Alien Land Law
California’s 1913 Alien Land Law never mentioned Japanese immigrants, but it didn’t have to. By barring “aliens ineligible for citizenship” from owning land, it effectively targeted Japanese farmers across the state.
Business & Agriculture
Gonzo Mimaki
Gonzo Mimaki’s life spanned the arc of Japanese American history: samurai roots in Kumamoto, railroad labor, California farming, community leadership, and wartime incarceration at Heart Mountain.
George Shima
After failing English in Japan, George Shima emigrated to California and became the state’s first Japanese millionaire and “Potato King.”
Mary Tsukamoto
Born in 1915, Mary Tsukamoto overcame poverty, arthritis, and unjust incarceration to become a pioneering educator and civil rights leader whose legacy still shapes California classrooms today.
Claude Akira Mimaki
Born in California and imprisoned as an enemy, Claude Akira Mimaki volunteered for the U.S. Army from behind barbed wire, served in two wars, and went on to build a life and business in postwar Japan. His story traces the full arc of the Nisei experience, from exclusion to service to reinvention, lived across borders and decades.
Yamashita v. Hinkle
Takuji Yamashita fought racism in Washington’s courts long before WWII. His 1922 case, Yamashita v. Hinkle, exposed how the Alien Land Laws targeted Japanese immigrants.
Rocky Aoki
From Tokyo streets to American fame, Rocky Aoki built an empire with Benihana, mixing performance and food into a new kind of dining experience. His wild life made him one of the most fascinating Japanese Americans of his era.
Tadaatsu Matsudaira
Born in 1851, Tadaatsu Matsudaira was heir to a powerful Tokugawa family. Educated at Rutgers and Harvard, he chose love and an American life over inheritance and title. A civil engineer who worked on major projects and held public office, his legacy continued through his son, Kinjirō, who became the first Asian American mayor in U.S. history.