Japantown (

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 ...

: 日本町; ''

Nihonmachi is a term used to refer to historical Japanese communities in Southeast and East Asia. The term has come to also be applied to several modern-day communities, though most of these are called simply "Japantown", in imitation of the common term "C ...

''), commonly known as J Town, is a historic cultural district of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, north of

Downtown San Jose Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California. Downtown is one of the largest tech clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of San Jose. History The town was first settled in 1777. T ...

. Historically a center for San Jose's

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

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

communities, San Jose's Japantown is one of only three

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 To ...

s that still exist in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, alongside San Francisco's Japantown and Los Angeles's Little Tokyo.

History

Japantown originally formed as a site for boardinghouses for Japanese men, just west of the 1887 "Heinlenville" Chinatown settlement, which was the block bounded by Sixth, Seventh, Taylor, and Jackson Streets. Initially the residents of Japantown were mostly male, attracted by farming or general labor jobs. In the early 20th century, more women began to arrive as

picture bride The term picture bride refers to the practice in the early 20th century of immigrant workers (chiefly Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean) in Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States and Canada, as well as Brazil selecting brides from their nat ...

s. As families began, local businesses were started to serve everyday needs for food and clothing. The local Japantown Asahi baseball club improbably defeated the visiting

Tokyo Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

in 1935. By 1941, there were 53 businesses in Japantown. 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 ...

, the

population was forcibly removed from Japantown and unjustly incarcerated in

camps Camps may refer to: People *Ramón Camps (1927–1994), Argentine general *Gabriel Camps (1927–2002), French historian *Luís Espinal Camps (1932–1980), Spanish missionary to Bolivia *Victoria Camps (b. 1941), Spanish philosopher and professor ...

. On their return after the war, many resettled in the area. The upward mobility of the children and grandchildren of the original immigrants to San Jose, along with the expansion and growth of

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

caused many Japanese-Americans to leave the area for the suburbs, but the culture and vitality of this community remains in the businesses and festivals serving locals and tourists. Japantown is designated as an authentic ethnic neighborhood and is home to many traditional Japanese restaurants as well. The California State Legislature designated this area as one of the last three remaining historical Japantowns in the

. In 2004, nearly 227,000 people resided within a radius of Japantown, of which 25% were of Asian descent.

Japanese community

2017 Japanese American Museum of San Jose

Lydon Japantown San Jose Obon PML7470 (cropped)

Santo Market Japanese Groceries & Delicatessen in San Jose -japantown (19367065109)

Japantown is the site of the

Japanese American Museum of San Jose The Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) is located at 535 N. Fifth Street in San Jose, in the heart of Japantown. The museum's mission is to collect, preserve, and share Japanese American art, history, and culture with an emphasis on th ...

, which moved into a new building in 2010; San Jose Taiko, Shuei-do Manju Shop, whose

manjū is a traditional Japanese confection. Of the many varieties of manjū, most have an outside made from flour, rice powder, kudzu, and buckwheat, and a filling of ''anko'' ( red bean paste), usually made from boiled adzuki beans and sugar. ''M ...

were specifically requested during the 1994 visit of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

; Nichi Bei Bussan, founded in San Francisco in 1902 by the father of prominent local businessman

Dave Tatsuno Dave Tatsuno (born Masaharu Tatsuno August 18, 1913 – January 26, 2006, in California) was a Japanese American businessman who documented life in his family's internment camp during World War II. His footage was later compiled into the film ...

and relocated to San Jose after Tatsunos were

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

, transformed from a general merchant to an Asian goods gift shop; and a variety of restaurants, professional services, community organizations (for example Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center, and the

Japanese American Citizens League The is an Asian American civil rights charity, headquartered in San Francisco, with regional chapters across the United States. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) describes itself as the oldest and largest Asian American civil right ...

) and small retail shops. Japantown had two hand-made

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...

shops, the last closing in 2017. Two churches founded by Japanese over 100 years ago, Wesley United Methodist Church and San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, thrive on the same street, Fifth Street. They are home to many of the local community organizations including active Girl and Boy Scout organizations, and host several of Japantown's largest cultural festivals. Japantown's Fifth Street now also leads to the new

San Jose City Hall San José City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of San Jose, California. Located in Downtown San Jose, it was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier in a Postmodern style. It consists of an 18-story tower, an ic ...

. Indeed, the Fifth and Jackson Landmark was designed to be seen from City Hall as a beacon and reminder of the people that have helped to build the city. The Fifth and Jackson Landmark is part of a larger California Japantown Landmarks Project to create powerful and emotional permanent outdoor exhibits, including monuments in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Japantown is also home to a number of non-Japanese businesses, including Mexican, Hawaiian and Korean restaurants. A number of organizations, including the Japantown Neighborhood Association, have joined to form the Japantown Community Congress of San Jose, which is a community partner to the City of San Jose (represented by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency) that looks after cultural preservation of the area (begun with CA SB 307). Major festivals include

Obon or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

(every July), Nikkei Matsuri (every spring) and Aki Matsuri (every fall) and a newer festival, The Spirit of Japantown Festival (also in the fall). In addition there are events that are open to the public at Art Object Gallery and various street venues, including a year-round Certified Farmers Market run by the Japantown Business Association. On March 22, 2021, the Japantown community formally started citizen foot patrols to increase security and prevent attacks on

Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

Geography

Japantown is located in Central San Jose, just north of

. It is surrounded by the

Northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, England * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vinc ...

neighborhood to its south and east. To its north are the

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

and

Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...

neighborhoods. To its west is the

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

Civic Center district.

Transit

The Japantown area is also served by the

VTA Light Rail VTA Light Rail is a light rail system in San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County, California. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, or VTA, and consists of of network comprising three main lines on stand ...

Blue and Green lines at nearby Japantown/Ayer station.

Parks and plazas

Parks within Japantown include: *Bernal Park *Cannery Park

Backesto Park Backesto Park is a park in San Jose, California, in the Northside neighborhood. History Backesto Park is named after John Pierre Backesto (1831-1890), a prominent San Jose physician in 1800s. In 1890, after John Pierre's death, his widow, Ann ...

is located nearby in

neighborhood.

Gallery

File:San Jose Obon Festival 2009 1.2.jpg, San Jose Obon Festival File:Cannery Park, Japantown, San Jose 4932.jpg, Taylor St. & 10th St. File:2017 Nijiya Market in San Jose.jpg, Nijiya Market File:USA-San Jose-Mariani Building-3.jpg, Historic Mariani cannery File:Issei Memorial Building.jpg,

Issei is a Japanese-language term used by ethnic Japanese in countries in North America and South America to specify the Japanese people who were the first generation to immigrate there. are born in Japan; their children born in the new country are ...

Memorial Building File:Intersection_of_Jackson_&_N_5th_Streets,_San_Jose,_CA_2_(cropped).JPG, Jackson St. & 5th St.

References

Bibliography

External links

Japantown San JoseJapantown Business AssociationMap of San Jose JapantownSan Jose Japantown GuideJapanese American Museum of San Jose