There is a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

and a Japanese national population in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. The center of the Japanese and Japanese American community is in San Francisco's

Japantown is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little ...

History

Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco 1904 cph

Japan had maintained an official policy of isolation from Europe and most of its colonies since 1639, and emigration was strictly controlled. However, in the years that followed Commodore Matthew C Perry's 1854 arrival, Japan underwent a great social transformation, and for many Japanese, the U.S. became a model for military power and a desirable way of life. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan's rapid urbanisation and industrialisation brought about great social disruption and agricultural decline. Farmers were evicted and workers were left employed by foreign competition, they looked more and more for a better life outside the islands of their homeland. As Japanese wages decreased, and word of a booming U.S. economy spread, the lure of the United States became difficult to resist. The first Japanese immigrants arrived in

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

in 1869.''San Francisco's Japantown'', p
7
Initially, Japanese immigrants moved to the edge of

San Francisco's Chinatown The Chinatown centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, () is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Chinese enclaves outside Asia. It is also the oldest and largest of the four notable ...

and the

South of Market South of Market (SoMa) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, situated just south of Market Street. It contains several sub-neighborhoods including South Beach, Yerba Buena, and Rincon Hill. SoMa is home to many of the city's museums ...

neighborhood. Asian American Studies professor

Yuji Ichioka Yuji Ichioka (June 23, 1936 – September 1, 2002) was an American historian and civil rights activist best known for his work in ethnic studies, particularly Asian American Studies and for being a leader in the Asian American movement. An a ...

estimated that there around 300 Japanese "school boys"—immigrants who are working to earn their education in the United States—living in San Francisco in 1885. Following the

San Francisco Earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

in 1906, the Japanese community relocated to the city's present day

in the

Western Addition The Western Addition is a district in San Francisco, California, United States. Location The Western Addition is located between Van Ness Avenue, the Richmond District, the Haight-Ashbury and Lower Haight neighborhoods, and Pacific Heights. ...

, and also the

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

neighborhood. In 1900 there were 90 Japanese businesses. By 1909 this figure increased to 545. After the earthquake, the

San Francisco Board of Education The San Francisco Board of Education is the school board for the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco. It is composed of seven Commissioners, elected by voters across the city to serve 4-year terms. It is subject to local, state, and f ...

passed a regulation requiring that Japanese American students attend separate, racially specific

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

. This local action led to an international dispute, following the vigorous objections of the Japanese government. The result of the dispute was the

Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 The was an informal agreement between the United States of America and the Empire of Japan whereby Japan would not allow further emigration to the United States and the United States would not impose restrictions on Japanese immigrants already ...

, which greatly restricted the flow of Japanese nationals to the United States. San Jose's Japantown was founded due to the need of combining comradeship and resources to survive as immigrants in the United States. Initially, it was known as Heinlenville Chinatown between Jackson and Taylor east of Sixth Street. However, John Heinlen offered his own property for the new location after the city's second Chinatown burned to the ground under mysterious circumstances. Despite outrage from the general public, Mr Heinlen built a new Chinatown entirely of brick. He then rented these buildings to the Chinese at very low rates. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, San Francisco saw the largest and oldest enclave of Japanese outside of Japan,

, completely empty out its ethnic Japanese residents as a result of Executive Order 9066 that forced all Japanese of birth or descent in the United States to be interned. By 1943 many large sections of the neighborhood remained vacant due to the forced internment. Following the war, some Japanese Americans returned, followed by new Japanese immigrants as well as investment from the Japanese Government and Japanese companies. However, many did not return to the neighborhood and instead settled in other parts of the city, or out to the suburbs altogether. This was further exacerbated by the city's efforts to rejuvenate the neighborhood initiated by

Justin Herman Justin Herman (April 29, 1907 – December 3, 1983) was an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He wrote for 42 films between 1934 and 1952. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1950 for '' Roller Derby Girl'' and again in ...

in the Western Addition in the 1960s through the 1980s. Civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins, who worked many prominent cases on behalf of members of the Japanese American community, both lived and worked in San Francisco until his death in 1974. Among his clients were

Fred Korematsu was an American civil rights activist who resisted the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Shortly after the Imperial Japanese Navy launched its attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive O ...

Iva Toguri D'Aquino Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino ( ja, 戸栗郁子アイバ; July 4, 1916 – September 26, 2006) was a Japanese-American disc jockey and radio personality who participated in English-language radio broadcasts transmitted by Radio Tokyo to Allied t ...

, and Japanese American renunciants from the

Tule Lake War Relocation Center The Tule Lake National Monument in Modoc County, California, Modoc and Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou counties in California, consists primarily of the site of the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, one of ten concentration camps constructe ...

Institutions

The ''Fukuin Kai'' opened in 1877. The book ''San Francisco's Japantown'' stated that this was believed to be the first Japanese organization in the United States.

Education

The

San Francisco Japanese School The San Francisco Japanese School (SFJS, ) is a weekend Japanese school as well as a two week summer school serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The system, with its administrative offices in San Francisco,Japanese Ministry of Education The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

(MEXT)-designated weekend Japanese school serving the area. The school system, headquartered in San Francisco, rents classrooms in four schools serving a total of over 1,600 students as of 2016; two of the schools are in San Francisco and two are in the South Bay. For elementary students it operates out of the A.P. Giannini Middle School in San Francisco and

The Harker School Blackford Campus The Harker School is a private, non-profit school located in San Jose, California. Founded in 1893 as Manzanita Hall, Harker now has three campuses: Bucknall, Union, and Saratoga, named after the streets on which they lie. About The Bucknall ca ...

in San Jose. For junior high school and high school students it operates out of Lowell High School in San Francisco and the J.F. Kennedy Middle School in

Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,8 ...

. MEXT also defines the Grossman Academy Japanese Language School as an official weekend school.北米の補習授業校一覧（平成25年4月15日現在）
"

MEXT The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

. Retrieved on May 5, 2014. The academy has its offices in Fremont and its classes are held in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

. Saniku Gakuin in Japan has an affiliated weekend Japanese school, the Saniku Gakuin Japanese School in Santa Clara, California (三育学院サンタクララ校 ''San'iku Gakuin Santakurara Kō''). It holds its classes at Latimer Elementary School in San Jose.三育学院への来校方法
" Saniku Gakuin Japanese School in Santa Clara, California. Retrieved on April 1, 2015. ""

Kinmon Gakuen The Kinmon Gakuen (金門学園) or Golden Gate Institute is a Japanese language school in San Francisco, California, located at 2031 Bush Street. It was established in 1911 with 133 students. They currently offer programs to children from kinderg ...

(金門学園) is a Japanese language school in San Francisco, established in 1911. Two San Francisco Unified School District elementary schools offer Japanese language and culture bilingual education - Clarendon Alternative Elementary School and Rosa Parks Elementary School.

Notable people

Richard Aoki Richard Masato Aoki ( or ; November 20, 1938 – March 15, 2009) was an American educator and college counselor, best known as a civil rights activist and early member of the Black Panther Party. He joined the early Black Panther Party and was ...

(1938–2009), a

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

member and FBI informant *

Ruth Asawa Ruth Aiko Asawa (January 24, 1926 – August 5, 2013) was an American modernist sculptor. Her work is featured in collections at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.< ...

(1926–2013), a sculptor * Yoshiaki Fukuda (1898–1957), a Konko bishop and missionary *

Makoto Hagiwara (15 August 1854 – 12 September 1925) was a Japanese-born American landscape designer responsible for the maintenance and expansion of the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, from 1895 until his death in 1925. H ...

(1854–1925), landscape designer and caretaker of San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden, often credited with inventing the fortune cookie * Hisako Hibi (1907–1991), an Issei painter and printmaker *

Mike Honda Michael Makoto "Mike" Honda (born June 27, 1941) is an American politician and former educator. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in Congress from 2001 to 2017. Initially involved in education in California, he first became active in ...

(born 1941), a congressional politician *

(1936–2002), a historian and civil rights activist *

Hiroshi Kashiwagi Hiroshi Kashiwagi (November 8, 1922 – October 29, 2019) was a ''Nisei'' (second-generation Japanese American) poet, playwright and actor. For his writing and performance work on stage he is considered an early pioneer of Asian American theatr ...

(1922–2019), a poet, playwright and actor * Thomas Yamamoto (1917–2004), an artist *

Wally Yonamine , was a Japanese American multi-sport athlete who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Early life Kaname Yonamine, a Nisei Japanese American, was born in Olowalu, Maui, Hawaii to par ...

(1925–2011), multi-sport athlete who played for the San Francisco 49ers in 1947

References

Sources

* ''San Francisco's Japantown''.

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...

, 2005. , 9780738530598.

External links

{{Japanese Americans by location

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

History of San Francisco Japanese-American history