Don't forget to check out the rest of our 2013 Most Endangered List!
Video: • 2013 Most Endangered P...
Website: preservewa.org/...
To see more photos, go to our Mukai Farmstead & Garden set on flickr: www.flickr.com/...
For more information on how to get involved, please visit the Friends of Mukai website: friendsofmukai....
Every year, many historic properties across the state of Washington are threatened by demolition or neglect. Collectively, these properties contribute to the quality of life we enjoy and shape the daily experiences of living in small towns, large cities and rural countryside across the state. It is an understatement to say that our historic resources help to paint a distinct Washington portrait, and it is certainly no overstatement to conclude that their loss would leave large gaps in that canvas.
The Mukai House and Garden is a significant example of the Japanese American presence on Vashon Island and in the Puget Sound Region. As a young man, B.D. Mukai immigrated to the United States from Japan. Built in 1927, he designed the structure to emulate a typical American rural farmhouse. His wife Kuni designed the surrounding garden as a traditional Japanese stroll garden - it is the only known Japanese Garden of this era designed by a woman. Together, the house and garden represent the blending of two cultures and the aspirations of Japanese American immigrants to realize the American Dream. B.D. and his son, Masahiro, also pioneered a cold barreling process that revolutionized the strawberry industry. The Cold Process Barreling Plant, located adjacent to the house and garden (but owned separately), became a location for strawberry farmers on Vashon to process their fruit for shipment all across the country. The house and garden were sold in the late 1940s after the family's return from Idaho following WWII. With funding from federal, state and local sources, a non-profit formed to acquire the Mukai House and Garden in 2001. The organization's mission included restoration of the house and garden, with public tours intended to interpret the Mukai Family and their role in the community. Recently, due to concern over the future stewardship of the resource, a group of Vashon residents formed Friends of Mukai to work toward the long-term preservation of the site.