What happened
The ceremony began with a traditional Memorial Day observance, followed by the dedication of a new state historical marker honoring Seito Saibara and the wave of Japanese rice farmers who arrived in Webster in 1903, according to the Japan America Society of Houston’s website.
The history
Seito Saibara, a former Tokyo lawyer and member of the Japanese parliament, was invited to Texas in 1903 to bring rice farmers to the state following a devastating freeze that destroyed Texas’ existing rice crops, according to the website.
Saibara arrived later that year with 30 other colonists and bought 304 acres of land outside Houston and planted the seeds. His first 1904 harvest, cultivated from rice seeds gifted by the emperor of Japan, was shared across Texas and Louisiana, catalyzing the Gulf Coast rice industry, according to the website.
Saibara died in 1939 and was buried in League City’s Fairview Cemetery, followed by several family members. Other settlers would go on to purchase a large block of lots across from the Saibara graves.
Key players
By the late 1920s, many rice farmers in the Webster area faced difficult times. Despite their struggles, early Japanese settlers and families, such as the Saibaras and others, remained in Webster and League City, successfully cultivating figs and satsuma oranges, according to a June 10 news flash from League City.
Today, 47 members of that community are buried in Fairview Cemetery, where gravestones reflect their bicultural heritage in both English and Japanese.
Quote of note
“America wanted to know if rice could be grown here as an agricultural crop,” said Paul Saibara, great-grandson of Seito Saibara, at the ceremony. “They put out a call to their contacts in Japan who in turn found the best person to send over here to research this, and that was my great-grandfather, Seito.”
Paul Saibara said that many of his relatives, including Seito, never returned to Japan to live out their lives.
“He had an opportunity to go back to his native Japan and live out his life; he said, 'No, I’m a Texan,' and that’s why he wanted to be buried here because this is his life,” Paul Saibara said.
