Zenichiro Uchida, who was praised by Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi, enjoys the Kagoshima Immigrants Association’s 50 years of
success
By Rachelle Gines, Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy – Zenichiro Uchida’s life changed after the war. Uchida, a Gilroy resident and owner of Zen Nursery, fought against America and the Allies in World War II. He once comforted young Kamikaze pilots before their missions.
But the sight that truly inspired a change in Uchida was the sight of American soldiers in the northern Philippines, putting their guns down and welcoming him as he waved a white flag. It was mid-September 1945.
Unaware that America had won the war, and brainwashed to believe the Americans would kill him upon surrender, Uchida and two other Japanese soldiers walked forward. The American soldiers offered them cigarettes and food, and more supplies to take back to other Japanese soldiers hidden in the mountains.
The kindness of the American troops changed Uchida forever, and inspired him to foster peaceful relations between Japanese and American people. It set off a chain of events that led Uchida to champion a cause that helped bring at least 325 Japanese people from his home in Kagoshima, Japan to America.
“There is no difference between white people and Japanese people. There is only a difference if we fail to know each other,” Uchida said in Japanese to his son Ted.
But his work was just beginning. He began an effort to bring Japanese immigrants to America. Kagoshima Immigrants Association 50th anniversary celebrated at the Monterey Hyatt. The association is what it is because of Uchida, who began a letter writing campaign to the U.S. Congress that resulted in 1,000 American visas for the Japanese. He continued to urge people in Kagoshima to leave their homes for a better life in America. He fought resistance from people in Japan, and against the anti-American sentiment. Today, he and his fellow immigrants from his native Kagoshima, Japan will celebrate 50 years of success in America at the North American Kagoshima Immigrants Association 50th Anniversary Celebration.
Ted Uchida said the celebration is particularly poignant for his father because he was diagnosed with lung cancer in the summer of 2005. Ted Uchida alluded to the possibility that the upcoming celebration may be the last his father may attend, because they occur once every five years.
Zenichiro Uchida wants to ensure that the younger generations attending the celebration maintain a positive exchange between American and Japanese culture, as well as celebrate their heritage.
“We are blessed to be in this land of opportunity, but if we do not give back to the community, it will destroy everything. It is important that we pass the baton and keep this going,” Zenichiro Uchida told his son after father and son took simultaneous sips of coffee.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wrote a letter to Zenichiro Uchida in which he congratulates the people of Kagoshima for their 50th celebration. Koizumi, whose father is also from Kagoshima, also recognized Zenichiro’s dedication and hard work.
“For all the hardship you have endured, I would like to give you my heartfelt consideration for your effort,” Koizumi wrote.
As a young man, Uchida left Japan aboard the President Cleveland then marveled at the sight of San Francisco rising in the fog before him. It was the first time he had seen America. He felt charged with opportunity and possibility.
Zenichiro Uchida is a man who is inspired by great sights, so in 1978, Uchida boarded a small airplane in Salinas, and flew north. The U.S 101 did not extend to San Jose yet. He looked out the window down toward the green land.
“That spot right there looks good,” Uchida said.
So there, on that spot, Uchida opened the Zen Flower Garden on Monterey Road.
