Seito Saibara
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese parliament member, politician, administrator, colonist, and farmer. Apart from his missionary activities, he is credited with having first established the rice industry on the Gulf Coast of the United States
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
.
Overview
Born in 1861 in Kōchi PrefectureKochi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the south coast of Shikoku. The capital is the city of Kōchi.- History :Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Kōchi was known as Tosa Province and was controlled by the Chosokabe clan in the Sengoku period and the Yamauchi family during the Edo period.- Geography...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Seito Saibara was the first Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
member of the Japanese Diet at a time when there was strong opposition to Christianity in Japan. Later Saibara would be asked to relinquish his seat in the parliament to become president of Doshisha University
Doshisha University
, or is a prestigious private university in Kyoto, Japan. The university has approximately 27,000 students on three campuses, in faculties of theology, letters, law, commerce, economics, policy, and engineering...
in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Japan.
Rice farming
In 1901 Saibara came to HartfordHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
to study theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. He was then invited by the Japanese consul on behalf of the Houston Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
to teach rice production to local farmers in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In 1903 Saibara came to Texas where he began the first Japanese-Christian colony in Texas. His family (including his parents Hide and Masuya, and his son Kiyoaki
Kiyoaki Saibara
Kiyoaki Saibara and his father Seito Saibara are credited with much of the success of the Texas Gulf Coast rice crop. Born in Japan, Saibara came to Webster, Texas on his father's orders to help begin a rice crop. Saibara was the first Japanese person to gain United States citizenship in Texas...
) and 30 other colonists joined him in Webster, Texas
Webster, Texas
Webster is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 9,083 at the 2000 census.-History:...
to begin rice farming on a 1000 acres (4 km²) lease that Saibara later bought.
The first crop, grown from seed imported as a gift from the Emperor of Japan
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
and harvested in 1904, was primarily distributed as seed in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. At that time, the average rice yield using seed from Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
or the Carolinas was 18-20 barrels an acre while the Japanese seeds yielded 34 barrels (5.4 m³) per acre. Seito and Kiyoaki Saibara are credited with building the multimillion-dollar Texas rice industry with their improved rice strains and production techniques.
South America
Saibara left Texas with his wife and spent fifteen years in South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, where he established colonies along the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
, before returning to Japan. Ill health caused him to return to Texas in 1937. He died, still a Japanese citizen, in Webster on April 11, 1939, and was buried at the Fairview Cemetery. The rice farm was carried out by Kiyoaki and his sons Robert, Warren, Harvey and Eddie Saibara. Seito Saibara would later be declared one of the 100 Tallest Texans by the Houston Chronicle newspaper.