Yamato Colony was a farming community in South Florida founded by Japanese immigrant Jo Sakai in 1905. Yamato was the ancient name for Japan. At the time, Japanese immigrants were primarily farmers pushed out of their home country by industrialization and a lack of land. Most settled on the west coast of the United States, but a few ventured east. The community, in the Boca Raton area, grew pineapples and winter vegetables.
In the early 1900s, there was growing apprehension in the U.S. towards immigration, including immigration from Japan. While the settlers' children were United States citizens, Sakai and his fellow immigrants could not become naturalized citizens until the 1950s. By the Second World War, few of the Japanese settlers remained. In 1942, not long after the Pearl Harbor attack when anti-Japanese sentiments were at a peak, the Federal government confiscated their land -over 6,000 acres - to create an Army Air Corp training base, ending the Yamato colony.
Situated on the site today is Boca Raton's airport and Florida Atlantic University. A former Yamato Colony settler, George Morikami, farmed in Delray Beach until the 1970s. He eventually donated his land, which is today preserved as the Morikami Museum and Gardens.
Florida Memory is funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services.
Florida's history is your history. Help us preserve it by joining the Friends of the State Library & Archives of Florida
About Us | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Archives Online Catalog | Library Catalog | FL Electronic Library | FL Government Info | Ask A Librarian Accessibility Statement