Japanese Cemetery was founded in 1901 and is located at 1300 Hillside Boulevard in Colma, California. This cemetery has brought together the Japanese community in California and has worked with Buddhist, Shinto, and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

religious organizations.

History

In the beginning of the 20th century, most Japanese living in San Francisco were buried in either the Masonic Cemetery or the Laurel Hill Cemetery (formerly Lone Hill Cemetery), in the

Lone Mountain Lone Mountain may refer to a place in the United States: * Lone Mountain, Tennessee, an unincorporated community * Lone Mountain (California), a hill in San Francisco, California ** Lone Mountain, San Francisco, California, the associated neighbor ...

neighborhood. In 1901, all new burials were forbidden in the city of San Francisco due to a law change. In 1901, the Jikei-kai Japanese Benevolent Society of California purchased of land in Colma to create a cemetery, and some graves from Laurel Hill and Masonic Cemeteries in San Francisco were moved here. On March 17, 1903,

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran ( ...

cleric Rev. Nishijima Kakyuro officiated the opening ceremony for the cemetery. In 1906, the Meiji-era Emperor of Japan provided a grant to help bury Japanese in California. The site lacks the extensive landscaping typical of the other park-like cemeteries in Colma; most paths are paved with concrete or gravel, and a traditional Japanese garden lies just outside the entrance of the columbarium.

Notable burials

The oldest graves appear to be from 1860 from the three crew members of the

Japanese warship Kanrin Maru ''Kanrin Maru'' was Japan's first sail and screw-driven steam corvette (the first steam-driven Japanese warship, ''Kankō Maru'', was a side-wheeler). She was ordered in 1853 from the Netherlands, the only Western country with which Japan ha ...

, which pre-dates the founding Japanese Cemetery of Colma. In 1860, these three Japanese sailors aboard the ''Kanrin Maru'' died during the first

Japanese Embassy to the United States The was dispatched in 1860 by the Tokugawa shogunate (bakufu). Its objective was to ratify the new Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between the United States and Japan, in addition to being Japan's first diplomatic mission to the ...

. The sailors had been buried at the Marine Hospital Cemetery (which closed in 1870) in San Francisco, then later transferred to Laurel Hill Cemetery, followed by a move to the Japanese Cemetery in Colma. * Kyutaro Abiko (1865–1936), Japanese-born American businessman and newspaper editor; founder of ''

Nichi Bei Times The ''Nichi Bei Times'' (日米タイムズ ''Nichi Bei Taimuzu'') was a Japanese American newspaper headquartered in San Francisco. As of 2009 it was the oldest Japanese American newspaper in Northern California. Historically the ''Nichi Bei Times ...

.'' *

Makoto Hagiwara (15 August 1854 – 12 September 1925) was a Japanese-born American landscape designer responsible for the maintenance and expansion of the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, from 1895 until his death in 1925. H ...

(1854–1925), landscape designer and longtime manager of the Japanese tea garden at Golden Gate Park. * (1863–1914), politician, pastor, and educator; sent to alleviate the anti-Japanese sentiment. *Keisaburo Koda (1882–1964), businessperson, rice farmer, founder of

Koda Farms Koda Farms is a third-generation family owned American company based in Dos Palos, California. The company was established in 1928 by Keisaburo Koda. It is the oldest family owned and operated rice farm in California. Koda Farms is a producer of ...

. *

George Shima George Shima (1864 – March 27, 1926) was a Japanese American businessman in California who became the first Japanese American millionaire. At one point, he produced about 85% of the state's potato crop, which earned him the nickname "The Potato ...

(1864–1926), businessperson, potato farmer, the first Japanese American millionaire.

References

{{Authority control Cemeteries in San Mateo County, California Colma, California History of San Mateo County, California Protected areas of San Mateo County, California Japanese-American culture in San Francisco Japanese-American history 1901 establishments in California

History

Notable burials

See also

References