A lack of understanding of the Mukai family’s early history led to this investigation. This article will examine topics such as the impact of discrimination on B. D. Mukai’s business ventures, Mukai’s undisclosed first marriage, an unknown libel lawsuit against Kiyoshi Kumamoto, recent findings regarding a 60-acre leased farm where Mukai earned the title “Strawberry King,” undiscovered knowledge about the utilization of the Architects’ Small House Service Bureau designs in constructing Mukai’s residence, newly uncovered research on Mukai’s son Masahiro’s tumultuous marriage to Mamie Kushi, and new information regarding Mukai’s divorce from his wife, Kuni.
The recent research was conducted by examining records from Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, the Hoover Institution, Newspapers.com, the Internet Archive, and the King County Superior Court House. An examination of certain articles yielded novel insights regarding the Mukai family. For instance, a 1910 story from Newspapers.com regarding Mukai’s lawsuit prompted a search for that document at the King County Courthouse. In another instance, a single line in a 1929 article detailing the architectural firm responsible for Mukai’s house facilitated the discovery of Mukai’s original house designs in architectural magazines from 1927 and 1930. This article will address the recent discoveries regarding the Mukai family.
Mukai’s Beginnings in San Francisco
The origin of the story dates back to July 20, 1887, when Mukai was born to Masajiro and Hiro Mukai in Onoshindachi, Sennan, Osaka. Mukai disembarked from the S.S. Aki Maru (“Den-Ichiro Mukai” 1903) in Seattle, Washington, on December 14, 1903, as a merchant and then traveled to his final destination in San Francisco, California. In 1906, Mukai worked as an employment agent. Kuni Nakanishi relocated to San Francisco in approximately 1903.
In the early 1900s, discrimination against Japanese individuals in San Francisco was evident in various ways, such as the mandatory segregation of Japanese and Korean students in oriental schools, boycotts of Japanese laundries, frequent anti-immigration rhetoric in the Chronicle, and labor organizations that advocated for the cessation of Japanese immigration. President Theodore Roosevelt facilitated the Gentleman’s Agreement on February 15, 1907, to appease Californians opposed to Japanese immigration. Under the Gentlemen’s Agreement, Japan consented to cease issuing passports to new immigrants in return for San Francisco permitting Japanese children to attend school with white children. The spouses and offspring of Japanese laborers in the United States were permitted to immigrate under the Gentlemen’s Agreement.
This deal would lead to a reduction in immigrant clientele for Mukai’s Employment Agency. On June 28, 1907, the San Francisco police board denied the issuance and renewal of permits for intelligence and employment services (The San Francisco Call and Post 1907). One of these renewal permits was issued to B. D. Mukai. President Hagerty stated that the police board has a policy of issuing these permits exclusively to citizens. The Japanese applicants should pursue their case in court, adhering to the requirements outlined in the Japan-United States Treaty. The Japanese applicants argued that the treaty conferred these rights, but the board concluded that they remain subject to general police and sanitation regulations. The board ruled that the denial of these permits does not obstruct trade. The decline in Japanese immigration and the police board’s refusal to renew Mukai’s permit would put an end to his employment agency.
B. D. Mukai entered into matrimony on three separate occasions throughout his lifetime. Two of his spouses, Kuni and Sato Nakanishi, were siblings, while the third spouse was Shizue Ishida. Mukai and his wife, Sato, had a son named Masahiro.
Previously, it was presumed that B. D. Mukai married Sato Nakanishi in 1910, prior to his marriage with Kuni Nakanishi. However, it has been revealed that Sato’s elder sister, Kuni, was his initial spouse. Kuni and B. D. Mukai were married on February 11, 1907, in San Francisco (California, San Francisco County Records, 1824-1997, 1907). Sato and B. D. Mukai entered into matrimony on March 16, 1914, in Tacoma, Washington (Washington, Pierce County Marriage Returns, 1891-1938, 1914). They were blessed with a son named Masahiro (Masa) Mukai, who was born on April 10, 1911, in Vashon, Washington (Washington County Birth Registers, 1873-1965, FamilySearch 1911). The name Masahiro is derived from the names of B. D. Mukai’s parents. Masa is derived from the initial part of Masajiro, while Hiro is derived from his mother’s given name, Hiro.
Mukai’s Defamation Lawsuit
A 1910 newspaper article headlined “Jap Libel Suit” states that B. D. Mukai initiated a defamation action against Kiyoshi Kumamoto, the publisher of the North American Times (renamed the North American Post in 1946), claiming $5,000 in damages (The Seattle Star, 1910). The libel action filings were located at the King County Superior Court (King County Superior Court 1910).The Japanese-language story published in the North American Times by Kumamoto was headlined “The Tangling of a Love Affair with an Old Husband and a New Bride.”
The accusations made against Mukai by Kumamoto were available in English. Kumamoto alleges that Mukai sometimes engaged in the activities of pimping and working as an employment agent in San Francisco without providing any evidence to support these claims. The passage also asserts that he subsequently traveled to Seattle with the females, where he compelled the elder one to engage in prostitution and the younger one to work as a waitress, resulting in a substantial financial gain. The story details Mukai’s utilization of the girls’ income to establish an ice cream store on 5th Avenue South. Immigration authorities apprehended the elder sibling, along with several others, at the Tokyo House. The younger sister felt a combination of jealousy and joy when she learned that her older sister would be returning to Japan. Mukai planned to return to California after selling the store at a discounted price.
Kuni and Sato weren’t identified as the siblings mentioned in the defamation lawsuit. The defamation lawsuit was dismissed. Megan Asaka discusses in her book, “Seattle from the Margins,” how prejudice and segregation caused Japanese Issei immigrants to have limited career options, relegating some to work in Seattle’s red-light district (Asaka 2022). In 1910, Megan Asaka noted a concerted effort by cities to clean up the red-light districts and expel immigrants on grounds of immorality (Asaka 2022). This initiative prompted these immigrants to pursue lawful employment.
Becoming the Strawberry King
In the early 1910s, Sato, Masahiro, and B. D. Mukai lived on Vashon Island, situated inside the Puget Sound region of Washington. Sato contracted tuberculosis around 1916. In her article, Mary Mathew (National Register of Historic Places continuation sheet, n.d.) states that the Mukais leased 60 acres of farmland from the Taylor family in 1922; however, my research indicates that the transaction was actually three years earlier, in 1919. According to an April 3, 1919 story (Vashon Island News-Record 1919), “B. D. Mukai has leased 50 acres, 30 of which he will plant strawberries; this, with his 10-acre tract now under cultivation, makes 40 acres in strawberries.” Mukai would have 60 acres total between the newly acquired 50-acre lease and the previously leased 10 acres. The 60-acre estate actually was owned by three siblings: Mabel West, who was married to Charles Taylor; Elise West, who was married to Amos Taylor; and Frederic West Jr., a real estate broker, gave this land to his three children.
The 1927 photo of B. D. Mukai’s famed Marshall strawberry farm (Figure 1) was shot on M. & E. Taylor and Frederic West Jr.-leased farmland in 1927 by James Masatoku Amano of the Jackson Photo Studio. There are strawberry fields in varying stages of production. Farmworkers are harvesting strawberries in the right field, and there are various barreling stations for packing the berries into barrels. The house where the Mukais lived is visible in the distance. A water tower with water barrels stands close to the house. The water barrels appear to be on the rooftop.
The Marshall strawberry, referred to as “the finest eating strawberry” in America and renowned for its “exceptional” flavor, was chosen by B. D. Mukai. However, its heightened susceptibility to viral infections caused it to be replaced by cultivators in the 1950s. Because of the quantity of strawberries he grew and shipped in barrels, Mukai was known as “The Strawberry King” at the Mabel and Elise Taylor (M. & E. Taylor) and Frederic West Jr. locations. Under the B. D. M. brand, he transported strawberries to other places, including Chicago and Minneapolis. Mukai reported that he shipped about $70,000 of strawberries from Seattle in the summer of 1925. According to a story published on October 30, 1925, “Some of the Marshall Strawberries from Vashon Island were sent to England, where they are served in a chain of restaurants” (Vashon Island News-Record 1925, 1).
Sato’s Death and Kuni’s Marriage
At the M. & E. Taylor and Frederic West Jr. farmland location, B. D. Mukai, Sato Mukai, Masahiro Mukai, Kuni Nakanishi, and Takateru Mukai, B. D. Mukai’s younger brother, lived together in 1920 (United States Census, 1920). In the article “A Good Woman Passes to Reward,” B. D. Mukai spared no expense in the construction of an air room at their residence and in the provision of medical care to extend Sato’s life (Vashon Island News-Record 1921). The Mukais were residing in Mabel Taylor’s leased house.
Figure 2 depicts a possible second-story air room. In the 1920s, air rooms were commonly used to treat tuberculosis. Sunlight, fresh air, and ventilation were thought to be helpful tuberculosis treatment options. A closer look at the second floor of the house appears to reveal how the wood slats were removed and individual screens fastened across to allow airflow in. Kuni was helping to take care of her sister, Sato, and her nephew, Masahiro. In the fall of 1920, Sato was transferred to one of the most luxurious cottages at the Seattle Pulmonary Hospital. On May 1, 1921, Sato Mukai died of tuberculosis at the Mukai home. She was cremated. It’s fascinating to notice that, although their marriage certificate dates to March 16, 1914, the obituary column states that B. D. Mukai married Sato on March 10, 1909 (Vashon Island News-Record 1921). On February 20, 1925, B. D. Mukai remarried Kuni Nakanishi at Mitsuji Nakayama’s home in Vashon, Washington (Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008, n.d.).
To be continued...
* * * * *
This article was originally published on the Social Science Research Network.
© 2025 David Perley
