Midori Seo

Midori Seo was born on January 28, 1887 to Sadazo and Kiyo Seo in Shinsaka town, Hiroshima Prefecture. In 1903 his father, Sadazo, traveled alone to Honolulu Hawaii after being contracted to work in the sugar cane fields. Apparently, plantation life was too harsh and not very profitable, so Sadazo left Hawaii for California. In 1907 Midori immigrated to California to find his father who had not been able to send money to his family in Japan. Sadazo had become a migrant farm worker in the Central Valley and asked Midori to come to America. Shortly afterward Sadazo returned to Hiroshima.

In 1913 Kazue Henmi married Midori by proxy. She arrived in San Francisco in early 1913 as Mrs. Seo. Family sources state that she was a cousin to Midori. Kazue was born in Hiroshima Prefecture on August 25, 1890. In contrast to Midori who was tall for a Japanese man at the time (5 feet 7 1/2 inches), Kazue was 4 feet 6 1/2 inches tall. Their first daughter, Takako, was born in 1914. Sons Kazuo (1919) and Masanobu (1923) followed. The second daughter, Sumiko, was born in 1924.

In September 1918, Midori registered for the WWI draft and reported that he lived at White’s Point. A family source said, that before farming in Palos Verdes, the couple worked at an orange orchard in Glendale, moved to Laguna Beach where they probably helped on a farm and finally rented a plot in the Sepulveda Estates. The same family source said that Mr. Nakagawa had preceded them on the Palos Verdes farm. Much of their early efforts were directed at removing large rocks by dumping them into a ravine that marked the boundary between farms.

The California Birth Index reports that Takako was born in Los Angeles County, most likely when Midori was working in Glendale. The younger children were born in Los Angeles County between 1919 and 1924. Midori Seo probably started to farm at White’s Point around 1916 or 1917. Kazuo was severely injured in a boating accident around 1918. According to Sumiko she was delivered by midwife in the family house. According to Sumiko the house was the Sepulveda’s summer house. Except for Takako the others were probably also born there. The home was located on the east side of Western Avenue near the Takemiya and Nishinaka families. These farmers all rented land from Roman Sepulveda.

In the 1930 Census, seven laborers from Mexico were counted with the Seo household. This was not the case in the 1940 Census. The main crops were string beans, peas, squash, cucumbers and tomatoes. Just before WWII Midori started to grow celery which needed more water which was then being provided by Los Angeles City. Midori farmed mostly the coastal land along the bluffs but also the east side of San Pedro Hill.

Some of the Palos Verdes farmers made tofu and traded it with the others. Most all the farmers raised chickens for meat and eggs. Japanese foodstuffs like dried mushrooms and canned takenoko (bamboo sprouts) were bought from a grocery truck run by the Murakami store on Terminal Island according to a member of the Motoike family. The truck had a regular route along the coast to provide groceries and some dry goods to the famers.

In late 1923 or early 1924 Takako went to Japan to live with her grandparents. In 1932 she returned to America. The younger children attended Japanese language school in the community building pictured in the 40 Families photo. They attended Point Fermin Elementary school from kindergarten to 6th grade, Dana Junior High School and San Pedro High School.

On December 7, 1941 Midori and Masanobu were in Long Beach. They were stopped and, according to Sumiko, stayed overnight in the local jail. The family was assigned to Santa Anita Assembly Center and then sent to Jerome, Arkansas. Masanobu went to Poston where he presumably lived among the other Palos Verdes families. Midori worked in the mess hall in Jerome. Sumiko attended high school there. After release the family returned to California and found a home in Long Beach after living for a time in the Truman Boyd Manor where several other Palos Verdes families lived.

In 1950 Midori worked at the French Sardine Company on Terminal Island. Takako took on the name “Mary” and married Frank Kayashima. Sumiko married Don Seki, a decorated member of the 442nd Infantry Battalion. Midori died in 1963, Kazue in 1983, Takako in 1993, Kazuo in 1962, and Masanobu in 1983 in Chicago.

The following members of the family were identified in the 40 Families photo: Midori #67, Kazuye #138, Takako #160, and Kazuo #172. *Much of the family information is contained in Sumiko Seo Seki’s oral history archived in the Local History Room at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Library.