Fujimatsu Moriguchi

Fujimatsu Moriguchi (森口 富士松, Moriguchi Fujimatsu, 1898 – August 1962) was a Japanese-born American businessman who founded Uwajimaya in 1928.

Fujimatsu Moriguchi
森口 富士松
Born1898 (1898)
Yawatahama, Ehime, Japan
Died1962 (aged 63–64)
NationalityJapanese, American
OccupationBusinessman
Years active1928 – 1962
EmployerUwajimaya
Known forFounding Uwajimaya
Spouses
​
(m. 1932)​
[1]
Children7

Biography

Moriguchi was born to a family of growers of mikan growers in Yawatahama in 1898, the oldest of the children of Kenshichi Moriguchi and his wife Suwa.[2] Upon graduating from middle school, he started working in neighboring Uwajima. After several years studying food processing in Uwajima, he emigrated to the United States in 1923.

Having settled in Tacoma, Washington, Moriguchi worked by farming and then at a restaurant before moving to Main Fish Company in Seattle where he met Shozo Tsutakawa, father of George Tsutakawa.[3][4] He soon left Main Fish to found Uwajimaya, which he named for Uwajima, in Tacoma. At first, he sold homemade fishcakes and various cuisines regarding seafood to several Japanese Americans from the back of his truck.[5]

Moriguchi's efforts caught the attention of Tsutakawa, who saw Moriguchi as a match for his daughter Sadako. According to family tradition, it was Tsutakawa who arranged the marriage between his daughter and Moriguchi.[6] After being in a relationship for two years, they married in 1932.

In 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor and signing of Executive Order 9066, the Moriguchis were moved to Pinedale, California, where their daughter was born, and then to Tule Lake, where the other two children were born. After the war, the family moved to Seattle. There, Moriguchi, with the money he borrowed from friends and former customers of Uwajimaya, bought a small building on South Main Street in Seattle's Japantown where he re-established his business in 1946.[7] In 1962, Uwajimaya made exhibitions by opening their own gift shop at the Century 21 Exposition.[8] That same year in August, Moriguchi died at the age of 64, leaving his business to his four sons, Kenzo, Tomio, Akira, and Toshikatsu.[9][10][11][12]

References
  1. "Sadako Tsutakawa Moriguchi". Legacy.com. The Seattle Times. 2002-07-28. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  2. Kawai, Ryosuke (2019-04-27). "第10回 ルーツと同郷の成功者" Dai 10-kai rūtsu to dōkyō no seikō-sha [10th: Roots and successful people of the same town]. Discover Nikkei (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  3. Chi, Sang; Robinson, Emily Moberg (2012). Voices of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Experience. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 407. ISBN 9781598843545.
  4. Ramirez, Marc (2008-10-08). "Uwajimaya celebrates its 80th anniversary". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  5. Sternquist, Brenda; Goldsmith, Elizabeth B. (2018-01-25). International Retailing. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 291. ISBN 9781501323638.
  6. Fryer, Alex (2002-07-27). "Sadako Moriguchi, 1907 - 2002: The guiding force at Uwajimaya, a landmark store". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  7. Seale, Shelley (2010-12-07). Insiders' Guide to Seattle. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 136. ISBN 9780762767311.
  8. Cowan, Nils (2017-03-17). "The Uwajimaya Story: Overcoming Internment and Building an Iconic Family Business". KCTS 9. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  9. "Uwajimaya Expands Seasia Office in 1973". Nikkei Newspapers Digital Archive. The North American Post. 1973-10-31. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  10. Sato, Ryoko (2017-05-04). "宇和島屋創業者、森口富士松 ～故郷愛媛を想い、シアトルで大成した男～" Uwajimaya sōgyō-sha, Moriguchi Fujimatsu ~furusato Ehime o omoi, Shiatoru de taisei shita otoko~ [Fujimatsu Moriguchi, Founder of Uwajimaya ~A man who thought of hometown Ehime, achieved greatness in Seattle~]. The North American Post (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  11. Sato, Ryoko (2017-05-13). "Life of Fujimatsu Moriguchi – Founder of Uwajimaya". The North American Post. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  12. Dern, Judith (2018-08-10). The Food and Drink of Seattle: From Wild Salmon to Craft Beer. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 105. ISBN 9781442259775.
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