Contributions to the Texas Rice Industry by Seito and Kiyoaki Saibara
Webster, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Seito Saibara (1861-1939), former president of Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, and first Christian member of the Japanese Diet (Parliament). Arrived in the United States in 1901 to study theology, and with the desire to establish a Japanese colony in America. Saibara came to Texas in August 1903 at the invitation of the Houston Chamber of Commerce to advise farmers on the cultivation of rice, which was emerging as a major cash crop. He decided rice farming was the ideal business for a colony, leased this tract of land (which he later purchased), and sent for his family. The oldest son, Kiyoaki Saibara (1884-1972), brought from Japan 300 pounds of Shinriki seed, a variety superior to native rice; and together, father and son planted a field near the canal (1/2 mile NE). Their first crops were utilized primarily for distribution as seed in Texas and Louisiana. The Saibaras built a house (250 yards S), and several families soon moved here from Japan, but the colonization effort failed because of disillusionment and homesickness of the new colonists. Seito Saibara aided the growth of the Texas rice industry with improved rice strains and agricultural techniques until his death, and Kiyoaki Saibara continued new developments until his retirement in 1964. (1974) This marker was originally located 1,090 yards to the southwest. Seito Saibara's house was 1,270 yards SW of here.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Seito Saibara, a former university president and the first Christian member of Japan's parliament, came to Texas in 1903 at the invitation of the Houston Chamber of Commerce to advise farmers on rice cultivation. His son Kiyoaki brought 300 pounds of superior Shinriki seed from Japan, and together they planted crops that supplied improved seed across Texas and Louisiana. Though the colony of Japanese families the Saibaras hoped to establish ultimately dissolved amid homesickness, the father and son spent decades advancing rice strains and techniques that strengthened a major Gulf Coast industry.
Why it matters
The Saibaras' work links Japanese immigration to the making of a signature American agricultural industry, showing how newcomers' expertise reshaped the economy of the Texas Gulf Coast.
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Related people
- · Seito Saibara
- · Kiyoaki Saibara
Themes & tags
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