Isaac Nagaya Tanaka (Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 1890) was a naturalized Mexican apothecary and merchant of Japanese origin who lived in the town of Huixtla, Chiapas, being the owner of the “San Francisco” pharmacy located on the central-north avenue of that municipality. On March 6, 1950, the mixed court of first instance of that town issued an order of formal imprisonment to the complainant for the manslaughter of Pedro García de Labra for a vaccine that the Japanese had given him days before his death.
The accusation was supported by the testimony of Isidra Miranda, with the judicial authorities omitting consultation with Dr. Roberto Espinoza Maza or the municipal doctor, Berzaín Camacho León. The autopsy report issued by the latter indicated that the death of the deceased was due to septicemia, but did not establish that its cause was the injection given by Nagaya Tanaka. Given the evidence, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) unanimously decided that it was not possible to attribute the death of García de Labra to the complainant, and decided to revoke the sentence of the Chiapas court, and dismissed the amparo trial promoted by the apothecary. The defendant's sentence was revoked and suppressed on December 8, 1950.
By 1950, Isaac Nagaya was 60 years old, widowed and Catholic, originally from Japan with permanent residence in Chiapas. Héctor Narváez indicates that the “Nagaya” family was a Japanese family that settled in Huixtla led by “Don Isaac”, who thanks to his knowledge as an apothecary became an “idol of the people” for his pharmaceutical services and humanitarian aid. 1
Isaac Nagaya entered Mexico from Japan through the port of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, in 1907 2 and from there he moved to Huixtla, where he made his life. It is known with certainty that Nagaya, by 1926, was already living in Huixtla since there is a record of this character in the Official Gazette of the Federation. In its morning publication of March 19, 1926, in which it is stated that the Secretary of Agriculture and Development entered into a contract with Mr. Isaac Nagaya, for the five-year lease of a national land of 80 hectares in the municipality of Pijijiapan , Chiapas, known as “La Volverna”, which in turn bordered to the north with lands of the “Japanese Mexican Company”. Such land could be used by Nagaya exclusively for raising and grazing cattle, and any other use would invalidate the contract. 3
Grades:
1. Héctor Narváez, “ The families of Colonial and Modern Huixtla ”, Periodistas en Linea, November 13, 2006. [consultation: 05/13/2018]
2. Genealogy Mexico, “ [October: Genealogy Month] 14405 Re: NEW MEMBERS ”, Genealogical and Family History Society of Mexico, October 7, 2018. [accessed: 05/13/2018]
3. Editorial, Official Gazette of the Federation , Volume XXXV, no. 17, section “Secretary of Agriculture and Development”, Friday, March 19, 1926, p. 435. [consultation: 05/15/2018]
© 2019 Carlos Uscanga, Rogelio Vargas
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