Japanese cemetery commemorates 100 years

The Oxnard Japanese Cemetery will celebrate its 100th anniversary at the annual cleanup held by the Ventura County chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League from 8:30 a.m. to noon Sat., May 10.

The cemetery is located on a onethirdacre plot at the intersection of Pleasant Valley and Etting roads in Oxnard. The property is owned by the Hueneme Masonic Cemetery Association.

The cemetery is the resting place of many of the pioneer Japanese immigrants who first settled in Ventura County and who were buried in a segregated cemetery because the Japanese were excluded from Caucasian cemeteries.

An estimated 139 graves are on the site. The last burial took place in 1960 when several old bachelors were buried there. Services were performed by a Buddhist priest. After 1960 most Japanese were buried in Ventura's Ivy Lawn Memorial Cemetery or in Camarillo, and the Japanese Cemetery fell into disuse.

For more information, call Ken Nakano at (818) 919-0876.