Shizuoka School’s Book Collection Highlights History of Emigrants; Unpachi Miyagishima Bunko Was Established with Bequest from Japanese American with Local Roots

By Takao Hishinuma / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

6:00 JST, August 30, 2025

SHIZUOKA — A book collection at Shimizu Miho Daiichi Elementary School in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, is a cherished reminder of the many residents who emigrated to the United States during the Meiji (1868–1912) and Showa (1926–89) eras.

Founded with a bequest from a second-generation Japanese American named Unpachi Miyagishima, the collection represents a continuing connection between these emigrants and their old hometown.

As the school prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary in December, it plans to spotlight the book collection once again, as a way of teaching new generations about the history of emigrants.

The Unpachi Miyagishima Bunko book collection was established in November 1991 with a donation of about $7,200 (about ¥1 million at the time) from Miyagishima’s estate to the elementary school.

According to the school, Miyagishima was born in the United States on Feb. 9, 1929, to parents who had emigrated from Miho. On Jan. 8, 1940, he and his older brother transferred from a school in Seattle to a primary school in Miho, where their grandparents lived. He studied there until Nov. 8 of that year.

Currently, little is known about Miyagishima. However, given that he enrolled in first grade at age 10, it can be inferred that he had very limited Japanese-language ability. As U.S.-Japan relations deteriorated and war became inevitable, he returned to the United States, where his parents lived. Miyagishima died on Feb. 15, 1990.

A school official speculates that Miyagishima’s bequest was a result of fond memories of attending school in his parents’ hometown. The donation was used to purchase children’s books, including novels such as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” as well as books on nature and science, forming a collection which the school named in Miyagishima’s honor.

However, as time went by, the collection’s existence was forgotten. The books, which had been located in the library, were eventually moved to a hallway where they were exposed to the afternoon sun.

In February this year, Aya Nagasawa, 51, who chairs the school’s 150th anniversary executive committee and works as a school support staff member, joined colleagues in moving the 279 books to the school’s second library to protect them from sun damage.

Akio Kitamura, 74, who was the PTA vice chairman when the collection was established, recalls: “There were more than double that number originally. Many books must have been discarded.”

A 3.1-meter-high monument stands north of Miho Shrine, near the elementary school. It was built in 1910 and commemorates the reconstruction of a torii gate and the creation of Kahyo Park, both of which were funded by donations from emigrants.

According to the history of overseas emigration from Shizuoka Prefecture, irrigation and other facilities were developed with the help of large remittances from emigrants.

The Miho district still retains some of the flavors brought back by emigrants to the United States.

Sachiko Nagasawa, 84, inherited a recipe for tomato soup from her mother, who had lived in the United States. The recipe features pork and other ingredients mixed into the stewed tomatoes. “Families with emigrants to the United States each have their version of tomato soup,” Nagasawa said.

For its 150th anniversary on Dec. 13, Shimizu Miho Daiichi Elementary School will open the Unpachi Miyagishima Bunko to parents and residents. The school also intends to share messages from alumni living in the United States.“Our town has a history that must be passed down,” Nagasawa said. “I want many people to learn about the Unpachi Miyagishima Bunko and Miho emigrants.”