Samurais played role in El Dorado County history

Coloma is on its way to becoming home to another historic landmark involving samurai warriors, a Japanese civil war and the first Japanese colony in America.More than 130 years ago, between 20 and 30 Japanese men and their families arrived in the Coloma area, establishing a colony — the first time Japanese settled outside of their home islands. "The samurai had fought in the Boshin War," said Hal Erpenbeck, president of the Clarksville Region Historical Society. "It was a Japanese civil war that happened in the late 1860s. The samurai were from Aizu Wakamatsu and they supported the Tokugawa shogunate in its war against Emperor Meiji and his forces." Alan Ehrgott, director of the American River Conservancy, said that Matsudaira Katamori, the Wakamatsu samurai leader, and his followers had their lives spared. "Some samurai joined with the emperor and others went into exile," Ehrgott said. "The Wakamatsu samurai had another option." Lord Matsudaira had some foreign allies, Ehrgott said. One was a man named John Henry Schnell, a merchant who had supplied Matsudaira's troops with supplies and weapons. "In 1869, when the Boshin War ended, Schnell suggested an option," he said. Schnell's plan was to take some samurai, farmers and other workers, along with women and children, Ehrgott said, and move them to America. "Schnell wanted to bring them to California and establish a colony," he said. "Lord Matsudaira agreed to finance the colony. Schnell chartered a ship — the S.S. China — and loaded it with supplies including rice, tea and silk plants and mulberry trees." The ship left Japan in early 1869. In California, the colonists traveled by wagon to the Coloma area. Schnell purchased a small farmhouse, barn and outbuildings, along with 272 acres of land, from Charles Graner. "The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony was born. The Japanese built an addition to the farmhouse and quickly started work on the land," Ehrgott said. "The Japanese were industrious, innovative farmers. They introduced new methods of farming and horticulture to the locals, including silk worm farming, the cultivation of tea, rice, citrus, peaches, oil plants and bamboo products." Ehrgott said the colony did well in the beginning. However, the colony's benefactor, Lord Matsudaira, was faced with a dilemma. As part of his punishment for opposing the emperor, Matsudaira was given two choices: Become a Shinto priest or commit seppeku — ritualistic suicide. By becoming a priest, the samurai lord was required to give up his wealth. In the end, he chose priesthood. "It was a blow to the colony," Ehrgott said. "They were doing OK but still needed financial support from the home islands. Schnell and his family left for Japan to get help (and never returned)." The colony soon broke apart. The Veerkamp family acquired the land after some of the colonists left, striking out on their own. However, a young woman named Okei Ito was hired by the Veerkamps as a governess, helping with the six boys growing up in the Veerkamp household, Ehrgott said. "Okei felt alone and isolated, despite the fact that the family liked her and some of the other former colonists were also hired by the Veerkamps," Erpenbeck said. "Late in the afternoon, she would walk to a hill and sit, watching the sun setting." At the age of 19, Okei grew ill and died. The family honored a final request, burying her atop the hill from where she would watch the sunset."Novels and plays have been written about Okei and films have been produced," he said. "She's become a very popular figure in Japanese culture." In 2007, members of the Veerkamp family approached ARC about buying the buildings and the property, with the hopes of restoring them. "That started the process of having everything appraised and then money raised," Ehrgott said. "Everything was purchased in early November of last year, for more than $3 million — which came from grants, private donations and loans — those loans have to be paid off by October 2012. Between those and now the expenses of refurbishing the buildings and the property, we still need help. So, it's back to the grant-writing and drumming up support from private donations." The ARC's goal is to restore the buildings to their original condition and use them as a museum and interpretive education center, Ehrgott said. The National Park Service recently placed the Wakamatsu Colony site on the National Register of Historic Places at a level of "National Significance." Bills authored by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Granite Bay) and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-San Francisco) have been introduced in the House and Senate respectively that would aid in the management of the ranch as a public park. Erpenbeck said having the colony site as a museum will only add to the region's historical factor. "We have Marshall State Park, where people can come and learn about the Gold Rush days and how it shaped our state and the country itself," he said. "Asian-Americans have contributed a lot to our country over the years. The Gold Rush. Building the rail lines. With the Wakamatsu colony, we will see another aspect of that, the story of the Japanese-Americans. Yes, this is something major." Ehrgott said that the colony was the West Coast's Plymouth Rock. "American history has always been filled with stories of people who came here wanting change and the chance at making a new life," he said. "The Wakamatsu colonists were no different. They came here to carve out a new life — and enriched ours by doing so."* * *IN THE KNOWWakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony• First Japanese colony in America• Established 1869 near Coloma• The S.S. China, chartered by John Henry Schnell, brought defeated samurai warriors to California• Showcased goods at 1869 California State Agricultural Fair in Sacramento, 1870 Horticultural Fair in San Francisco• Okei, a 19-year-old colonist, died at the site and her grave is still located there.To learn more about the ARC Wakamatsu project or how to help, visit the ARC website at arconservancy.org.