Jiuji

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Jiuji Kumasaka (1900), the sixth son of Sataro and Kin, making the long journey from Fukushima-ken, arrived in Seattle on May 16, 1919. Eagerly awaiting him were his father and brother, Shoji. During his brief stay in Seattle, he worked two months at the Asia Trading Company, an importing business which was started by Toshihiko Senda and four others. Soon after, he moved to Tacoma where he obtained employment with the St. Paul Lumber Company. Tacoma was to be his home for the next 23 years.

From the beginning, Jiuji was diligent, working days to send money back home (as did his brother, Shichiro) and attending English classes at night to learn the language of his new coun-try. 

In 1923, investing in first of two local hotels, Jiuji purchased the Modern Apartment for $500. Three years later, he bought the Massasoit Hotel. He married Kuniko Takaki (1904) in 1926; she had arrived two years earlier to join her parents. Over the years, they had four children: Ruby (1927), Glenn (1929), Reiko (1933) and Hiroshi (1938).

In 1928, venturing seven miles south of Tacoma, he leased a gas station. Because of poor business, he began to sell fresh produce on the site. This was the beginning of the Liberty Market on South Tacoma Way. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, he was leasing two additional sites for his floral business. His businesses were sold, succumbing to the results of evacuation.  Jiuji was forced into a life of transition, both voluntary and involuntary. 

Evacuation took his family to the Pinedale, California, Assembly Center. Eventual internment occurred in the Tule Lake Relocation Center, California. In 1945, together with his parents-in-law, Jiuji moved to Rochester, New York, working as a storekeeper at the Seneca Hotel. In 1954, he moved back to the west coast, settling in sunny, smoggy Los Angeles. He worked for the Sealright Company, a plastic food carton company.

Throughout his life Jiuji has maintained strong family ties in Sataro's tradition. His vivid memory has allowed him to captivate audiences with many humorous anecdotes.