442: The uncovered history of Hood River’s Japanese farmers

The small town of Hood River, Oregon has boasted a conglomerate of well-established orchards for more than a century. Within the confines of these farms, however, lies a deep history of discrimination against Japanese Americans on the otherwise peaceful Mount Hood. 

The apples in Hood River are no ordinary apples. They’ve been nationally recognized since the early 1900s, even winning blue ribbons at the 1900 Chicago World’s Fair. This success prompted waves of settlement from wealthy white landowners.

These landowners offered a handful of Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants), working on the railroads or in the fields, five acres of land in exchange for clearing forested areas. Among them was Masuo Yasui, a well-known entrepreneur in the area, who became the first nonwhite person elected to the board of the Hood River Apple Growers Association and sold acreage to fellow Issei. Over time, Japanese American-owned orchards were essential to commerce in the Columbia River Gorge region, including the Tamura and Kiyokawa family orchards, which are still active to this day. 

Due to pre-existing xenophobic attitudes and economic competition, white farmers in Hood River felt threatened by the success of Japanese farmers. Despite pleading American loyalty through hefty economic contributions of Liberty Bonds and Thrift Stamps—which funded World War I through citizen contributions—and Japanese soldiers serving in the war, distrust and racial prejudice only grew.  

In 1919, the Hood River Anti-Asiatic Association was started by Hood River residents, with 38 members signing an oath to “protect and preserve America for Americans.” The organization wrote a letter to Yasui to negotiate the cession of Japanese settlement, furthering nativist sentiments. In addition, state Sen. George Wilbur from Hood River, and prominent member of the Hood River American Legion Post No. 22, was the first in Oregon to propose an alien land law: Senate Bill 61 to ban Japanese Americans from purchasing land, which only failed to pass due to economic reasons. Although the Hood River Japanese population was just a fraction of farmers—five out 196 men in 1920 were farmers, the rest were wage laborers—the “Japanese question” in Hood River was considered the most acute in Oregon. The 1923 Alien Land Law was passed in Oregon intending to prevent Issei from buying land. The next year, the National Origins Act limited European immigration and excluded further Japanese immigration.  

The bombing of Pearl Harbor intensified anti-Japanese rhetoric. During World War II, hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans were unconstitutionally and illegally placed into concentration camps under Executive Order 9066 signed by Theodore Rosevelt. Among the 431 Issei and Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) from Hood River who were incarcerated was the family of Linda Tamura—a professor of education at Willamette University who has authored several books on Hood River’s history. 

World War II brought Hood River’s racism against its Japanese American community members to a head when the rural Pacific Northwest community made national headlines for reasons other than its apples. On Nov. 29, 1944, members of Hood River’s American Legion Post No. 22 blotted out 16 names of Japanese American soldiers who had served in the war from their community honor roll memorial. This was met with public outcry across the country, and from the Nisei soldiers overseas. The New York Times described it as “Hood River’s Blunder,” while the New York PM newspaper gave it the “Award for Most Contemptible Deed of the Year.”  In addition, that same month, The American Legion Post No. 22 passed a resolution in Hood River to prevent the sale, and appraise the land of Japanese Americans. 

Conspiracies and racist sentiment against Japanese Americans in Hood River were high; Nisei soldiers and those incarcerated were not welcome to return after the war. At the time, former Hood River Mayor Joe Hayer pronounced, “Ninety percent are against the Japs,” and the tiny town became a national spectacle. The American Legion Post No. 22 anticipated bloodshed for returning Japanese Americans. When federal investigators came to assess the situation, an Oregon State Police survey revealed one in nine locals anticipated mob violence, with two interviewees owning firearms, threatening to “shoot the first Jap on sight.”  

Weeks of newspapers speculating violence passed as Japanese Americans returned to Oregon. Tamura’s relatives were among the first veterans to return to Hood River. Upon their arrival, the majority of local businesses still refused to sell to Japanese Americans. Veteran George Akiyama, wearing a uniform with the Silver and Bronze Star after surviving point blank Nazi gunfire, returned to Hood River. He was sitting at his old barbershop to get a haircut, when a barber told him, “I ought to slit your throat.” Akiyama replied, “You’re worse than some of those Germans I fought,” and walked out of the shop. Despite facing such staunch anti-Japanese sentiment, the Japanese American community began the post-war reconstruction process in August 1945.

Historical reconciliation in the present 

As younger generations of Japanese Americans grapple with this part of their history, secrets continue to be uncovered through Tamura’s research. A Sansei (third-generation Japanese American) and self-proclaimed, “proud orchid kid from Hood River,” Tamura grew up working on farms, growing apples, peaches and cherries, but unaware of the local history of racism against Japanese Americans, due to cultural silence.

An interview for a project with her grandmother flipped her understanding of her hometown upside down. When she began to read newspaper clips from local libraries for her project, she found anti-Japanese ads and petitions. One petition was signed by 1,800 people discouraging the return of Japanese Americans in Hood River during the war—many signatures were figures she had grown up with, such as her busdriver. “It was a dagger,” Tamura says. Her shock and curiosity pushed her to write two books: Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence and The Hood River Issei. She continues to work to raise awareness about the past, curating museum exhibits in The Oregon Historical Society and reconciling history with legislative events.

In the present, organizations in Hood River are working to raise awareness of the discrimination. In 2022, the state legislature unanimously voted to dedicate Oregon State Highway 35 to Nisei veterans, naming it the Oregon Nisei Veterans World War II Memorial Highway—which darts through the Columbia River Gorge to Mount Hood. That same year, The American Legion Post No. 22 formally apologized to Nisei veterans for the Hood River honor roll incident. Several Nisei soldiers were able to witness the apology, including Akiyama's son Gary Akiyama. “That really was a healing moment,” Tamura says.