Japanese Tea and Silk Colony Celebrates 150th Anniversary

PLACERVILLE, Calif.

The American River Conservancy is hosting the 150th Anniversary celebration of the first Japanese colony in America—the Wakamatsu Tea & Silk Farm Colony in Placerville, California.

Wakamatsu is the only known settlement of samurai outside Japan. The legacy of these 22 warriors lives on as descendants of Japanese settlers and in the modern cultivation of tea plants from an ancient line.

Wakamatsu Taiko Drummers (Photo courtesy of American River Conservancy)

The event runs June 6-9, from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wakamatsu Farm, 941Cold Springs Road, Placerville.

Friday, June 7, the themeof the day is tea and Japanese culture.

On Saturday June 8, therewill be special events from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $15, and discountedpasses available. Click here to register.

The Wakamatsu farmsesquicentennial features dancers, taiko drummers, sushi and other Asian foodsand several speakers.

The play, Gold Hill Samurai, will be a dailyhighlight. Tour guides and docents in costume will share stories of the earlydays of the settlement.

History

Wakamatsu Costumed Docents (Photo courtesy of American River Conservancy)

Settlers arrived at thesite June 8, 1869 with 4.8 tons of tea seeds, enough to grow six million trees.They also crated for their journey across the Pacific, thousands of mulberrytrees, fruit tree seedlings, plants to produce paper and oil as well as riceand bamboo.

Japan was in a state ofcivil war with samurai amassing armies to defeat westerners arriving at whatwas until then an insular and isolated archipelago. The main islands were underthe control of Tokugawa shogunates that prohibited Japanese citizens fromtraveling abroad.

The lord of Aizu WakamatsuProvince named Matsudaira Katamori (1835-1893) opposed the Tokugawa ban. Anticipatingreprisal, Matsudaira trained his samurai in the use of firearms with the helpof John Henry Schnell, an early member of the Prussian embassy in Japan (whosold European weapons). Schnell was made samurai and married a Japanese woman.In 1868 his army of 4,000 was defeated by 20,000 of the emperor’s soldiers.Fearing for his safety, Matsudaira agreed to fund the colony in April 1869,booking passage on the PMSS China, aside-wheel steamer rigged for sail. He sent Schnell, his wife, their 19-year-oldnursemaid and a cadre of farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and fellow samurai toSan Francisco, arriving in May.

Schnell used Lord Matsudaira’sfunds to purchase 200 acres of land near Placerville known as the Gold HillRanch. Colonists then planted 50,000 three-year-old kuwa (mulberry) andterraces of tea at what became known as the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm.

The following year at theCalifornia State Agricultural Fair in Sacramento, the colony displayed silkcocoons, tea and other foodstuffs. A similar display in 1870 in San Franciscoattests to the initial success of the industrious farmers.

The following year adrought that lasted for many months forced the construction of irrigationnetwork but tailings from gold mining operations nearby had contaminated thewater with iron sulfate that killed most of the young plants. Their benefactorin Japan was captured and became a Shinto priest, surrendering his wealth. Thefirst Japanese-American was born at the colony.

Centennial celebration with Gov. Ronald Reagan (Photo courtesy of American River Conservancy)

The land was largelyabandoned by 1873 when it was purchased by the Francis Veerkamp family whofarmed the property for 140 years. Little is known about the colonists. Somereturned to Japan. Colonist MatsunosukeSakurai, believed to be a samurai, worked for the remainder of his long lifefor the Veerkamp family. Those whostayed were barred by law from becoming citizens but established a generationof farmers, who by 1900 produced 10% of California’s crops.

In 1969 Ichiro Matsudaira, the grandson of the lord whoinitiated the daimyo, and then Gov. Ronald Regan, celebrated the farm’s centennial.In 2010 the American River Conservancy purchased the property and restored itas a working Registered Historical Landmark. The farm is open to the publicseveral times a year and operates a native plant nursery, food gardens, a 1.5-milewheelchair accessible trail around a lake; with dairy herds and products, lamband wool products and eggs.

Wakamatsu Tea

Wakamatsu Tea & Silk Farm aerial photo (Courtesy of the American River Conservancy)

In 2010 horticulturalistMike Fritts at Golden Feather Teaobtained some plants believed to be from the original Wakamatsu stock.

Helaunched a GoFundMecampaign to finance commercial plantings.

“Thisunique cultivar is wild in character and believed to have arrived in the U.S.with the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony in 1869,” according to Fritts, whorecounted the fascinating journey of the original tea that was rediscovered in2010.

DavidHammer at Purple Cloud Tea House said hesent a sample from Golden Feather to a friend and tea scholar, a professorat South China Agriculture University in Guangzhou, who said he “could tastethe wild in the tea.”

“Iagree,” wrote Hammer. “The terroir of Mike’s tea was present in his tea andcomplimented his processing techniques, resulting in a delicious cup, describedas complex, juicy, spicy, and sweet with a wonderful lasting after-taste,” saidHammer. In 2015 an oolong from the garden won second place in the Tea of theUnited States (TOTUS) competition in Volcano, Hawaii. 

In asad post-script, most of the tea Fritts planted was burned in massive wildfiresthat destroyed his Concow farm and the nearby city of Paradise, California.

Fortunately,most of the tea plants are just singed and the root stock is still goingstrong. We just need to get back and do the work we need to do to revive thetea farm,” said Fritts.

Source: WorldTea News. GoFundMe

Learn more: WakamatsuFest 150 or email: [email protected]