Yamato Cemetery:
Continuity of a Community
Built out of necessity in the early 1910s for the Japanese community in Salinas, Calif., the cemetery represents a vital link between the early pioneers and today's JA community.
The names on the heavy granite headstones are all Japanese - "Noguchi," "Tanimura," "Onitsuka," "Yuki" - just some of the dozens of families buried at the Yamato Cemetery, families whose generations span two and three generations in Salinas, Calif.
Within this two-acre plot of land, stories of bygone eras, struggles and triumphs can be heard inside its fenced walls and among its blossoming cherry trees. Here, one finds a vital link between the old and new Japanese American community.
Gary Tanimura, 58, recalls often visiting the Yamato Cemetery as a child during the popular Memorial Day Services. Today, he continues to bring his own two kids to the annual event.
"This place is unique. It's one of the few one hundred percent Japanese American cemeteries," said Gary, a Sansei.
Two generations of the Tanimura family are buried here including his pioneering Issei grandparents who suffered the indignities of World War II internment at Poston, Arizona. Gary's father, Charlie, passed away five years ago and he often accompanies his mother on visits to the gated cemetery.
"From my perspective there are very few pure Japanese cemeteries in the United States," said Douglas Iwamoto, 58, a former president of the Buddhist Churches of America. "Most Japanese are buried in American cemeteries or Japanese sections in American cemeteries."
The Iwamoto family plot is just two plots over from the Tanimuras, part of the 38 Japanese families and dozens of individuals buried within its grounds. Douglas and his mother often visit the site to honor three generations of the Iwamoto family including his grandparents, father, and sister.
"The Yamato Cemetery is really a shining example of the commitment and purpose of the early Issei pioneers," said Sandy Lydon, noted historian and author of "The Japanese in the Monterey Bay Region: A Brief History." "I believe that we are in death as we are in life - cemeteries are a mirror in which to view our history."
The Early Pioneers
In 1898 there were as many as 200 Japanese living in the Salinas Valley. At the time, loved ones were buried at the County Hospital Cemetery located near the entrance of the Monterey County Hospital. Close by was an existing Chinese cemetery.
Realizing the need to better honor their ancestors, the Japanese Association began a campaign to raise monies for the Yamato Cemetery and by 1911 the acreage had been purchased and its first residents welcomed.
"I'm amazed that these people bought the land for the cemetery. That they could donate, collect money and put up a monument to the Japanese community," said Gary, noting the financial hardships of the early Japanese pioneers.
By the early 1940s JAs on the West Coast were being sent off to various internment camps and Salinas was no exception. Most of the local JA families, including the Tanimuras and Iwamotos, ended up in Poston.
With the departure of the JA community, no one was left to care for the Yamato Cemetery. Instead, Henry Struve, manager of the Salinas Funeral Parlor, was given limited power of attorney to care for the site until their return.
But with the onset of War came an escalation in anti-Japanese sentiment. In Salinas the feelings were especially negative after several members of their National Guard tank company were captured and killed by the Japanese Army.
"Salinas took out their grief and frustration on the Japanese living in the valley. And, on the cemetery," said Lydon. "The Yamato Cemetery became something of a lightning rod for wartime anti-Japanese sentiment, and it was heavily vandalized."
The anti-Japanese sentiment in Salinas made it difficult for many JAs to return after the War and many never did. Instead, post-War Japanese immigrants came to make up a large portion of the local JA community.
The Tanimuras headed to Gilroy for several years after the War before finally resettling in Salinas during the 1950s. The Iwamoto family had owned property before the War and thanks to the generosity of a neighbor they were able to immediately return to Salinas
"People who didn't own land had no reason to come back," said Douglas.
An Inherited Responsibility
With the Yamato Cemetery overgrown with weeds and goats chewing up the site's foliage in 1948, the newly reactivated Salinas Valley JACL chapter made cleaning up the cemetery one of their first goals. Since its early days the chapter has been responsible for the cemetery's finances and day-to-day operations.
Salinas Valley JACL has also long appointed an executive committee to oversee the non-profit site, one of the few accredited cemeteries in the State of California. Gary and Douglas, both in their late 50s, are the youngest members of the committee; the others are in their 80s and 90s.
It's a position that has largely been inherited by family members whose relatives once served on the committee. Although they rarely meet today, the semi-perpetual care cemetery has a part-time caretaker who ensures the day-to-day maintenance of the site.
"It's a way to pay respects to those who have passed on before us," said Henry Hibino, 72, chair of the committee and former Salinas mayor. "There are some old time families buried here. It's important to me that this be carried out."
Henry's parents, Frank and Sen, are both buried here at the Yamato Cemetery. For the past 20 years he has served on the executive committee and even today he regularly visits the site.
A Community Link
A few years ago, a Japanese woman asked to have her Caucasian friend buried at the Yamato Cemetery. Today, he is the only non-Japanese to be interred at the site.
The cemetery is still located on the corner of Abbott St. and Merrill St., on the outskirts of the city. Its location on the south side of Salinas makes it less than ideal, but the Issei pioneers who purchased the land had little available options.
"I believe that you can tell a lot about a community by analyzing the locations of Chinese and Japanese cemeteries - in this case, the majority community's feelings are reflected in the distance they were out of town," said Lydon.
Gary's five uncles on his father's side plan to eventually be buried in the Tanimura family plot at the Yamato Cemetery. By that time the family plot will be filled, but Gary thinks that one day he too may join his family.
"It would be nice to be buried in town," he said.
"The Yamato Cemetery is one of the few places in the Salinas Valley that represents the continuity of the community - connecting the newer, reconstituted postwar community with the original Issei pioneers," said Lydon.
"Everyone should visit the cemetery and be introduced to the Issei pioneers - and those who followed. In the late afternoon, when the persistent wind blows up the Salinas Valley, if you listen you can hear the voices of those Issei pioneers. Everyone needs to learn how to hear them."
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