Tomi, An Issei Woman
Tomi, 1910s.
Tomi, 1960s.
Unlike many Japanese male immigrants to the U.S., Kishiro did not get married to a picture bride. According to his daughter Iyo, (who was recorded in a 1995 oral history interview) Kishiro met a fellow Japanese immigrant named Henry, who came to the Oakland area a bit before he had. This man convinced Kishiro to start conversing with his sister back in Tokyo. Iyo said,
"Henry persuaded my father to write to his sister. So my parents began a romance through the mail. They corresponded and exchanged pictures and then he went back to marry her. That's what I understood" (page 5).
Kishiro was successful enough to make a trip back to Japan to visit his family in the countryside (Naegi) and get married to Tomi Murakami, from a prominent sword-making family in Tokyo in 1901, only four years after first coming to the U.S. Kishiro and Tomi settled in Oakland and had 7 children, all born in Oakland, many of whom he sent to U.C. Berkeley for higher education. Japanese immigration to the U.S. stopped for men after 1907 with the Gentlement's Agreement, whereby the U.S. government agreed to stop segregating Japanese children in schools and the Japanese government agreed to halt emigration from Japan to the U.S. After 1907, wives and children were allowed to immigrate to marry or re-connect with their Japanese husbands and fathers. However, none of these immigrants would not be able to naturalize as U.S. citizens.
Kishiro and Tomi immigrated before this law, which was formalized in the Immigration Act of 1924. Their romance is an interesting story. Why would Tomi leave all that she knew when she came from a prominent family? Did Kishiro intend to move back to Japan after a few years in the U.S.? Did they consider this move a temporary adventure or a permanent decision?
Her kids and grandkids have a lot to say about Tomi. She lived into her 90s and had a lot of time to spend with them, and her loud snoring was a big story in the family. Many describe her as strong-willed or obstinate, a woman who loved modern things, spoke a broken English, an artist and crafter who made clothing for all of her grandchildren, and worked with leather to make small pocketbooks, a prolific letter-writer. After her fifth child, she registered a patent with the U.S. government of an abdominal supportive girdle for pregnant women. She had suffered a hernia herself which was noted when she had surgery for it during her WWII incarceration in Utah. After the death of her husband, whom she cared for at the end of his life, she opened up her own alterations and dry cleaning storefront near her house in Oakland. Her sons helped her to set up the business, and she contracted out for the dry cleaning. She must have been savy and did have the benefit of having college educated children to help her navigate, although she did speak a accented English, and may have used it with her customers.
She went home on a few occasions to Japan. She went there in 1910 to bring her two eldest children, Kimi and Sus, to be educated in Japan and raised among family there (in Tokyo and Naegi). She also had a large Japanese community in Oakland through the Japanese Methodist Church in Oakland.
She went home on a few occasions to Japan. She went there in 1910 to bring her two eldest children, Kimi and Sus, to be educated in Japan and raised among family there (in Tokyo and Naegi). She also had a large Japanese community in Oakland through the Japanese Methodist Church in Oakland.
Tomi, unknown year.
Tomi's Family in Japan
Tomi's parents, Ko (Tsujikawa) and Tokichi Murakami.
Tomi, at far right.
Tomi Murakami was born December 2, 1882 to mother Ko Tsujikawa and father Tokichi Murakami. (Unknown birth, marriage or death dates). Tokicho was from Tokyo-shi, Kyobashi-ku, Motominato-cho 11 Banchi, the full address of Murakami residence.[Kiyo's Family History] Kyobashi-ku contains the Ginza and is one of the oldest wards in Tokyo.
Some is known about Tomi's maternal family (Tsujikawa). There was an aunt Iyoko (could this be Tomi's aunt or great aunt?) who was recognized for her beautiful calligraphy and was a scribe in the court of Emperor Meiji.
Tomi got married to Kishiro Yamashita on June 2, 1901 in Tokyo in an arranged marriage. Kyobashi-ku (currently Chuo-ku) is adjacent to Azabu-ku where Tomi's first two children, Kimi and Sus, attended Toyo Eiwa and Hijirizaka grammar and Azabu Middle schools, respectively. [Karent Tei Yamashita's 1972 Yamashita family research]
Tomi was proud of her Samurai heritage. Tokichi was a retired samurai whose family became sword makers. Ko was a patron of the arts and held "salons" in their Tokyo home to entertain artists. Kimi and Sus were exposed to this environment at the Murakami residence. Tomi said that the Murakamis were the "true samurais" in the Yamashita family (as opposed to Kishiro's family which had bought the title of samurai.[Chiz's memories of Tomi]
Some is known about Tomi's maternal family (Tsujikawa). There was an aunt Iyoko (could this be Tomi's aunt or great aunt?) who was recognized for her beautiful calligraphy and was a scribe in the court of Emperor Meiji.
Tomi got married to Kishiro Yamashita on June 2, 1901 in Tokyo in an arranged marriage. Kyobashi-ku (currently Chuo-ku) is adjacent to Azabu-ku where Tomi's first two children, Kimi and Sus, attended Toyo Eiwa and Hijirizaka grammar and Azabu Middle schools, respectively. [Karent Tei Yamashita's 1972 Yamashita family research]
Tomi was proud of her Samurai heritage. Tokichi was a retired samurai whose family became sword makers. Ko was a patron of the arts and held "salons" in their Tokyo home to entertain artists. Kimi and Sus were exposed to this environment at the Murakami residence. Tomi said that the Murakamis were the "true samurais" in the Yamashita family (as opposed to Kishiro's family which had bought the title of samurai.[Chiz's memories of Tomi]
Tomi, and family, on her visit to Japan in 1910, to drop off Kimi and Sus with her family in Tokyo.
Map of Tokyo Before the Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Tomi's family lived in Kyobashi-Ku a district Southeast from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Back row, right Tomi.
Left to right: Kimi (Tomi's first child), Sus (Tomi's second child),
and Ko (Tomi's mother)
Becoming a Christian in Oakland
Oakland Japanese Methodist Church, Circa late 1920s, early 1930s(?).
To see the left half of the photograph. Can you find John and Sus?
To see the right half of the photograph. Can you find Tomi?
Close up, John is barely visible, with his eyes peeking over the shoulders of the adult men in the back row. Oakland Japanese Methodist Church, Circa late 1920s, early 1930s(?).
Tomi converted to Christianity in California after meeting a nice woman and apparently asking her why she was so nice. [Kay's Oral History Interview, 1991]
Kay described her family's conversion to Christianity after coming to the U.S.
Kay described her family's conversion to Christianity after coming to the U.S.
“But I should explain to you that my parents were not Christians when they came to the United States. A lady, Mrs. Harrison, was very kind to my mother and my mother became curious, and after she got to really know her asked her what made her the way she was. She explained to her that it was because she was a Christian. My mother became, therefore, very interested in Christianity in general. Then, I don’t know at what point, but the Methodist missions became active in Oakland and all the way up and down California, and my mother became a Christian. My father was not. He was, in fact, anti-Christian. It was not until about the time I was born that he became a Christian. By then, he did not smoke, he did not drink, but he did not go to church. Yet when he died, we, the children, discovered that he had worn out [two] Bibles, so that indicates something. My brother became a minister later.” [Oral History Interview, 1991]
Along with many other Issei (first generation Japanese immigrant) ladies, she ran the social activities of the Japanese Methodist Church in Oakland Church, which became the center of the family’s social life.
As the Issei lived in Calfornia, they put down roots. Issei women found that they had more freedoms in the United States than in Japan. At least, they did not have their husband’s parents to care for. They could be active in their social lives, organize events with the church.
As the Issei lived in Calfornia, they put down roots. Issei women found that they had more freedoms in the United States than in Japan. At least, they did not have their husband’s parents to care for. They could be active in their social lives, organize events with the church.
Tomi with Church Friends (?), Unknown Date. Tomi is standing in second row from bottom, at far left, holding a child.
Oakland Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church, 1907.
The Oakland Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church was later known as the West Tenth Methodist Church.
The white stucco building pictured in the sepia tone photographs was the congregation's first building it purchased outright in 1907 at 795 10th Street (at the corner of West Street and 10th Street) in Oakland. The congregation had formed earlier, in 1887. To read a short history of the church and the congregation that survives today, see here. This history contextualizes the new building acquisition as a milestone made in the wake of the devastating fire of 1907 in San Francisco which led many Japanese to move from San Francisco to Oakland. To see a historic map of Oakland which shows this intersection, now replaced by 1960s redevelopment, see here.
When Tomi was incarcerated during the war, she got a postive reference sent to the War Relocation Authority by the two pastors of her church. Frank Herron Smith described her as a capable church widow who had sent many of her children to college because of her laundering business.
The white stucco building pictured in the sepia tone photographs was the congregation's first building it purchased outright in 1907 at 795 10th Street (at the corner of West Street and 10th Street) in Oakland. The congregation had formed earlier, in 1887. To read a short history of the church and the congregation that survives today, see here. This history contextualizes the new building acquisition as a milestone made in the wake of the devastating fire of 1907 in San Francisco which led many Japanese to move from San Francisco to Oakland. To see a historic map of Oakland which shows this intersection, now replaced by 1960s redevelopment, see here.
When Tomi was incarcerated during the war, she got a postive reference sent to the War Relocation Authority by the two pastors of her church. Frank Herron Smith described her as a capable church widow who had sent many of her children to college because of her laundering business.
Visiting Japan
Tomi, 1928. Second row from front, seventh from left.
Chiz Yamashita as a toddler, on the return trip from Japan in 1910.
After coming to the United States in 1901 shortly after marrying, Tomi returned to Japan in 1911, bringing Kimi, Sus and Chiz. She left Kimi and Sus in the care of her parents' in Tokyo to be educated in Japan. She brought along baby Chizu since there likely was no one to take care of her in Oakland. Tomi returned to Japan around 1928 as this photo shows the passengers of the ship. She went back and forth to Japan a number of times. She went again in 1925 and visited both her mother and Kohei when she fed the deer at Nara. (We only know about this trip from a few photographs- one below. Another above, shows her on the ship SS Shinyo Maru dated 1928. The photo that is in the Tailor exhibit (here) also shows her in Japan at that time. She would return again to Japan in 1953(Source Notebook 1900s - 1950s Page 28, yet to be uploaded).
Ko Murakami with Tomi, probably on her 1925 trip to Japan.
Ko Murakami with Tomi, probably on her 1925 trip to Japan.
Tomi, at far right with Chiz on her lap, on her return trip to Oakland in 1910, accompanying picture brides in order to pay for her trip back home to California.
Designing & Patenting a Pregnancy Girdle
Tomi’s Flyer for the Abdominal Girdle she designed for Pregnant Women.
Tomi patented a pregnancy girdle in 1916. She is cited as the first Japanese American woman to patent a design. By the 1920s there were a handful of businesses producing such garments (called Abdominal Supporters) which appear in the business directory of Oakland. Tomi somehow organized the production of a flyer in Japanese to advertize her design, complete with a drawn illustration of the girdle in use. We don’t know exactly how she managed to figure out where to place her patent and how to fill out the forms.
Tomi’s 1916 Patent Form.
Tomi’s 1916 Patent Form Diagrams.
The Dry Cleaning Business & The Written Threat
In January 1931, Kishiro suffered a stroke. Tomi cared for him up until his death at the end of that year. After that point, Tomi closed the tailoring shop. Mr. Shiozawa took over the sewing machines and set up a shop in his house where Tomi worked for a time.
Then she worked at a cleaners doing alterations until her son, John, decided she should have her own shop. He arranged to rent space in the Fox Oakland Theatre building at Telegraph Avenue and 19th Street (517 19th Street). He secured a license for Tomi to do business and operate a pressing machine. They bought a second pressing machine and John furnished the place with cleaning racks he made from steel poles he bought and painted. For a fee, Rex Cleanings, a whole sale business picked up dirty clothes to be dry cleaned and returned them to Tomi to be pressed. Tomi kept one sewing machine to make alterations.
The business was named the Mayfair Cleaning Shoppe. Tomi made money altering the inexpensive pants men bought at the Dollar Store across the street. She must have spoken English well enough to conduct business. Her youngest daughter, Kay, described her English proficiency as halting.
There were other Japanese businesses near Tomi's new business, with Olympic Produce Company across the street from her storefront. Japanese American businesses in Oakland in 1940 are recorded in an atlas. The storefront where Tomi's business was in the 1930s still stands in Downtown Oakland today.
Martha (also known as Marty), Tomi's second grandchild, recalls memories of taking lunch to her grandmother working at Mayfair:
Then she worked at a cleaners doing alterations until her son, John, decided she should have her own shop. He arranged to rent space in the Fox Oakland Theatre building at Telegraph Avenue and 19th Street (517 19th Street). He secured a license for Tomi to do business and operate a pressing machine. They bought a second pressing machine and John furnished the place with cleaning racks he made from steel poles he bought and painted. For a fee, Rex Cleanings, a whole sale business picked up dirty clothes to be dry cleaned and returned them to Tomi to be pressed. Tomi kept one sewing machine to make alterations.
The business was named the Mayfair Cleaning Shoppe. Tomi made money altering the inexpensive pants men bought at the Dollar Store across the street. She must have spoken English well enough to conduct business. Her youngest daughter, Kay, described her English proficiency as halting.
"She would completely forget her English at times but she understood. She certainly could understand the newscasts and so forth. But she spoke with a heavy accent."
Her business was within walking distance of her home. There were other Japanese businesses near Tomi's new business, with Olympic Produce Company across the street from her storefront. Japanese American businesses in Oakland in 1940 are recorded in an atlas. The storefront where Tomi's business was in the 1930s still stands in Downtown Oakland today.
Martha (also known as Marty), Tomi's second grandchild, recalls memories of taking lunch to her grandmother working at Mayfair:
I remember around age 10 and 11 spending summers at Obachan's at 670 19th St, and Iyo or Kay would make a hot bento lunch every day to be brought to Mayfair Cleaners. I was old enough to cross Grove and San Pablo to be entrusted to carry the bento. Grandma felt children should not be seen at the shop, so I was sent up to the balcony (hot as steam from the press, like the open 3rd floor with steps up) overlooking the shop to fold boxes for shirts, etc. there were other businesses in the Fox Oakland business building which was separate from the movies way around the corner. Recall there was a barber shop and one of the barbers asked me what Iyo's name meant. Not knowing but having heard my parents say good things were "ee- yo", I said her name meant she's a good girl, and the barber much agreed! (Told this at the memorial service for Iyo).
Summers in Oakland were cooler than Fresno, would go to Uncle John's church Sunday's, roller skate with June Yamada sometimes. Chiz would pick me up in Fresno with Kix and drive north. We were given a nickel and dime for Sunday offering, We were told the small one for church and the big one for ice cream enroute home, and sometimes Kix ended up with the dime, having given the big one for offering!
[Email Correspondence, 2015]
Summers in Oakland were cooler than Fresno, would go to Uncle John's church Sunday's, roller skate with June Yamada sometimes. Chiz would pick me up in Fresno with Kix and drive north. We were given a nickel and dime for Sunday offering, We were told the small one for church and the big one for ice cream enroute home, and sometimes Kix ended up with the dime, having given the big one for offering!
[Email Correspondence, 2015]
Threatening letter left at Tomi's business after Pearl Harbor attacks in December 1941.
Storefront, circa 2014 from google maps. Tomi's dry cleaning business was located (517 19th Street at corner with Telegraph and in the same building as the Fox Theatre) from 1932-1941.
Tomi's Alien Registration Card
Tomi’s Alien Registration Card, 1942.
The date on this card shows that it was registered on Feb 7, 1942. Based on the Alien Registration Act of 1940 also known as the Smith Act, all non-citizens were required to register at local post offices. Tomi registered before the proclamations were issued limiting movement of all people of Japanese descent. A curfew was instated in March of 1942 where Japanese Americans were not allowed to be farther than five miles from their house at any time other than for work or travel to work, and were required to be at home from 8pm to 6am. To read about the connections between the proposals for a Muslim Registry and the history of registration and exclusion of Japanese Americans, see this Densho post.
Grandma, not Obaachan
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| Tomi at the Beach | Tomi, right, being fancy | Eating Ice Cream Cones, Tomi, second to left. |
What do these images of Tomi in Golden Gate Park tell us? Does she look American? Does she look acculturated? Is her degree of assimilation to America something that defined her life and her story which dims all other narratives? Are there alternate views of this woman, insider-views? There is the view from her grandchildren, who were around her in the 1950s and 60s, long after her youthful days in the 1900s. When preparing for the day or winding down from one, she would lie on her back on the bed and move her legs as if riding a bicycle and stretch her legs. This routine was one that only her small grandkids would see or remember. She would take care of her grandkids when their parents went away. She would photograph herself and her friends in old age. She would keep photographs of all of her grandkids. She would see them disperse. And when she was dying in her 90s, her kids took care of her and tried their best to comfort her- they gave her grapes with the skin peeled off, her favorite.
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