Takao Richard Kihara

Me, my grandpa and my sister (Probably around 1988)

My grandfather was born as Takao Kihara in 1928.  He was born in Irvington, California as the youngest of five children.

My grandfather is vivacious, stubborn and cannot sit still.  He has dark tan skin, a full head of hair and leather like hands that are rough from yard work and gardening.

The first thing that I think of when I think about my grandpa is his garden.  This garden is his sanctuary and is what has given him great pride over the years.  The Japanese style garden is filled with stones, bricks, a red bridge and a pond filled with Koi fish.  Plants and trees overflow from the yard and shade the entirety of the backyard.  At any season you can find fresh fruits and vegetables including: persimmons, lemons, oranges, avocados, cucumbers, tomatoes and artichokes.

My grandpa holding a tomato grown from his garden.

Besides gardening my grandpa loves cars.  More specifically Cadillacs.  As far I can remember he always drove Cadillacs and treated them with meticulous care. My mother remembers as a child that when he opened the hood of the car it was always shiny and looked brand new.  He would often spend his time walking around the neighborhood going from dealership to dealership to talk cars- never actually planning to buy any.

When talking to my grandpa about his life there are certain things that he doesn't remember at all.  But once I get him talking he can be so specific and can give exact dates for when things happened.  For instance, his father.  As the youngest child he was very young when his father died.  He doesn't have many specific memories of him.  Most are from what his older siblings have told him.

My great grandfather, Tomekichi Kihara, came to the United States in the year 1900 when he was only 17 years old.

"The way I understand he (my father) came from Canada. I know that he worked in the railroad. But see... Alice (his older sister) was telling me that it was so hard when he was working on the railroad."

"Most of the Chinese were working on the railroad.  The way I understand I think it's how he came here to the United States. Because of the contract of the railroad. Till they got released."

Work on the railroad was known to be arduous and back breaking work.  Luckily by the time my great grandfather came to America the railroad unions had been established and the conditions were much better than what they had been just ten years before.

This is possibly the first photo of my great grandfather Tomekichi coming to America at only 17 years old.  He is the young boy on the far right.

After my great grandfather was released from the railroad he started a life as a farmer in California.  A part of that new life was finding a wife.

Similar to my grandmother's parents my grandpa's parents had an arranged marriage.  Both my great grandfather, and my great grandmother were from Hiroshima, Japan. By the time they were wed and came back to the United States my grandmother was 18 years old and my great grandfather 15 years her senior at 33 years old.  She would have her oldest son three years later.

Years later while my grandfather was serving in the United States Army he he had the opportunity to meet some distant family members who told him about the elaborate party his father had thrown for his parents wedding.

"You know in Japan they had great big 'ol barrel, tubs of sake. They don't buy sake by the gallon.  But they didn't show the wedding part but they were showing that there was barrels of sake. So you know he made it sound like he's doing good over here. But he was just a farmer."

My great grandmother Michiko Kitagawa

My great grandfather likely saved up money for a very long time so he could go back to Japan and find  a suitable wife. Since their marriage was arranged it was important to show that you were well off and could be a good provider.  In reality his life back in the United States was much different.

"Dexter (his older brother) told me that we were living in a shack in the Berryessa area!"

Unfortunately for my great grandmother her life here in America was not as easy as she may have originally thought. Her oldest son, Susumo, died at only one years old and shortly after she would lose one more child and her husband.

Their story continues next week...