Licensing

How Were They Selected?: Takashi Inuzuka

Takashi Inuzuka came from Chiba, Japan, in 1903. He and his wife eventually purchased a greenhouse in Southeast Portland and began the "Nippon Florists." Involved with numerous Japanese community groups and an active participant with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, the Japanese government awarded him a "paulownia cup" (lacquered bowl with the Japanese Royal crest of pauwlonia leaves and flowers) in 1940 for his service to the community.

After Takashi's arrest, he was initially held at the Multnomah County Jail. He was later transferred to Ft. Missoula, Montana; Ft. Sill, Oklahoma; Camp Livingston, Louisiana; and finally to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he remained for the rest of the war.

Correspondence between Takashi and his family was reduced to short postcards with only basic questions and answers, as everything was heavily censored. Takashi’s daughter Yoneko Hara relates, "It was either cut out or blacked out. I mean, he’d say 'Today was a nice day' or 'Today was rainy'" but "rainy" would be crossed out.

Inuzuka was finally released from Santa Fe in January of 1946 and returned home to Portland. Daughters Yoneko and Yaeko helped to pay the mortgage on a portion of the original family property, and with the help of a city official, the Inuzukas were able to return to their property and rebuild their greenhouses and business.