FIRST JAPANESE SETTLERS IN SAINT LOUIS

The first recorded Japanese settler in Saint Louis came here during the 1904 World’s Fair. Yukinoba Yamamoto ran a concession stand in Forest Park during the World’s Fair. As a part of the World’s Fair, a Japanese Imperial Garden was built. Situated on a hillside in Forest Park, the garden and pavilion were built with materials and workers straight from Japan.

After the World’s Fair, Yukinoba Yamamoto stayed and settled in Saint Louis. Between 1904 and 1940, eleven Japanese families are known to have settled in Saint Louis. The following list of names of the first Japanese settlers is compiled from oral histories. The settlers are listed on the left, and their children are listed on the right.

Yukinoba Yamamoto- Robert Elkington

H. Tanaka- Joe, Charles, and Edward

Ben and Mary Kadowaki- Mae Marshall

Inukai- Joe Inukai

Tom Uyeda- Vivian Reisinger

Harry Uyeda- bachelor

Charles Miura- bachelor

Dr. Tshuchiya- no children

Mr. Ninagawa

T. Tanaka

Mr. Fujita

 

      
 
An ariel view of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis shows the Japanese pavilion and the Japanese garden on the hill.
     
  Mr. Yukinoba Yamamoto is the first known Japanese American settler in St. Louis. Here he is in July 1968, after he received a medal from the Japanese government for his contribution to Japanese-American relations.      
               

WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE FOR THE FIRST JAPANESE SETTLERS IN SAINT LOUIS?

We can assume Japanese settlers came to St. Louis to build a comfortable life for themselves and their families. We know from testimonies that several early Japanese settlers in St. Louis opened small businesses.

H. Tanaka opened Pig Meat Restaurant, at Market and Jefferson in downtown Saint Louis. Ben Kadowaki and Inuaki both had American- style restaurants. Ben Kadowaki opened Eagle Restaurant in 1934, on the corner of Jefferson and Market. The Kadowaki’s came to the United States in 1918 and moved to Saint Louis in 1933.

In an oral history taken with Mae Marshall, the daughter of Ben Kadowaki, she describes their life in Saint Louis prior to and during World War II. Mae Marshall was born on August 5, 1935, at St. Louis Central Hospital. She has lived in Saint Louis her entire life.

PORTIONS OF MAE MARSHALL'S ORAL HISTORY (nisei)

 

    
                     
                     
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