Between the Flowers
By: Janeth Palma Cuesta
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Mt. Eden Warehouse Display
Dedication For the past several months, all of the Freestyle juniors have been working on the Documentary. This project was hard at times, but seeing my entire project laid out in InDesign and having all the pages complete, it really was worth the effort. I would like to thank Mount Eden Floral Co. first for letting us into the freezers and warehouses after hours and being so cooperative in everything we did. Their story is one that deserves to be told, and I am glad to be the one to do so. Second, I would like to thank my Freestyle teachers for all the extra hours they have put in over the months. They stay until 6pm some days, tirelessly helping us, and without their support this wouldn’t have been possible. Finally, I would like to thank my family who encourage me every day.
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Table of Contents Foreword
Chapter Three
Page 6
Page 19
Chapter One
Works Cited
Page 8
Page 22
Chapter Two
About the Author
Page 14
Page 24
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Foreword This topic took me by surprise. It wasn’t what I was thinking of documenting originally. The work that went into making this project complete was more than I could have ever imagined, with many late nights spent writing and working in Creative Cloud. The design of the book was what challenged me most, and I encourage you, my reader, to see every little choice as intentional. From how many dashes follow a graphic, to choosing the amount of space between every letter, I made it all. Thank you for taking the time to read this, it makes the work worth it.
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Chapter One A Century in the Making 8
Timeline Zenjuro Shibata arrived in the US from Japan
1903
Mt. Eden is founded
1906
Yoshimi Shibata is born
1916
The Shibata family is relocated to Tule Lake
1942
Zenjuro Shibata passes away
1947
Mt. Eden begins focusing on rose production
1949
Rob Shibata joins Mt. Eden
1983
Rose production stops, focus on wholesale begins
2001
Rob’s son, Alex joins Mt. Eden
2011
Yoshimi turns 100, passes away a few months later
2015
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" So you had a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds that owned the company really"
F
or the first part of the 20th century,
Mt. Eden Floral Company was owned by five and six year olds. These children were the sons of a Japanese immigrant, Zenjuro Shibata. He journeyed to America from Japan in 1903, and during his three-week journey across the ocean he dreamed of streets paved in gold, the American Dream, and a chance at creating his own fortune (Y. Shibata).
From its beginnings, the business
relied heavily on the work of the younger generation, a silent acknowledgement that has kept the business and strong family bonds alive. Now in its 111th year, the company draws on the work of the previous generation, surpassing all expectations and overcoming all odds. Yoshimi Shibata, arguably the company's most formative leader, was born in 1916 to Zenjuro and Koyuri Shibata.
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The oldest of six children, Yoshimi was the one who most passionately continued what his father
had started. It was his name that the company land was under, a direct result of discriminatory laws such as The Alien Land Law
Act. Instead,
inventive immigrants
curtailed the law
by passing ownership
of the land to
their American-born
children.
Mt. Eden’s
Rob Shibata,
current CEO and
son of Yoshimi,
remembers, “My
father was born
here, so they wisely
put the company
in the names of all
their children.
So you had a bunch
of 5 and 6 year
olds that owned the
company really”
(R. Shibata). Robert Shibata,
current owner,
has taken on the family business, although he was initially uncertain in his role. He remembers graduating college and adamantly deciding to make his own way in the world, convinced that the job he would get would not be earned. “The question occurred to me, if I have a position of responsibility in our company,
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would I get that position because I was the best qualified to do that work or would I get it because I had the right last name?� (R. Shibata) Instead, he worked different jobs for the first few years before deciding he was worthy of a job in the company and then moving up to become CEO.
This noble way of living
is evident walking through the halls of the company, with Rob sharing an office with clerks and workers, never far away from the reality of the business. After an interview, he sat down with one of his employees, giving life advice and telling a few jokes to pass the time. As he walks down the hall, the company walls are lined with pictures from the past century:
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Wedding display in the warehouse
fields of roses, workers in the sun, Shibata family portraits. These reminders of history and hard work drive Robert, who aims to honor his father's legacy.
An enduring characteristic of Mt. Eden has been the family sense of
perseverance. When Yoshimi Shibata was a young child, he was sick for much of the time, and his father wanted to teach him a lesson in strength. He sent for a Japanese sword fighting master to come to their home and teach him (R. Shibata). Sickly yet persevering, Yoshimi took what he learned and applied it to running the inherited business. Samurai were simultaneously the protectors of the land, judges, and soldiers.
Yoshimi became a samurai in his own right, protecting what he
hand been given, persevering through all that he endured, and coming out stronger on the other side. Rob Shibata says that while Yoshimi has since passed away, the awards and recognition he accumulated over the years is the legacy they believe is their duty to protect. With every order they fill, with every flower that leaves the new warehouse, they approach it with the same endurance, the do-or-die attitude that got them here in the first place. Robert Shibata, speaking at his father’s 100th birthday
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Chapter Two Still Blooming
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Z
enjuro Shibata never envisioned the scale his business would go to, providing work and a living for
generations after him.
One hundred and eleven years later, his great grandson is starting work for Mt. Eden like those before him. Perhaps the business isn’t the same as when it started, but the pride and respect for Zenjuro and Yoshimi’s company remains after all these years.
When asked about the responsibility he shoulders, Rob responded, “In my case, if I fail, I fail my employees,I fail my customers, I fail my suppliers and I fail the company” (R. Shibata). This
awareness of the responsibilities grounds him, reminding him not to take for granted what was achieved before him.
He identifies 2 main hardships as being major roadblocks in the company’s history: the business changing hands, and
the discrimination they have faced (R. Shibata). When Zenjuro Shibata started the business, he was a new immigrant, wanting to survive in the American economy. Most businesses were out of his reach because of his Japanese roots, either overtly denying him a job, or blatantly posting signs that he need not apply.
As many Japanese immigrants found, the one job where they were welcomed was agriculture (Fojas). Zenjuro Shibata
established what is now the family business, but his grandson Robert Shibata says that the most important and perhaps difficult thing he did was survive. When Yoshimi (“Shimi”) took over the company, he began directing the company’s focus to Rose and Chrysanthemums, greatly expanding their production. This direction was more serious take on the business they had before, making greater use of the land and wanting to build a “vertically integrated company” (R. Shibata). Under his direction, the company opened up other branches 15
and partnered with growers to provide customers with the best quality possible. The company was awarded prizes by growers and industry leaders for their innovation and success (Bei). When World War II broke out, the Shibatas found themselves in an environment hostile to them. They were relocated to Tule Lake Camp, where they lived out the war years.
Many Japanese families that were relocated lost their land, businesses and homes
because of the sudden order to pick up only what they could carry and move away from their homes.
The Shibata family were unusually lucky in that they leased their farm to an Italian
friend who took care of the land while they were gone (Y. Shibata). Zappettini, himself in the floral business, took care of the families land while they were in the internment camps starting in 1942. When talking of this setback, Robert makes the injustice of it clear. “How are you supposed to operate your business when you’re in a prison camp?” (R. Shibata).
To gain a better understanding of the way Japanese Americans viewed the order for internment, Jaimie Tabuchi,
whose family was interned, granted us an interview to speak of the experience. Speaking of how her grandfather reacted on that
day of February 19, 1942, she retells how “he had a lot of American pride at that time and was discharged because of the war and so was initially very angry because he felt like an american citizen” (Tabuchi). This idea of feeling little to no ties to Japan is the story of many of those interned. They tried in every way to fit into American society, and felt that they had found their place.
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Yoshimi S.
Jaime told of her grandmother’s feelings during this, saying that, “there was some fear by the Japanese, including my
grandmother that the U.S. government might decide to kill japanese people” (Tabuchi).
After the war, the company began to focus on flower production, and Rob explained that the company ”continued to expand...
greenhouse rose growing operations, and also started to get into wholesaling” (R. Shibata) This shift towards a more diverse business made the company stronger, eventually guiding it out of flower production once competition from other countries began to take over (Buchmann).
Likewise, when Robert took over the company, the rose growing operation was beginning to wind down. In 2001, Mt. Eden
produced its last rose, and an era came to an end. Robert oversaw this change, explaining how “We cut 160,000 roses per day and today we don’t grow one rose. We’re strictly distributors” (R. Shibata).
They have found a market that needs them, and have opened
branches throughout Northern California. As Alex, the newest manager and family member to join the company grows into his role, he will get to decide which direction the company is going to take. opened branches throughout Northern California. As Alex,
They have found a market that needs them, and have the newest
to join the company grows into his role, he will get to
manager and family member decide which direction
the company is going to take.
Robert and Alex Shibata
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Chapter Three The Business of Flowers 19
W
hen the company was first starting, the demand for flowers was a complete other world. Local flowers and local shops were still popular, with many residents of a city never leaving their town for food or goods. This was mostly because of the different modes of transport available at the time. In an era where planes jetting around flats of flowers was not feasible, the Mt. Eden Flower company pioneered the use of refrigerated flower shipping containers (Mt. Eden) . This was a breakthrough, and Yoshimi himself created a whole new market when he did this, giving consumers endless options from there on. Previously, flowers grown locally were bought locally, and this made for the growing operation business model the company had pre-2001. Now, with cheaper labor overseas, many flower growers in the U.S. are finding themselves struggling to compete with cheaper flowers. The Produce Marketing Association, or PMA put out a Floral Trends Report yearly, with threats to the industry and possible marketing ideas for those in the flower industry. Most recently, their 2016 paper cited historical flower production sources. “Whereas the U.S. floral market historically relied heavily on domestic production, imports now make up an estimated 82% of the total cut-flower sales in the U.S.” (PMA). In the late 70’s and 80’s, the flower industry saw increased competition from places abroad like Columbia and Ecuador, and this change in production led Mt. Eden to close its growing operation in 2001 (Buchmann). Once the consumers in the U.S. saw cheaper, equal quality options from overseas, they stopped being willing to pay more for what they deemed the same product. As Mount Eden looks to the future, they are unsure of what’s to come. With the internet and e-commerce beginning to gain speed in the flower industry, companies are being forced to become less personal, with customers only knowing them by their shipping numbers and websites. With so much ahead of them and new leadership within the company, there is room to grow, prosper and flourish. Like those who came before them, the newest generation must learn from their past and become samurai in their own right, even 5,221 miles away from their great grandfather came from.
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Works Cited Bei, Nichi. “PIONEERING FLORIST YOSHIMI SHIBATA DIES AT 99.” The Rafu Shimpp [Los Angeles], 14 Nov. 2015, NorCal News sec. Buchmann, Stephen. The Reason for Flowers. New York, Simon & Schuster, 2015. De Pelsmacker, Patrick, et al. “Do Consumers Care about Ethics? Willingness to Pay for Fair-Trade Coffee.” The Journal of Consumer Affairs, vol. 39, no. 2, 2005, pp. 363–385., www.jstor.org/stable/23860612. Fojas, Camilla, and Rudy P. Guevarra, editors. Transnational Crossroads: Remapping the Americas and the Pacific. Lincoln; London, University of Nebraska Press, 2012, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1ddr6mv. Mt. Eden. “Yoshimi Shibata: A Floral Industry Pioneer.” Mt Eden Floral Co, edited by Robert Shibata,version 2, revision 1, 2017 Mt. Eden Floral, 9 Sept. 2015, www.mteden.com/yoshimi-shibata-a-floral-industry-pioneer. Accessed 16 Mar. 2017. Prince, Tom, Dr., and Tim Prince, Dr. Trends in Mass-Market Culture. Prince and Prince, 2016. Floral Trends Report. Shibata, Robert. Personal Interview. 2 Mar. 2017. Shibata, Robert. Personal Interview. 26 April. 2017 Stanley, Gerald. “Justice Deferred: A Fifty-Year Perspective on Japanese-Internment Historiography.” Southern California Quarterly, vol. 74, no. 2, 1992, pp. 181–206., www.jstor.org/stable/41171622. Accessed 26 Mar. 2017. Robinson, Edward T. “The Japanese ‘Internment’ Cases Revisited.” OAH Magazine of History, vol. 17, no. 2, 2003, pp. 52–54., www.jstor.org/stable/25163583. Tabuchi, Jaime. Personal Interview. By Kevin Lopez. 2 March. 2017. Wenger, Gina L. “Documentary Photography: Three Photographers’ Standpoints on the Japanese-American Internment.” Art Education, vol. 60, no. 5, 2007, pp. 33–38., ww.jstor.org/stable/27696238. Zenjuro Shibata - WWII Relocation Record.” JapaneseRelocation.org, Created in the USA, 17 Mar. 2017, www.japaneserelocation.org/index.php?page=directory&rec=18682. Accessed 19 Mar. 2017.
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About the Author Janeth Palma Cuesta attends both Freestyle Academy and Mountain View High School. In her free time she plays violin, boxes, and enjoys spending time with her dog. She is a film student at Freestyle and enjoys making experimental and documentary films. This is her first book, and she hopes to make more in the future.
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