HISTORIC SUYEMATSU FARM
Founded 1928
Except for the period of Japanese American Exclusion during WWII, this is the oldest, most continuously farmed land in this region.
Today, it is the last of the original family farms that at once made Bainbridge Island an strawberry capital of the Pacific Northwest, and the largest production farm in Kitsap County.
Northern portion of Suyematsu Farm, western view, c. 1930s. (Courtesy of Suyematsu Family)
Suyematsu Farm is the oldest, most continuously farmed land on Bainbridge Island, and possibly the larger Central Puget Sound Region. For 90 years, this has been one of the largest, and now the largest, production farm in Kitsap County, except for the period of Japanese American exclusion during WWII, when the Suyematsu’s we interned in the Manzanar and Minidoka concentration camps. They like most of the Bainbridge Island Japanese immigrants raised berries and during the period of 1930-40 put their farms and the Island on the map as the strawberry capital of the Pacific Northwest, famous for the Marshall variety they raised, which was known at the time as the finest tasting strawberry in the US.
Yasuji and Mitsuo Suyematsu, immigrants from Japan, purchased this 40 acre property in 1928, after farming on rented land nearby for more than a decade. The Asian Exclusion Act prevented anyone who was not a naturalized citizen (born in the US) from owning land, voting or becoming a US citizen. The parent registered the land in the name of their eldest son, Akio, who was 8 years old at the time. The Suyematsu children eventually numbered seven, although their youngest son died at young age.
Yasuji Suyematsu standing on the front porch of their homestead with three of his sons (L-R: Yosh, Ish, Tosh, & Yasuo) c. 1930s. (Courtesy of Suyematsu Family)
Mostly by hand and horse, it took three decades for the Suyematsu family to transition this land from a forest into one of the original berry farms that made Bainbridge Island the strawberry capital of the Pacific Northwest.
Three Suyematsu Sons, Akio, Ish, & Tosh working the strawberry field after school, c. 1930’s. (Courtesy of Suyematsu Family)
The Suyematsu’s were forced to leave their 40 acre property in March 1942, just before the harvest season, at what would have been one of the largest bumper crops they had ever seen. Unable to afford to hire a farm manager, the land was unkept for the duration of the war. Upon returning to Bainbridge Island in between 1945-1947 (Akio and his brother Ish had been drafted by the US Army in 1944 while in concentration camp), the Suyematsu’s were among a quarter of the original strawberry farmers to reclaimed their farm land.
Their eldest son, Akio, who passed away in 2012 at age 91, had been farming this land since childhood, was responsible for guiding this farm into this 21st century. Akio Suyematsu was the last of the original berry farmers on Bainbridge Island who put Bainbridge on the map as Island the strawberry capital of the Pacific Northwest. He was also one of the first Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed and incarcerated during WWII. Upon his return to farming after WWII, Akio was named 1958 Kitsap Farmer of the Year. In the 1980’s, Suyematsu Farm was the first farmer on Bainbridge Island to begin a formal composting operation and the first farm to turn organic.
Akio Suyematsu tilling his family strawberry farm, c. 1950s. (Courtesy of Suyematsu Family)
Remembering Akio Suyematsu, 1921-2012
Starting in the late 70’s, the Bentryn family rented, then purchased, half of the farm to create Bainbridge Island Vineyards and Winery. Akio Suyematsu and the Bentryns mentored the next generation of master farmers (Karen Selvar, Betsey Wittick, Brian MacWhorter, Mike Paulson, Carol Rolph, Mike Lempriere) who help farm their land and who also farm their own land on this 40 acres and elsewhere.
Four Generations of Suyematsu & Bentryn Family Farmers, with Akio Suyematsu at age 90 in front (by Joel Sackett, 2011)
In 2000, 15 acres of Suyematsu Farm and more than 10 acres of Bentryn Farm (2004) were purchased by the City of Bainbridge Island to be kept in perpetuity as agricultural landscape. Today, there are three landowners within the 40 acres.
This is now the largest production farm on Bainbridge Island. Approx. 80-100 tons of food is raised each year, and is distributed throughout our local food community. Food on this farm is sustainably and organically grown.
Eiko Suyematsu, the youngest daughter, standing on the front porch of her family homestead in 2013, under a photo of her as a child in the same spot in the 1930’s.
Map of Suyematsu & Bentryn Family Farms, 2011. (copyright, Educulture & S&BFF Guild.)
Over the past two decades, thousands of teachers, and citizens have visited Suyematsu farm for edible and heritage education programs. From 2006-2019, Suyematsu Farm served as an outdoor classroom for Bainbridge Island Schools. In 2013, Mary Woodward wrote: “The Suyematsu farm is the longest operating farm in Kitsap County, growing strawberries at first, and, in recent years, wine grapes and pumpkins, something any school-aged kid on Bainbridge will tell you.”
In 2011, Akio Suyematsu became the first local farmer, and alumnus, to have a contract with Bainbridge Island School District food program, purchasing 300 pounds of Suyematsu Farm raspberries each year for a yogurt & granola parfait, served to students throughout the school year- making Suyematsu Farm and BISD one of the closest farm to school relationships in the region.
Today, the forty acres of Suyematsu Family Farm is one of the oldest, continuously farmed working landscapes in the region, and the largest production farm in Kitsap County. It is the hub of our Island’s farming community and a treasured and iconic cultural asset. Since the period of Japanese American Exclusion, Suyematsu Family Farm has become one of the most inclusive places on Bainbridge Island. The farm has become an established historic and cultural site for teaching and learning about the Japanese American experience, and a living bookend to the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial.
Akio Suyematsu passed away peacefully on July 31, 2012, at the age of 90. His life’s work is living memorial to a Japanese American farmer “who against all odds cultivated a legacy that will live forever.” After his passing, the City of Bainbridge Island proclaimed August 19 as Akio Suyematsu Day on Bainbridge Island.
In 2001, Akio Suyematsu sold the remaining fifteen-acres of his family farm to the City of Bainbridge Island (COBI). Formal ownership of this property transferred to COBI upon Akio’s death in 2012. In 2016, five-acres of the Suyematsu Farm, including its original farm buildings, were listed in the Bainbridge Island Historic Register and was dedicated as the Island’s first ever Historic Preservation District (HPD). Today these five acres are known as the Suyematsu Farm Historic Property.
In November 2024, the Suyematsu Farm Legacy Alliance entered into an agreement with the City of Bainbridge Island to operate and manage the five acre Suyematsu Farm Historic Property.
Carrying a Message, Bainbridge Island Review, March 22, 2012
What would you carry with you – if you only had six days to pack a bag for yourself and your family, headed to a remote location, for an unknown period of time? What would you bring? Read more…
Only What We Can Carry Project Helps
Host National Tour of Historic Suyematsu Farm