodate their needs, Zenjuro built facilities and a labor camp with numerous barracks to house the laborers and their families. His son Yoshimi mentions in his memoir how the camp became a community. Here, those of Japanese heritage lived surrounded by their culture, language, and fellow Japanese in the middle of California. The Mexican and Portuguese camp occupants created their own community space but found common ground with the Shibata family and the other laborers. All had suffered similar hardships related to relocating to and living in an unfamiliar country. Despite the language barrier, the diverse population at Mt. Eden Nursery worked and lived harmoniously. The Nursery continued to change and grow and became home to many foreigners.
Early in the Japanese Garden’s history, continuous flooding formed a natural pond on the property. Later, it was converted into a reservoir to store water. Zenjuro considered using it to breed goldfish for additional revenue, but Koyuri thought of a different plan. She began to shape the reservoir into a water feature and convert the surrounding area into the Japanese Garden. The Shibata family split their time and resources between the nursery and the garden. During this time, Koyuri was diagnosed with cancer and underwent successful surgery. The doctors warned that her cancer would likely return. With the looming possibility of death, Koyuri used the Japanese Garden as a place to forget about illness. In his memoir, Yoshimi refers to it as his mother’s garden and how it became a family project as they worked to create a place of enjoyment for themselves and their friends. By bringing Koyuri’s dream to fruition, the Shibata family infused their Japanese heritage with their home and Hayward.
Immediately following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the Shibata family, including Yoshito, who was serving in the U.S. military, were confined to their residences and made to hand over government-deemed “contraband,” including weapons, cooking knives, lanterns, and flashlights. The family was allowed to retain a few cooking knives and one flashlight. Yoshimi discusses in his memoir how he argued with the Sheriff, proclaiming that he was an American. However, due to racist and wartime fears and changes in government policy, all Japanese Americans were seen as only Japanese and a risk to America. The family did try to help with the U.S. war efforts but were treated with distrust and persecution.
The restrictions on Japanese Americans included travel limitations of at most 5 miles from their residence. This restriction caused issues for the Shibata family’s nursery as they needed to travel to sell their flowers. Additionally, the stores in the Bay Area where the Shibata’s sold their flowers were changing to support the military effort. The Shibata family and their fellow flower growers attempted to ship their flowers to the Southern California Flower Market, but after a few weeks, the market was closed down.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced removal and migration of individuals of Japanese descent. Panic quickly spread within Japanese communities and the flower growers’ organizations. Yoshimi tried to find someone to care for the nursery before the family’s relocation, but no one wanted to involve themselves with the Japanese.
The family eventually left Mt. Eden Nursery to their long-term customer, William Zappettini, an Italian immigrant, who ran the wholesale store through which they sold their flowers. He continually cared for the nursery until their return in 1945.
Jerry continued to serve and later became part of the U.S. Military Intelligence. When able, he checked on Mt. Eden Nursery, Mr. Zappettini, and communicated with his family on the condition of their home while they were incarcerated and he was in California.
