14

Eijiro and Fumi worked hard to clear the land and to build their own home, enduring many hardships.

15

Eijiro Koyama and family with friend Mrs. Ohashi
1918
Winfield, BC

Credits:
Sakuji and Sachiyo (Kobayashi) Koyama collection

16

Eijiro and Fumi had ten children: Kimie (1914), Seichi (1915), twins Tetsuji 'Ted' and Sakuji 'Sax' (1917), Harue (1918), Junko 'Jean' (1921), Motoi 'Mots' (1923), Kazuhiko 'Kadi' (1928), Merry (1925), and Masae (1930).

In 1918, shortly after this photo was taken, Eijiro and Fumi decided to send the two oldest children, Kimie and Seichi back to Japan to receive a proper education. Young Seichi left first, travelling under the care of Mr. Shigehisa Hikichi. Kimie, who was ill at the time, was sent shortly afterwards and both children grew up in Japan under the care of their grandparents. After completing his schooling, Seichi returned to Canada ten years later, in 1928. Kimie remained in Japan until 1930, returning to the Koyama family farm after her mother's death.

17

Fumi Koyama and children
1925
Winfield, BC

Credits:
Sakuji and Sachiyo (Kobayashi) Koyama collection

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Fumi Koyama missed her two eldest children dearly, and waited patiently every day for the mail to arrive. A letter from Japan would take a month or more by mail, covered in brightly coloured stamps. No matter how busy Fumi was, she would sit down to read each letter aloud, often with tears streaming down her face as she read the news about Kimie, Seichi, and her family in Japan.

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Fumi Koyama

Credits:
Addie (Takenaka) Maehara
Harold Takenaka
Lake Country Museum, interview 2011

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The Koyama farm was first planted with vegetable crops and strawberries. Here, Fumi Koyama with her children Jean, Ted, Sax, Harue, and baby Mots are working in the onion field.

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In the Onion Patch, Koyama farm
1923
Winfield, BC

Credits:
Sakuji and Sachiyo (Kobayashi) Koyama collection

22

Eijiro built the family's first home by hand, a small lean-to with four rooms. As the Koyama family grew, additional rooms and a second story were built. A pot-bellied stove in the kitchen provided heat, and water was brought from the nearby stream.

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Koyama House
1930s
Winfield, BC

Credits:
Sakuji and Sachiyo (Kobayashi) Koyama collection

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A barn was built and a silo added in the 1920s. The Koyama farm had chickens and dairy cows as well as their vegetable crops and quickly became self-sufficient.

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Koyama farm, the barn and silo
late 1920s
Winfield, BC

Credits:
Sakuji and Sachiyo (Kobayashi) Koyama collection

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Eijiro Koyama continued dairy farming until his retirement in 1948.

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Koyama farm
circa 1928
Winfield, BC

Credits:
Sakuji and Sachiyo (Kobayashi) Koyama collection