The Development Process of Japanese Rice Farming in Butte County in the Early 1910s

Abstract

Many Japanese immigrants were engaged in the early period of rice farming in California, which began in 1912. We find no records regarding Japanese rice farmers in Butte County, where early rice farming in California started, among the official documents in the Chattel Mortgages Records for any date prior to 1915. However, the documents of the relevant title company tell us that Japanese rice farming in Butte County had already begun in the early 1910s. We also know that the relationships between Japanese rice farmers and landowners were very strong and steady. We presume that Japanese rice farmers secured the funds for their management from their landowners. These relationships of Japanese rice farmers and landowners can be considered one of the distinguishing characteristics of early 1910s Butte County. This trait was not similar to that in Colusa County.