Placer County

Seinenkai Hall (Penryn). Located in Penryn's Japantown, the Seinenkai Hall was used for decades to hold social functions. The photograph above was taken sometime in the 1920s. The hall was later used by the Japanese American Citizens League, which still owns and uses the building. (Photo courtesy of the Tad Yamashiro)

Placer Buddhist Church (Penryn). Founded in 1902 with the support of around fifty members, the Placer Buddhist Church was the heart and soul of the community. Made up of three separate buildings—a church, parsonage, and social hall—the facility served as a religious center for the area's Buddhists. By 1920, the church expanded and erected a new church (pictured above with parsonage). Several social clubs and a language school were sponsored by the church, which eventually relocated to a new facility in 1965.

Penryn's Japantown. Merchants in Penryn's Japantown were concentrated on one strip of Penryn Road across from the Buddhist church. At its pre-WWII peak, Penryn's Japantown boasted of four markets/dry goods stores, two boarding houses, two bars, a dentist office, barbershop, garage, and pool hall. No matter what their listed business title was, most people referred to them by the name of their owner, for instance Dairiki's, Mikawa's, Goto's, Yamada's, Nishimoto's, or Maeda's. Shown above is a chigo procession passing through Penryn's Japantown-part of the fiftieth anniversary celebration for the Placer Buddhist Church in Penryn held in 1952. (Photo courtesy of the Placer Buddhist Church)

Loomis Japanese Methodist Church (Loomis). Loomis' Christian residents started meeting as far back as 1903, but did not formally erect a church until 1916. The Loomis Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church, as it was formally named, had around fifteen member families when it first held prayer services. Much like the Buddhist Church in Penryn, it acted as more than just a religious organization. The Methodist Church housed a school that taught young Nisei both Japanese and English language skills.

Loomis Mutual Supply Co. (Loomis). Located on Horseshoe Bar Road since 1912, the Loomis Mutual Supply Co. was a mainstay for local Nikkei residents. Loomis' Japanese merchants did not have a separate section of town all their own; they were interspersed among non-Nikkei businesses. Co-owner, Benji Takahashi, recalled that in the early 1900s Japanese residents were not the only people to shop at the store. A diverse clientele, including Caucasian, Spanish and Indian immigrants, came in looking for specialty products they couldn't buy elsewhere.

Tsuda Grocery (Auburn). Tsuda Grocery was opened in 1918 on Sacramento St. below Auburn's small Chinatown. Its proprietor, George Katsuichi Tsuda, arrived in the United States in 1906. He followed the traditional path—starting out as a farm laborer on fruit ranches in Loomis and Penryn. His shop sold groceries and general merchandise, and was a cornerstone for the Japanese community until its recent closing in 2006.

Shopkeeper, Frank Tsuda, recalled how his father worked with local employers to bring Japanese immigrants to the area. "When a fruit house or rancher wanted any helper, that is Japanese helper, they came to the store and asked whether they could get some Japanese helper or not. And in that case Dad used to phone Sacramento to the boarding house down there [to find people]." From approximately 1926 - 1945, the Auburn Buddhist Church occupied the building. During this period, Tsuda Grocery moved to another location; once the church dissolved after WWII Tsuda's moved back into the building.

Auburn Buddhist Church (Auburn). Members of the Auburn Buddhist Church began meeting as early as 1915 at a local residence. As its membership increased, the congregation purchased a building (photographed above) from George Tsuda, a local grocer. In 1926, it was remodeled and used for services. In 1928, a Japanese Language school was established, followed by a Sunday School in 1929, and a Young Buddhist Association and Shojo Kai in 1939. After World War II, the church was no longer sustainable and was forced to dissolve; its congregants joined the church in Penryn. »Click here to enlarge photo. (Photo courtesy of the Tsuda family)

Fruit shed (Newcastle). More than Penryn or Loomis, Newcastle was famed for its fruit packing industry, with at least a dozen sheds in operation at one time. Many Japanese farmers in Placer County shipped their fruit from these sheds. Boxes of peaches, pear, and plums were loaded on refrigerated boxcars waiting on the adjacent railroad tracks. Particularly during the summer season, a large number of Nikkei worked in Newcastle's packing sheds. Some came from nearby towns; others came from as far away as Sacramento. Many teenagers and college students earned extra income here during their summer recess.