Seito Saibara (1861-1939), former president of Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, and first Christian member of the Japanese Diet (Parliament). Arrived in the United States in 1901 to study theology, and with the desire to establish a Japanese colony in America. Saibara came to Texas in August 1903 at the invitation of the Houston Chamber of Commerce to advise farmers on the cultivation of rice, which was emerging as a major cash crop. He decided rice farming was the ideal business for a colony, leased this tract of land (which he later purchased), and sent for his family. The oldest son, Kiyoaki Saibara (1884-1972), brought from Japan 300 pounds of Shinriki seed, a variety superior to native rice; and together, father and son planted a field near the canal (1/2 mile NE). Their first crops were utilized primarily for distribution as seed in Texas and Louisiana. The Saibaras built a house (250 yards S), and several families soon moved here from Japan, but the colonization effort failed because of disillusionment and homesickness of the new colonists. Seito Saibara aided the growth of the Texas rice industry with improved rice strains and agricultural techniques until his death, and Kiyoaki Saibara continued new developments until his retirement in 1964. (1974) This marker was originally located 1,090 yards to the southwest. Seito Saibara's house was 1,270 yards SW of here.
Seito and Kiyoaki Saibara
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
Seito and Kiyoaki Saibara is a historical marker in Webster, Harris County, dedicated in 1974. It is one of 422 historical markers documented in Harris County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 849 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 29.5448, -95.1075 near Webster. The nearest cataloged historic site is Space Center Houston (museum), about 0.7 miles away. Others within a short drive include Apollo Mission Control Center, Space Environment Simulation Laboratory, and West, James and Jessie, Mansion (Gone).
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5201010758. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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