By 1942 Yamato was home to two bachelors, George Morikami and Shohbi Kamikama, and two families, the Kobayashis and Kamiyas—thirteen people in all. When the War Department acquired property for the Boca Raton Army Air Field by eminent domain, all but Kamikama were displaced from their homes. Several local urban myths are told about the dissolution of Yamato. Firstly that Japanese-Americans were displaced because they were Japanese; secondly is that they were interned like Japanese citizens in the western states; and thirdly that FAU is located on former pineapple lands. None are true.
The likely source of the confusion is the fact that while most people know that Florida Atlantic University was part of the Boca Raton Army Air Field, they do not realize that FAU represents only the northwest portion of the base—where the runways were. The airbase itself was 5,800 acres and extended from Palmetto Park Road on the south to north of Yamato on the north and from Dixie Highway on the east to what are now the Amtrak tracks (think I-95) on the west. The government acquired 149 parcels from a myriad of what they termed “vendors” at the time; at least fifty families were displaced. The largest property owner was actually the Lake Worth Drainage District. According to documents in the collection of the BRHS&M called the “Order of Takings,” the government apparently initially did not know or care who the “vendors” were; each vendor is signified by parcel number only. It is thanks to then Town of Boca Raton we know what vendors supplied which properties. Five Japanese owners provided under 300 acres of the total field; they were compensated although likely not the amount they would have liked.
George Morikami did not have his land taken; he did not own land at Yamato but he was forced to relocate to Delray. The Kobayashi family moved to Fort Lauderdale and established a landscaping business. The Kamiyas moved to Delray and continued to farm. Mr. Kamikama’s house was on the east side of Dixie Highway—which was not part of the airfield--so he did not need to move. But that is not the whole story. Although the Floridians were not interned due to their small number, Henry Kamiya had the misfortune to find himself in California on Dec. 7, 1941, and was interned. Hideo Kobayashi, George Morikami, and Shohbi Kamikama had their assets frozen, if temporarily, and all of the families had their homes searched and were assigned Coast Guardsmen for whom they had to provide room and board, to “keep an eye on their comings and goings” as Tom Kobayashi recalled. The Yamato houses and other structures were demolished by the soldiers to make way for “PT” (physical training) and military buildings. The Yamato Colony experiment was finally at an end. Interestingly, the surviving Bahamian sharecroppers who lived in the Yamato area did not own their own land; they were forced to relocate to Delray to form the neighborhood of New Town. Their new houses had plumbing and electricity—a step up from the Yamato days.
George Morikami and Shohbi Kamikama had the last laugh, however. Both had purchased properties between Federal Highway and the Intracoastal when nobody wanted it. In the 1960s, they sold their land and became millionaires. George would eventually donate some of his Delray land to become the Morikami Museum and Gardens, a reminder of the great Yamato experiment.
To be continued…
We hope you enjoyed this quick trip back in time.
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