Poetry from the Potato King

Betsuten shiko [Poems]

Ushijima, Kinji [George Shima]

Notes: The second collection of poems by the first Japanese American millionaire, the Stockton "potato king" Ushijima Kinji, known in the United States as George Shima.

In 1920, Ushijima's "Shima Fancy" brand of potatoes had an 85% market share and were grown on 28,000 acres in California's Central Valley. Following the passage of anti-Japanese land laws in 1913 and 1920, Ushijima's empire began to crumble because he could not legally buy or lease land. He planned to return to Japan in 1926 after 37 years in the United States, but he died suddenly in Los Angeles just a few days after this book was privately printed in Tokyo.

[6], 13, [1], 114, [1] pages. Printed on double-leaves.

OCLC: 36112579 (Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard); 703785875 (National Diet Library)

Edition + Condition: A very good or better copy in wrappers sewn in the traditional Japanese style; private library label on front cover. Lacking the publisher's slipcase.

Publication: Tokyo: Nitto no Hanasha, 1926 (Taisho 15).

Item No: #362401

Price: $500