Kamajiro Hotta

Kamajiro Hotta
This portrait of Kamajiro Hotta originally appeared in the Japanese American newspaper entitled "Sakuramento Heigen Nihonjin Taisei Ichiran" in 1911.
BornOctober 26, 1876
Saori District of the Aichi Prefecture, Japan
OccupationFarmer
OrganizationJapanese Producers Association
Known forAsparagus farming
TitlePresident of the Japanese Producers Association (1908–1924)
SpouseIchi Hotta
Parent(s)Keimon and Fuku Hotta
RelativesSeiichi Hotta (Brother) Kakuzaburo Wakayama (Cousin)

Kamajiro Hotta (堀田 鎌次郎, Hotta Kamajiro, born October 26, 1876) was an influential Japanese immigrant farmer in the state of California during the early 20th century. His primary contributions to the California farming industry were in Walnut Grove. While he grew many different crops during his time in the United States, he is most commonly known for growing asparagus.[1][2] Following his first major land acquisitions in 1904, Hotta's farming career boomed because of his unique land contracts that gave him more autonomy over business operations than other Japanese immigrant farmers at the time.[3]

Due to Hotta's unprecedented financial success growing and selling asparagus, many Japanese immigrant farmers in the area attempted to follow in his footsteps. As a result of his local clout in the Japanese farming community, he was elected as president of the Japanese Producers Association, an interest group dedicated to securing fair land and cannery contracts for Japanese immigrant farmers.[3] Following the passage of anti-Japanese legislation in California such as the Alien Land Law of 1913, the amendment to the Alien Land Law in 1920, and the 1923 United States Supreme Court case ruling against cropping contracts, Hotta stepped down as president of the Japanese Producers Association and returned to his hometown in Japan where he lived out the remainder of his life.[4][5]

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  5. ^ Iyennaga, Toyokichi (1921). Japan and the California Problem (1st ed.). New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 978-0548573501.