Randy:
Have had any luck with Shokichi Ishimaru?
I may be able to help you. My grandparents are from Kochi and I have been doing some research on them. I know a family named Ishimaru. And since the Japanese born before WWII tend to marry people from the same 'ken', this Ishimaru may be the one you are looking for. It's kind of a long story. My maternal grandparents name is Doiuchi. Matsuki Doiuchi had a daughter, Seiko, who married Tetsuya Ishimaru (1903-1947) who became an optometrist. They had 3 children: Tetsuo (deceased), Tadako Landa, and Yoshiya Lloyd. I grew up with Tadako and Yoshiya when I was young, but have had no cotact with them. Yoshiya I think lives in LA.
You can see how I came across this info. I'm still trying to figure out if Matsuki is my great-uncle or my grandfather's cousin. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask my grandfather before he died.
I don't know if you have access to ancestry.com. They have data on west coast immigration. This is handy because there is info about where the passenger resided in Japan.
If you need more info, feel free to contact me.
Miwako Tamura
nadia062@hotmail.com