The House on Lemon Street

Japanese Pioneers and the American Dream

Mark Rawitsch

• Publisher: University Press of Colorado
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781607322719, 9781607321651
• eBook ISBN: 9781607321668
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

In 1915, Jukichi and Ken Harada purchased a house on Lemon Street in Riverside, California. Close to their restaurant, church, and children's school, the house should have been a safe and healthy family home. Before the purchase, white neighbors objected because of the Haradas' Japanese ancestry, and the California Alien Land Law denied them real-estate ownership because they were not citizens. To bypass the law Mr. Harada bought the house in the names of his three youngest children, who were American-born citizens. Neighbors protested again, and the first Japanese American court test of the California Alien Land Law of 1913-The People of California v. Jukichi Harada-was the result.

Bringing this little-known story to light, The House on Lemon Street details the Haradas' decision to fight for the American dream. Chronicling their experiences from their immigration to the United States through their legal battle over their home, their incarceration during World War II, and their lives after the war, this book tells the story of the family's participation in the struggle for human and civil rights, social justice, property and legal rights, and fair treatment of immigrants in the United States.

The Harada family's quest for acceptance illuminates the deep underpinnings of anti-Asian animus, which set the stage for Executive Order 9066, and recognizes fundamental elements of our nation's anti-immigrant history that continue to shape the American story. It will be worthwhile for anyone interested in the Japanese American experience in the twentieth century, immigration history, public history, and law.

This publication was made possible with the support of Naomi, Kathleen, Ken, and Paul Harada, who donated funds in memory of their father, Harold Shigetaka Harada, honoring his quest for justice and civil rights. Additional support for this publication was also provided, in part, by UCLA's Aratani Endowed Chair as well as Wallace T. Kido, Joel B. Klein, Elizabeth A. Uno, and Rosalind K. Uno.

INDEX

Adachi, Sonoko. See Harada, Sonoko Adachi

Adair, Alexander Aird, and Harada lawsuit, 40, 108–9, 117, 122, 123

African Americans, 22, 32; in Riverside, 64, 79–80

Agriculture, 28, 37, 42, 43, 130; Japanese in, 50–51, 269–70; landownership, 36, 38, 133–34

Ah Do, 20

Aichi prefecture, 13, 14–15, 16, 97, 330(n1)

Aldrich, Jean, 45–46

Alien Land Bill (1909), 33, 34

Alien Land Law/Act, 2, 3, 11, 34, 39, 75, 93, 94, 101, 102, 319, 342(n22), 345(n23); federal reaction to, 35–36; Harada lawsuit and, 10, 107–11, 112–13, 115–18, 119–27; impact of, 314–15; Haruye Masaoka lawsuit and, 135–36; revisions to, 130, 132, 133, 134–35, 348(n8)

All Souls Universalist Church (Riverside), 53

Amamoto family, 151

American Legion, 130, 213

American Revenue Cutter Service, 20

Anderson, Brian, 287

Angel Island, 24

Anjo, 18

Anti-Asian politics, in California, 28, 30–31

Anti-Chinese sentiment, in Riverside, 43–45, 53

Anti-Japanese movement, 22, 27, 341(n19); in California, 28, 29–30, 32–36, 38–39, 51, 101–2, 110, 213; James Phelan’s, 129–30

Aoki, Peter, 204, 250

Arboga, Marysville Assembly Center at, 188–89

Architectural survey, of Riverside, 285

Arizona Superior Court, Saburo Kido attack and, 222

Asami Barber Shop, 71

Asian Exclusion Act, 134

Asians, 2–3, 31. See also Chinese; Japanese

Asiatic Exclusion League, 33

Asilomar, 142

Assembly Bill 78, 34

Assembly centers. See Marysville Assembly Center; Tanforan Assembly Center

Automobiles, in Riverside, 73–74

Beck, Elizabeth, 271

Becker, Anna “Annie” Elizabeth. See Hashimura, Anna Elizabeth Becker

Beecher, Henry Ward, 92

Bennett, D.E., 131

Benton, Arthur, 59

Berkeley, home ownership in, 36–38

Biddle, Francis, 168, 173

Birth of a Nation, The (film), 79, 82, 87–89, 90, 137

Blue Front Store, 47

Boarding houses. See Rooming houses

...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• ONE HERE IS YOUR CHANCE
• TWO THE SCHOOLTEACHER AND THE SAMURAI’S DAUGHTER
• THREE HERE TO STAY
• FOUR IN THE SHADOW OF THE MISSION INN
• FIVE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS
• SIX LITTLE LAMB GONE TO JESUS
• SEVEN THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA VERSUS HARADA
• EIGHT WORLD WAR AND A BASKET OF APPLES
• NINE FACE-TO-FACE
• TEN KEEP CALIFORNIA WHITE
• ELEVEN THE ONLY TIME I SEE THE SUN
• TWELVE FAREWELL TO RIVERSIDE
• THIRTEEN LEAVING LEMON STREET BEHIND
• FOURTEEN CAMP
• FIFTEEN BLUE BANDANAS AND AN IRONWOOD CLUB
• SIXTEEN FROM ISSEI TO NISEI
• SEVENTEEN QUESTIONS OF LOYALTY
• EIGHTEEN IT’S UP TO YOU, MEDIC
• NINETEEN HOME
• EPILOGUE SUMI’S HOUSE
• AFTERWORD
• NOTES
• GLOSSARY OF JAPANESE TERMS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX