We moved to Santa Monica in 1927 where Willy was born, and the nursery was just five acres of land, and we were grower, wholesale nursery. Father also started a retail nursery, called the name Los Palmas. The wholesale nursery was called Fukuhara’s Nursery.
Since then, all of us brothers have grown up, five of us, in the nursery business. And we know of nothing else. And to this day, until we retired - Frank and I retired in 1986, we retired - and we were nursing in Santa Monica.
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Interviewee Bio
Jimmy Ko Fukuhara was born on September 21, 1921 in Los Angeles, California to Japanese immigrants, Ume and Ichisuke Fukuhara. In 1927, his father moved the family to Santa Monica, California, and got started in the nursery business. After graduating from Santa Monica High School, Jimmy worked at the nursery, until 1942, when he and his family were sent to the Manzanar concentration camp.
Jimmy was able to leave camp early, and moved to Pennsylvania with his younger brother, George. Within sixty days, Jimmy was drafted into the army, and volunteered to serve in the Military Intelligence school. After going through basic training, Jimmy was sent to Tokyo, Japan. There he worked for the labor department in General MacArthur’s headquarters. Before leaving Japan, he visited Hiroshima in hopes of connecting with his parents’ relatives. After being discharged, Jimmy returned to Santa Monica and the family nursery business. Jimmy continued to work in the nursery with his four brothers, until he retired in 1986. (May 2016)