Abstract
Japanese immigrants in California fashioned and employed various adaptive strategies for survival in the face of hostility by the host society prior to World War II. The adaptive strategies they adopted and the types of communities they created differed substantially from one place to another reflecting local economic and social conditions. Anti-Japanese sentiment was especially strong in California in the 1910s and early 1920s when this immigrant group faced formal and informal discrimination. This study reconstructs and scrutinizes the Japanese immigrants' experience in the Turlock areaa of Stanislaus County, California, during the first three decades of the twentieth century. The study focusses on the Turlock Irrigation District in northern San Joaquin Valley.
When irrigated water became available in Turlock at the beginning of this century, large wheat farms were subdivided into small lots, settlers of varied cultural backgrounds arrived, and intensive farming developed. Japanese were one of the groups who came to this area and successfully settled there. The Japanese first settled in the Turlock area in 1907, and spontaneous colonization followed due to the melon boom. Although the Alien Land Laws of California severely restricted Japanese farming activities, they managed to secure farmland by cash rent and grow quality cantaloupes. Dealer credit provided Japanese farmers with the necessary funds for rent, production and harvesting. Japanese migrant laborers were also important as melon pickers during the harvesting season. In addition, Japanese managed small businesses in town mainly catering to Japanese customers. Ethnic organizations were maintained to fulfill administrative, economic, social and cultural functions within the immigrant community.
Anti-Japanese sentiment in Turlock developed in a rather complicated fashion. White farmers depended on Japanese laborers and white produce dealers profited from handling Japanese-grown melons, while white laborers competed with Japanese who worked at lower wages.
In conclusion, the Japanese immigrant agriculture and immigrant community as it existed in Turlock typified the Japanese immigrant experience in rural California prior to World War II.
