Inventory of the Ishibashi Family Collection SPC.2012.002
Finding aid prepared by Ryoko Onishi; Updated by Rachel Mandell
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
©2013
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson, CA 90747
archives@csudh.edu
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Ishibashi Family Collection
Creator:
Ishibashi, Masaichi, 1912-2004
Creator:
Ishibashi, Kumekichi , 1874-1954
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2012.002
Physical Description:
3 boxes
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1910-2011
Abstract: The collection documents personal and business records of Ishibashi family, one of the pioneer Japanese farmers on the coastline
of Palos Verdes Peninsula, California. The Ishibashi's is a three-generation produce farmer, started approximately in 1910
and closed in 2012.
Language of Material: Collection material is in <language encodinganalog="041" langcode="eng" scriptcode="latn">English</language>
Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Materials were received from Grace Watanabe and Nancy Sasaki in 2012
Processing Information
Collection processed by Ryoko Onishi in 2013.
History
Kumekichi Ishibashi was born in Hidaka, Wakayama in Japan in 1874 and came to the U.S. for the purpose of dekasegi (labor
abroad) in 1899 when he was 26 years old. Kumeichi started farming in the Portuguese Bend in Rancho Palos Verdes, near San
Pedro in 1906. In 1910, along with C. Hayashi and K. Ozaki, Kumeichi started leasing a 50-acre land parcel from the Palos
Verdes Company, at a rental of $6 per acre for one year. Kumekichi married Take Hanaoka who was also from Hidaka, Wakayama
in 1911 in San Francisco. Kumekichi and Take had five children, Masaichi, George, Yasuko, Kay and Akira. Take died in 1928.
The eldest son Masaichi took over the business and worked with Kumekichi. Masaichi married Miye (May) Washimura from San Jose
in 1937. Miye's father Kumataro was a fish merchant. After World War II broke out, the company from which their land was leased
ordered them off of the property.
On Feburary 1942, Kumekichi was taken to the Bismarck, North Dakoda .The rest of the family moved to Starthmore, Central
California and started farming again. In July 1942, the family was interned in Poston (Colorado River) War Relocation Center,
Arizona. In 1943, the family received permission to move out from the Center to farm in Utah. After Kumekichi reunited the
family in Poston, they moved to Utah to farm for the duration of the war. After the war, they came back to the Palos Verdes
Peninsula and started farming again. They leased more than 500 acres on the hilltop Peninsula and they grew strawberries,
garbanzo beans, celery, and peas. However, after housing development began in the 1970, they had to minimize the farming area.
The farm was known for the vegetable and fruit stand near the Torrance Airport in the 1990s. After the passing of Masaichi
in 2004, the farm was taken over by Masaichi's cousin, however, the Ishibashi farm closed for good in 2012. There were approximately
40 farms operated by Japanese American families in the 1930s. The Ishibashis had 2 ranches among them on Portuguese Bend near
where the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles is located. Their former farmland was included in Palos Verdes Nature Reserve
and the Ishibashi Trail was named in honor of the family.
Scope and Content
Materials in this collection are from the daily lives of the three-generation pioneer farming family, the Ishibashi's, created
and collected by the first generation (issei), Kumekichi and his eldest son, the second generation (nisei) farmer, Masaichi
in regards to their business records 1910 -2011. The materials include photographs and moving images of the hilltop farm communities
in the 1930s, tax documents, lease contracts and business related records of 1910 -1945, Hand-drawn map of the farms, Los
Angeles City School District Report Cards 1922-1931, Japanese Ryoken (passport) 1920, Certificate issued by Consulate General
of Japan, "San Pedro Brand" vegetable crate label, World War II incarcerated Masaichi's photocopied journal 1943-1945, daily
labor report at Colorado River War Relocation (Poston Relocation Center), 1943 war loss compensation and redress related documents
1947-1986 and newspaper clippings related family history and Marinland construction and withdrawal 1958-2011.
Arrangement
Arranged in 3 series:
- Series I. Business and Personal Documents (1910-2011)
- Series II. Photographs (ca.1910-2011)
- Series III. Artifacts and Films (ca. 1910-2011)
Availability of Digitized Materials
Some of the collection has been digitized and is available at the CSU Japanese American Project site:
Ishibashi Collection.
Related Materials
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Industry and employment -- Agriculture
Japanese American Farmers
Rancho Palos Verdes (Calif.)
Concentration Camps
Reparations for historical injustices
Ishibashi, Kumekichi , 1874-1954
Ishibashi, Take, 1886-1928
Ishibashi, Masaichi, 1912-2004
Ishibashi, Miye (May)
Ishibashi, George
Ishibashi, Kay
Ishibashi, Yasuko
Ishibashi, Akira
Ishibashi, Satoshi
Palos Verdes Corporation Ranch
Palos Verdes Company
Palos Verdes Growers Association
Marineland
United States. War Relocation Authority
Japanese American Citizens' League
Series I: Business and Personal Documents
1910-2011; undated
Physical Description: 0.5 Linear Feet
Physical Description: 1 box
Scope and Contents
Materials in this tax documents, lease contracts and business related records of 1910-1945, Hand-drawn map of the farms, Los
Angeles City School District Report Cards 1922-1931, Japanese Ryoken (passport) 1920, Certificate issued by Consulate General
of Japan, "San Pedro Brand" vegetable crate label, Masaichi's photocopied journal 1943-1945, daily labor report at Colorado
River War Relocation (Poston Relocation Center), war loss compensation and redress related documents 1947-1986 and newspaper
clippings related family history and Marinland construction and withdrawal 1958-2011
box 1, folder 1
Biographical Sketches, Masaichi, Family Profile
1990 -2006
box 1, folder 2
Certificate of Issuance of Kumekichi's Ryoken (Japanese Passport) by Consulate of Japan
1931
box 1, folder 3
Japanese Passport, Take
1920
box 1, folder 4
Birth Certificate, Masaichi; Death Certificate, Kumeichi
1937 -1955
box 1, folder 5
Marriage License, Kumeichi and Take
1911
box 1, folder 6
Los Angeles City School District Report Cards,Masaichi
1922 -1931
box 1, folder 7
San Pedro High School Yearbook
1932
box 1, folder 8
Masaichi and Miye's Certificate of Marriage
1937
box 1, folder 9
Memorandum of Farm Lease of Palos Verdes Company and Other Contracts
1910 -1928
box 1, folder 10
Income Tax Returns
1920 -1945
box 1, folder 11
City and County Tax Memo for Palos Verdes Corporation Ranch
1939 -1940
box 1, folder 12
Receipt for County and School Tax and Miscellaneous Receipts
1916 -1941
box 1, folder 13
Montezuma Gold Mining Company Stock Certificate
1931
box 1, folder 15
Vegetable Crate Label of San Pedro Brand
box 1, folder 16
Notice of Reclassification,Masaichi
1943 ;1945
box 1, folder 17
War Relocation Authority Identity Cards
1943 -1945
box 1, folder 18
War Relocation Authority Publication, "Segregation of Persons of Japanese Ancestry in Relocation Centers"
1943
box 1, folder 19
Correspondence, Work Permit and Land Lease Agreement in Utah
1944 -1945
box 1, folder 20
Memo, Daily Labor Report Colorado River War Relocation Project
1943
box 1, folder 21
Photocopied Diaries During Incarceration, Masaichi
1942 -1945
box 1, folder 22
Correspondence in Japanese to Masaichi, Kumeichi, Bismarck, ND.
1942
box 1, folder 23
Correspondence and Memos, JACL Committee on Japanese American Evacuation Claims
1947 -1958
box 1, folder 24
Verification of Detention of Civilians During World War II, National Archives and Records Service and Photocopy of the $20,0000
Check
1983-1990
box 1, folder 26
Correspondence with Marineland
1971 -1986
box 1, folder 27
Official Certificate of Registration in The American Immigrant Wall of Honor issued by The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island
Found
1992
box 1, folder 28
Terminal Islander's Membership Card and Historical Society Publication
1976 -1986
box 1, folder 29
Map of Palos Verdes Peninsula and Photograph
circa 1970s
box 1, folder 30
Poston Memorial Monument Committee Correspondence and List of the 43 farmers
1994
box 1, folder 31
News Clippings
1956 -1968
box 1, folder 32
News Clippings
1975 -1976
box 1, folder 33
News Clippings
1980 -1987
box 1, folder 34
News Clippings
1990 -1992
box 1, folder 36
Printout, The Daily Breeze Article
circa 2005
box 1, folder 37
Correspondence, Family History
circa 1976-2004
box 1, folder 38
Correspondence, White House
circa 1986
box 1, folder 39
Newspaper Clippings, San Pedro Vegetable Growers Materials, Relocation Related Materials
circa 1940-1990s
box 1, folder 40
Birth and Death Certificate
1874 -1954
Series II: Photographs
1910-2011
Physical Description: 0.5 Linear Feet
Physical Description: 1 box
Scope and Contents
Materials in this series include a family photo album, as well as photographs of the Ishibashi's two ranches, Ranch 4 and
Ranch 21, family vacations, leisure activities, incarceration during World War II and post-war life on the farm.
box 2, folder 1
Family Photo Album
circa 1927-1952
box 2, folder 2
Hidaka Higher Girls' School in Wakayama, Miye
1932
box 2, folder 3
Kumeichi and his Rafu 15th Vegetable Market Japanese Members
circa 1904
box 2, folder 4
Family Photos, Ranch 4
circa 1927 -1952
box 2, folder 5
Family Photos, Ranch 4
circa 1927 -1952
box 2, folder 6
Family Photos, Ranch 4
circa 1927 -1977
box 2, folder 7
Family Photos
circa 1910 -1952
box 2, folder 8
Terminal Island, Kumeichi, Take
circa 1910 -1954
box 2, folder 9
Ranch 4, Masaichi
1920 -1977
box 2, folder 13
Masaichi and Miye's Photos from the Daily Breeze
1976
box 2, folder 16
Ceremonial Photos
circa 1920s-1950s
box 2, folder 17
Family Photos
circa 1930s-1990s
box 2, folder 18
2 17 Color Slides: Farm and Family Life
circa 1950s-1970s
Series III: Artifacts and Films
1910-2011; undated
Physical Description: 0.5 Linear Feet
Physical Description: 1 box
Scope and Contents
Materials in this series include moving images of the hilltop farm communities and Terminal Island in the 1930s, along with
films of family trips. Also included are medals and family mementos, along with a DVD documenting family history.
box 3, folder 1
8 mm Film Reel in a Metal Case, Camp II Book
box 3, folder 2
Cine-Kodak Panchromatic Films
1937 -1957
box 3, folder 3
Cine-Kodak Films, Kodachrome Super 8 and 8mm Films
1937 -1957; 1980
box 3, folder 4
Medals and Mementos
1933 -1977
