A lonely longing for home - From the letters of Morikami Suketsugu, a Japanese immigrant in Florida
In the early 20th century, the Japanese village of Yamato Colony appeared in southern Florida. Morikami Sukeji (George Morikami), who immigrated from Miyazu, Kyoto City as a farmer and pioneer, is the man who laid the foundation for the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, which is now located in Florida. He stayed on after the colony was dissolved and disappeared before the war, and continued farming alone through the war. He ended up donating a huge amount of land, leaving his name in the local area. He remained single throughout his life and never returned to Japan, but he was more homesick than most and continued to write letters to Japan. He corresponded frequently with the Okamoto family, including the wife and daughters of his late brother. Although he never met them, he treated them like family and sent them information about the situation and his thoughts in the area. The letters he left behind trace his life and lonely homesickness as a record of one generation.
Stories from this series
Bonus: Toru Suwa, the photographer who photographed Morikami Sukeji — From garden work to international photojournalist — Part 2
Oct. 30, 2020 • Ryusuke Kawai
Read Part 1 >> Take time to get to know each other Suwa-san's impression of Suketsugu was that he was "a really nice and kind person." But he was secretly astonished by his appearance. He was wearing a dirty shirt and shorts, had unkempt thinning hair, and a shaggy beard like thin wire. The inside of the long, narrow trailer house with four rooms was just filthy. After that, I visited Sukeji several times during my days off, without my …
Bonus: Toru Suwa, the photographer who photographed Morikami Sukeji — From garden work to international photojournalist — Part 1
Oct. 23, 2020 • Ryusuke Kawai
Suwa Akira, a photographer for the Palm Beach Post at the time, photographed the late Morikami Sukeji (George Morikami), a Kyoto native who left the name "Morikami" behind to make the "Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden" in Florida. In the 1960s, Suwa was also one of those who traveled to America with dreams in mind. After arriving in America, he became a professional photographer and traveled around the US and the world. Let me introduce you to Suwa. * * …
Final Episode: Dreams, Solitude and Nostalgia - The Life of Morikami Sukeji
Sept. 25, 2020 • Ryusuke Kawai
It is not widely known that at the beginning of the 20th century, there was a Japanese settlement project in Florida, USA. A "Japanese village" called "Yamato Colony" was established, where pineapples and vegetables were grown. However, due to harsh natural conditions and soaring land prices, the colony was dismantled before the war, and most of the settlers left. Among them, Morikami Sukeji (George Morikami), who remained in the area until the end and left his name in the local …
No. 39: My Uncle Sukeji was an amazing man
Sept. 11, 2020 • Ryusuke Kawai
Morikami Sukeji, who traveled to America as a member of the Yamato Colony in South Florida and remained there alone until the end of his life after the colony was disbanded, continued to send a huge number of letters to his sister-in-law, Okamoto Mitsue, who had lost her husband (Sukeji's younger brother), and her family after the war. Up until now, we have been tracing Sukeji's life by introducing these letters, but these letters had been kept for many years …
#38: It's been 70 years since I came to America; it's been a long dream
Aug. 14, 2020 • Ryusuke Kawai
Morikami Sukeji, who traveled to America as a member of the Yamato Colony in South Florida and remained there alone until the end of his life after the colony was disbanded, continues to write letters to his sister-in-law and her family, who lost her husband (Sukeji's younger brother) after the war. He is overcome with emotion as he marks 70 years since coming to America despite his various illnesses and poor health, and turns 90 by Japanese reckoning. He tearfully …
Episode 37: Saved from the Gates of Hell
July 24, 2020 • Ryusuke Kawai
Morikami Sukeji came to America as a member of the Yamato Colony in South Florida, and remained there alone until the end of his life after the colony was disbanded. After the war, he continued to write letters to his sister-in-law and her family, who had lost her husband (Sukeji's younger brother). When an article about his land donation appeared in the newspaper, he received nearly a hundred letters from not only America but also Japan, but he was shocked …