As board members and special guests of the Friends of Mukai recently gathered to celebrate a decade of work to ensure the survival of one of the last remaining pre-WWII Japanese farmsteads left in America, plans were announced to further enhance the National Landmark site on Vashon.
At an event held on July 13, Friends of Mukai shared the news that King County, which has awarded significant funds over the years to support its goals and restoration projects, is ready to start negotiating an agreement to transfer ownership of the historic Fruit Barreling Plant building to the Friends of Mukai.
The facility was once used to process and pack strawberry harvests for shipment all over the United States.
Friends of Mukai is now beginning to raise funds to transform the barreling plant into a public gathering space and venue for tenants who complement the organization’s mission.
Christie True, director of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, offered her praise of the Friends of Mukai and a continued commitment by King County to the Mukai vision.
“This is a really important landmark for all of King County,” she said. “We’re going to be continuing to make sure that the vision that you have… is going to be maintained. We all have that same common hope.”
The ownership transfer process may take another year, as it still requires approval from the Friends, King County Council, and the state.
The restored Mukai house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a living testimony to Japanese American culture and education, and it is open to the public for programming all year.
The historic property centers Mukai family’s stories, the island’s agricultural past, Kuni Mukai’s garden, and the greater history of Japanese Americans on Vashon.
Mukai Farm’s profile grew in 2022 with the addition of events such as monthly “Crafternoon” events and Japanese movie nights, a Japanese conversation club with islander Fred Harriman, and a partnership with Vashon Island High School’s Anime Club, spearheaded by new board member Adam Foster.
Recently, 168 people attended an Anime Club screening of the beloved 2001 Hayao Miyazaki film, “Spirited Away” at the Vashon Movie Theater.
Mukai has also partnered with other island organizations on events such as the recent retrospective of ceramic artist Akio Takamori’s work with the Vashon Center for the Arts, the Vashon Heritage Museum, and the island Potters Guild. The organization also co-hosted an Agricultural Day at Mukai celebrating Vashon farmers and agriculture, a Juneteenth celebration of the end of slavery, and the 80th anniversary of the day on which Vashon’s Japanese community were exiled under Executive Order 9066. This year’s third annual Haiku Festival, at Mukai, had more than 350 entries submitted by poets from around the world.
In August, Mukai Farm will collaborate with Lelavision on “Indicator Species,” a project that will feature performances and science talks organized around a 35-foot tall interactive, kinetic, and musical sculpture of a Plecoptera nymph, also known as a stonefly.
And on September 10, Mukai will host its annual Japan Festival in person, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
To find out more about Mukai Farm & Garden, visit mukaifarmandgarden.org.
