Ryan Ford

Ryan Ford is a third generation Japanese American and a graduate of CSU of Sacramento with a BA in Psychology. He is a resident of El Dorado County, CA for 48 years and an independent researcher/historian of the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony as well as Japanese history in El Dorado County.

Updated September 2019

Stories from This Author

Nikkei Chronicles #8—Nikkei Heroes: Trailblazers, Role Models, and Inspirations

The Family of Shinjiro Dote and Pre-WWII Japanese of El Dorado County, CA.

Oct. 15, 2019 • Ryan Ford

The trials and tribulations of pre–World War II Japanese on the West Coast are well documented, but there was a small group of them that were uniquely special and nearly lost to obscurity. The adversity they faced was as unparallel as the historical significance of their community of El Dorado County, CA. I’m a mixed race Sansei. My family decided in 1971 to leave southern California for the quieter rural El Dorado County in northern California three weeks before the …

California colonization Discover Nikkei El Dorado County heroes Japanese Americans Nikkei Chronicles (series) Nikkei Heroes (series) United States Wakamatsu Colony

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