Welcoming the Consul General of Japan, present and past

ABOVE: California Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg greeting the new Consul General of Japan Akira Muto at the assumption of post reception. Representatives for Historic Wintersburg were invited guests, along with representatives for the Huntington Beach Sister City Association. Huntington Beach has been a Sister City with Anjo, Japan, since 1992. (Photograph, October 3, 2019, M. Urashima) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    Southern California welcomed a new Consul General of Japan at a recent reception held in Los Angeles. Consul General Akira Muto has served in Washington D.C., and Boston, and was a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. The Los Angeles consulate post includes Southern California and Arizona.

LEFT: Consul General Akira Muto speaks at the Assumption of Post reception. The ever gracious consulate staff at right. (Photograph, October 3, 2019, M. Urashima)  © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   In his remarks upon the assumption of his new post, Consul General Muto stated, "I am greatly honored to be able to serve as consul general in a region with such deep ties to Japan, and look forward to wonderful new encounters that may differ from those during my time as Consul General of Japan in Boston." 

   Consul General Muto takes his position as the Emperor of Japan Naruhito ascends to the Throne in the new era of Reiwa. Japan also is readying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games in July. Surfing will make its debut in the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. The shortboard competition will take place at Tsurigasaki Beach, in Chiba. 

   "Once engaged in war, our nations have overcome those past troubled times to become close allies connected in deep friendship. Japan's solid relationship with Southern California and Arizona exemplifies our strong Japan-U.S. ties, " remarked Consul General Muto. "My utmost duty as Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles will be to further cultivate goodwill between Japan and the U.S."

   Wintersburg Village and Huntington Beach have a long history with Japan, with Japanese pioneers contributing significantly to regional agriculture and development. The growing communities welcomed an important consulate visit in 1912, holding a luncheon at the Huntington Inn for Consul General Matsuzo Nagai, who was stationed in San Francisco. The Consul General arrived at 8:30 a.m. for a meeting at Huntington Beach city hall with Mayor W.D. Seely and then spoke to an assembly of students at Huntington Beach High School, before the luncheon.

RIGHT: A 1917 advertisement from the Santa Ana Register for the Dragon Cafe in Santa Ana, which hosted a banquet for the Consul General of Japan Matsuzo Nagai in May 1912 (with leading Japanese and American citizens of Orange County). The Dragon Cafe hosted many important Orange County events in the 1910s. They advertised heavily for Valentine's Day, offering to deliver heart-shaped cakes, ice cream and chocolate in heart-shaped satin candy boxes. (Advertisement, Santa Ana Register, November 2, 1917)

   The Santa Ana Register reported, "In addition to leading Japanese of this section there will be present 25 American guests. Those from this City will be Mayor W. D. Seely, Principal A.E. Paine of the High School, President T.B. Talbert of the Board of Trade, Louis Paul Hart of the Huntington Beach News, and Rev. E.J. Harlow." Consul General Nagai then spoke at the Talbert Hall in what is now Fountain Valley and then enjoyed a banquet at the famous Dragon Cafe in Santa Ana.  

LEFT: Consul General Matsuzo Nagai, circa 1917, five years after his visit to Orange County. Consul General Nagai would have been enthusiastic about the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He served on the governmental committee in Japan charged with preparing for the Tokyo games in 1940 (which were cancelled) and also as a member of the International Olympic Committee until 1950. (Photograph, WikiCommons)

   An activist for the Olympic Games, Consul General Nagai would not have been introduced to surfing during his 1912 visit to "Surf City", as the sport was just beginning to take hold along the southern California coast. Irish Hawaiian George Freeth is considered the first to surf the Huntington Beach pier at its re-dedication in 1914. Delbert "Bud" Higgins, one of the first local surfers, noted that "the first use of boards was about 1912 when they used a piece of 1 by 12 board about 4 feet long and pushed off from 5 foot water. There were no surfboards on the coast except the one belonging to George Freeth of Redondo Beach and it was a very makeshift one made of several boards with cross pieces nailed to hold it together."

   Consul General Nagai undoubtedly would have been delighted that 107 years after his visit to Orange County, surfers from Japan are training near the Huntington Beach pier as they prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Huntington Beach's Kanoa Igarashi--a two time champion of the U.S. Open of Surfing competition near the Huntington Beach pier--has qualified for the 2020 surfing competition and will join them in Japan.

More about Huntington Beach's long history with Japan: Read about the 1935 reception for Japanese Consul General Tomokazu Hori, Cherry blossoms and poppies: A 1935 banquet with the Japanese Consul in Huntington Beach.

ABOVE: Consul General Matsuzo Nagai, to the left of Mayor W.D. Seely, standing center front, on the steps of the Huntington Inn in Huntington Beach in May 1912 with representatives of the Smeltzer Japanese Association and City leaders. Consul General Nagai's post was in San Francisco. The Smeltzer Japanese Association provided the first fireworks in 1905 for Huntington Beach July 4th celebrations and also supported fundraising for the rebuilding of the Huntington Beach pier in 1912. Charles Furuta, owner of the Furuta farm at Historic Wintersburg, is standing in the front row, second from left. Reverend Barnabus Hisayoshi Teresawa, a founder of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission, to the right of Mayor W.D. Seely. Huntington Beach's first mayor, Ed Manning, is second row, far right in light-color suit.  Another Huntington Beach mayor, Orange County supervisor, and pioneer realtor, Thomas Talbert, is in the second row (on step), fourth from left with hat in hand.  (Photograph courtesy of Wintersburg Church, May 31, 1912) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.

December 2016 highlights; looking ahead to 2017

ABOVE: Setting up the Tashima Market on the front lawn of the Newland House Museum for the third annual Holidays in Huntington Beach.  The R.G. Tashima Co. market was near Lyndon Lane and Warner Avenue (once Wintersburg Road) in Wintersburg Village. (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 1, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

   We share a few highlights of our activities in December 2016, along with some dates for you to mark on your calendar in 2017.

LEFT: As people gathered to watch, Nancy Hayata of Classical Japanese Dance,  enchanted with a performance of the Furin Kazan, or Fūrinkazan. The chilly and windy night added extra drama to the dance which featured glowing candlelight and golden fans. The dance is an artistic representation of the Sun Tzu banner phrase, "as swift as wind, as silent as the forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable as mountain."  More information about Classical Japanese Dance, http://www.classicaljapanesedance.com/ (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 2, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

RIGHT: Sensei Art Ishii and a few of his students from Matsubayashi Shorin-ryu Dojo of Little Tokyo in Los Angeles joined Historic Wintersburg at Holidays in Huntington Beach 1916. Martial arts training is part of the early 1900s history. Classes were taught in the chili pepper warehouses that once occupied the land where this event was held, at the Newland Shopping Center.  Read more about Art Ishii in this 2014 Discover Nikkei feature, http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2014/1/2/level-of-training-was-different/  (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 2, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

LEFT: Inside the Tashima Market, a wall of historic photographs that share the history of Wintersburg Village and Huntington Beach Japanese American pioneers.  A backdrop is a photographic image of the original R.G. Tashima Co. market in Wintersburg Village. (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 2, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

RIGHT: We were invited to the Consulate General of Japan residence in Los Angeles for the annual reception in honor of the Emperor's birthday. Officials and invited guests from around Southern California were treated to Japanese cuisine and artwork, such as the representations of a princess and a samurai.  The Emperor's birthday celebration is part of Orange County pioneer history.  In 1913, journalist Neeta Marquis wrote that "half the countryside" in Orange County was invited to join in the event organized by the Japanese Association in Wintersburg Village. (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 6, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

LEFT:  A proclamation from the City of Los Angeles is presented to Consul General Akira Chiba (center) at the residence of the Consulate General of Japan. Consul Chiba was inaugurated to the Consulate of Japan in Los Angeles in July 2016. The Southern California region includes the largest population of Japanese nationals outside of Japan, with 2,500 business enterprises that originate in Japan and generate approximately 79,500 jobs.  (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 6, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

RIGHT:  Consul Shigeru Kikuma and his wife, Kana, at the December 6 reception at the Consulate General of Japan residence. They also joined Historic Wintersburg at the Holidays in Huntington Beach 1916 event, with their daughter Rin (who got to meet Santa Claus!). (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 6, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

LEFT: Residents of the Oak View neighborhood in Huntington Beach, home to Historic Wintersburg, invited us to help them celebrate a long-standing cultural tradition of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Chinelos--a name from the Nahuatl word zineloquie meaning "disguised"--are dancers with a origins dating back to the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Chinelos and Aztec dancers are among the many in a  procession that makes its way through the streets of Oak View. (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 11, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

RIGHT:  One of the many altars to the Virgen de Guadalupe in Oak View. The procession--with live musicians and dancers, joined by celebrants--stop at each of the altars to present a performance. Along the way, food is offered to celebrants as a gesture of hospitality and community. (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 11, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

LEFT: On December 13, Historic Wintersburg joined thousands around the country in a one-night-only screening of George Takei's screening of Allegiance, the Broadway production on film. Allegiance is a moving musical inspired by the true life events of George Takei and other Americans of Japanese descent who were deprived of civil liberties and incarcerated during World War II.  This photograph was taken about 30 minutes before the screening, with only a few seats left.  The Century Huntington Beach theater's first screening was sold out and they added a second screening. (Photo, M. Urashima, Dec. 13, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR 2017:

   A few dates to put on your calendar for 2017, for which there will be events with Historic Wintersburg (or we will be participating).  More events will be added, as we near the important 75-year anniversary of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 2017, and toward Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

January 8, 2017
Oshogatsu Family Festival at the Japanese American National Museum welcomes in the New Year, the Year of the Rooster!  The rooster, or tori 酉, is considered a lucky for business.  Get your lucky soba noodles, watch a mochi-tsuki demonstration and explore the activities and displays at JANM, http://www.janm.org/events/2017/oshogatsufest/

January 11 - February 12, 2017
"What if heroes were not welcome home" exhibit at the Orange County Agricultural & Nikkei Heritage Museum at California State University Fullerton Arboretum, http://fullertonarboretum.org/museum_nikkei_current.php.  The exhibit highlights the American citizens of Japanese descent who served heroically with the United States Armed Forces in the South Pacific and in Europe, while their families were "unjustly incarcerated in concentration camps on American soil".  Historic Wintersburg chair Mary Urashima speaks at the exhibit on Sunday, January 22 at 1 pm.

 

February 18 and 19, 2017
This February 19 marks the 75-year anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  

On this date in 1942, those associated with Historic Wintersburg--the Furuta family, the clergy and congregation of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission, the Japanese American residents of Orange County--learned they would be removed from California and incarcerated for the duration of World War II, due to their Japanese ancestry.  It would be later documented that none of the approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans confined in camps around the United States had committed any act against the United States.  The formal federal government apology and reparation resulted in the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan at which congregants of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission were present.

On Saturday, February 18, the Day of Remembrance events will be held at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, http://www.janm.org/.  Historic Wintersburg will have a table at the Day of Remembrance.

ABOVE RIGHT: A news article from the Santa Ana Register describes the final service to be held at the Wintersburg Japanese Church prior to the clergy and congregation--along with all Japanese Americans in Orange County--leaving for confinement during the remainder of World War II.  The article mentions the daughter of Charles and Yukiko Furuta, Toshiko, played piano at the services which many congregants could not attend due to the "five-mile limit on travel of Japanese from their homes". (Image, Santa Ana Register, May 5, 1942)

March 19, 2017
The annual Huntington Beach Cherry Blossom Festival, http://hbjapanesefestival.com/   will be held Sunday, March 19, in Central Park, behind the Central Library.   This event--planned to coincide with the blossoming sakura, the cherry trees in Central park--is organized by the Huntington Beach Sister City Association to support the friendship and exchange with Sister City Anjo, Japan.  Historic Wintersburg will have a booth at the Cherry Blossom Festival.

April 29, 2017
The annual Manzanar Pilgrimage will be held on Saturday, April 29, at the Manzanar National Historic Site in California's Owens Valley.  

LEFT: One of the stone gardens restored by the National Park Service at Manzanar.  The first of the confinement centers to open in 1942, approximately 10,000 Japanese Americans were confined in one square mile in California's Owens Valley, between Independence and Lone Pine at the foot of the Sierras. (Photo, M. Urashima, July 2015) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The program for the Manzanar Pilgrimage is held in the northwest corner of the camp, near the Soul Consoling obelisk in the cemetery.  This will be the third year that Historic Wintersburg task force members have participated in the Pilgrimage, organized by the Manzanar Committee, https://www.manzanarcommittee.org/The_Manzanar_Committee/Our_Pilgrimage.html

May 2017 
This month is national Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  Events for this month to be announced. 

All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.