A new permanent exhibit at the Los Altos History Museum showcases some of the notable early residents of the community (before 1950).
In the exhibition Making Connections: Stories from the Land, four sections of the display (Leland Smith (Town), Mary Golda Ross (Valley), Rose Marie Taaffe (Hill), Shoichi Kagawa (Hill)) give people give it a spot. stream). This article focuses on Kagawa.
Kagawa arrived in San Francisco from Japan in 1905 via Hawaii. He held various jobs, learned English, and eventually settled in Los Altos, where around 1913 Paul He became the custodian of the Shoup estate. developed housing.
Kagawa saved money so that his wife, Natsuyo, could join them from Japan in 1918. Kagawa lived at the Shoup House for 30 years before being forced to live in a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II.
The museum’s oral history described Kagawa as an exemplary employee. He created a Japanese garden and a koi pond along the Adobe River. His son Isamu (Doug) helped him haul large stones up the mountain for his garden, and remembered vividly the winter rains when the creek overcame its banks and the sound of water became terrifying.
The Kagawa family helped other Japanese farmers struggling to make a living. Kagawa’s obituary in the Palo Alto Times called him the “Japanese Governor of Los Altos.”
The five children in the family were born and raised in Los Altos, attended Los Altos Grammar School, and after daily classes at the Grammar School, they attended the Japanese language school on the Furuichi grounds and played with the neighborhood children. .
In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt’s executive order forced the family to move to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. As they boarded the train, neighbors saw them off with coffee and donuts.After World War II, they lived in Chicago. Eventually, some families moved back to California.
The Kagawa family was “loved and respected” by the Schop family, according to the oral history of Fumiko Kagawa, daughter of the Kagawa family. Stored and helped the family resettle after the war.
Diane Holcomb, Principal Curator of the Creek Section, said: “The Kagawa family was distinguished by their generosity in helping many Japanese farmers struggling to make a living. It is located where his family lived in and is inspired by the beautiful Japanese gardens he created with fish ponds, bridges and bamboo chairs.”
Exhibits at the new Permanent History Museum, due to open early next year, ensure that this remarkable Japanese-American family from early Los Altos will be remembered.
The Los Altos Historical Museum is located at 51 S. San Antonio Road. For more information on the permanent exhibition, visit losaltoshistory.org.