Robert jim nagareda, a long time jtown resident and photographer, historian, and author of images of america san joses japantown. Jim my main focus through the whole book was the people. Its the people, and the activities, the things that they did. And this community is very unique. And so, thats really what i wanted to capture. A lot of people in this area were into agriculture. And when they came back from the incarceration camps, they found other ways of employment. And it was difficult for them. A lot of them became gardeners. You know, in japantown, we had several barbers, we hadit was pharmacies and things like that. Foryou know, cause the Japanese Community wanted to support other japanese, and they felt very comfortable working with other japanese. So, all theall the Different Things that you needed were located in one area. And you can actually go to you know, through preschool here, and you can have all your church, and all the way up to where yuai kai, where theyre serving seniors. Robert businesses and Business Owners know the people that are coming in. Jim right, right, we only have union bank, which is corporate. But otherwise, its all more familyowned. Female thank you. Richard kogura i feel were trying to retain, but yet we also know that were evolving. Robert richard kogura, whose family, led by his sister caroline, operate Kogura Company, a gift and arts store in the heart of san joses japantown. Richard it hasnt really changed as much as los angeles and San Francisco. And so, that photo there shows Kogura Company in the 1930s prior to world war ii. It is the only business that you could stand in front of this store, and its the same family, same business as it was in 1940 or 1930. I dont believe any other business in los angeles or San Francisco can say that because we had j. B. Peckham who looked after our property, and we were able to come back to. San francisco back in the early 1900s had segregated schools. The Chinese Students had to go to a separate school. San jose was integrated, so all the kids went to Grant Elementary School down the street. So, i feel a few years later, when those children were adults, they were friends with japanese. So, there wasnt as much tension as elsewhere. Our japantown grew because of the acceptance. The new communityfor instance, as i was talking to you earlier, there were so many barbershops here, japanese barbers. But now, i go to a black barber down the street, so i got a little closer lines. Robert reiko iwanaga, a san Jose Japantown community leader, and the obon festival dance coordinator, whose father brought bonodori, traditional japanese dancing, to america. Reiko iwanaga i do follow his ideas in that he said it was nice to have religious as well as popular secular numbers. And so, if you are dancing obon as part of a buddhist tradition, or as far as in the in california, we do dance his first number, obon nota. [singing in foreign language] robert what are your thoughts as youre participating in each one . Reiko it matters a great deal to me. I not only remember, well, say my late husband, but many people whove passed on. Its my personal connection. San jose obon, we have about 1,500 dancers. So, obviously they are not all japanese and japaneseamericans. And so, it really is a melting pot of citizens who come to dance and enjoy the bazaar. [singing in foreign language] robert and whats your thought about japantown now . Reiko i think its been revitalized. We have a lot of young families coming in, we have a lot of new businesses. Not all japanese, but it kind of helps the situation i think. And at the same time, we have our traditions. And so, everyone does come back and dances. Robert great to hear an optimistic forecast for san joses japantown. Now, stay with us as we go north as Asian Pacific america visits San Franciscos japantown. Robert hello, and welcome back to Asian Pacific america. We are here at the nihonmachi street fair in San Franciscos japantown, a great time for the community to celebrate this areas jtown. Its a story filled with historic perseverance, survival, and now evolution. George yamasaki japantown as we know it today i think is the product of the nihonmachi Community Development corporation and cdc. Robert our first guide for our San Francisco jtown journey is george yamasaki, an immigration attorney and a longtime member of the community, including heading up the annual Cherry Blossom festival. George well, its our 50th year for the Cherry Blossom festival, which began in 1968 with the opening of the japan center. When i moved to San Francisco in 1959, japantown was, i think everyone would agree, run down. It had been through the war years, it had transitioned from really being a nihonmachi preworld war ii to a kind of a mixed neighborhood. Alan okamoto if you go out to japantown and you see a lot of asians. But if you listen to them speak, you can tell that theyre chinese, or korean, or vietnamese. Which is good, its progress, its the future. Robert longtime San Francisco realtor alan okamoto. Do you think that theres a chance that the japantown that you would like it to be is gone . Or will there always be a part of it still here . Alan that is really an interesting question. After the japan Center Buildings were sold to a nonasian family, i thought that was going to be the complete end of japantown. If he tore down some of the buildings and built his condos as he wished, there would be no more japantown. But i still hold up a belief that there will always be a japantown. Rosalyn tonai well, saving japantown is always a struggle. Robert rosalyn tonai, executive director of the National Japanese american Historical Society. Rosalyn in about 2001, the large parcels of property were going to be sold off by king tetsu, and that was a longterm landlord here that helped revitalize and maintain the shopping mall. With that sale, that sort of forecasted a dark future, but the Community Rallied around the japantown properties to help to provide a roadmap tofor its future, and to rally the businesses, as well as the Community Nonprofits here, as well as the churches. Well, i think the Cherry Blossom festival really brings to light a new way to look at japantown, and its allies, and its supporter. I think its changed over time, and we involve a lot of different people from a lot of different ethnic backgrounds, as well as different paths of life. And i think whats nice about that, it brings a larger sense of community, a sense of about saving japantown through a broader sense of what community is. Alan well, as long as im alive, ive been ill continue to work with the Cherry Blossom festival, which i think is one of the most important cultural institutions that we have. I volunteer with the japanese cultural and community center, which i think is really the true center of japaneseamerican activity. I support the buddhist churches, i support the japanese language schools, the japantown merchants association. I think all those things are really helpful in preserving japantown as we know it today. Robert is your son interested in following your footsteps . Alan well, i dont think i think thats a question you have to ask him. Its interesting, you know, many, many years ago when he was in high school, i asked him, when you look in the mirror, what do you see . I expected him to say, oh, a young japaneseamerican, or whatever, or an asian. He said, scott. Scott okamoto i dont think that the connection has been lost, i think that my generation and my kids generation, i think that the connection is still alive and well. Every Cherry Blossom festival, every nihonmachi street fair, every cultural event that occurs in japantown is an opportunity for every generation to come back to japantown to interact with the sites, and the sounds, and the people. George i suppress my concerns and fears. Im enjoying the moment. And right now, the moment is wonderful. Robert it will be interesting to see how the face of San Franciscos japantown changes as the faces in the Community Change along with it. Now, stay with us as Asian Pacific america heads south to the japantown in los angeles. Robert and welcome back to Asian Pacific america. We are now here in los angeles for the nisei week festival here in little tokyo. This is a big event for this areas japantown, and this is also a community that has had to change with the times. And who better to Start Talking about it than the original mr. Sulu, george takei . How important is this festival in terms of for the whole japantown spirit and community . George takei well, little tokyo is the cultural, and economic, and religious heart of the japaneseamerican community. So, to have this annual festival, which is the 77th year, its been going on for that long with aone period of absence during the early 40s when little tokyo was completely vacated. And but when we came back, we came back with determination to make this, the vitality of little tokyo, to bring it back again. And its really amazing. I remember being here at the first one, 1949. And here we are in the 21st century, and celebrating it even bigger and better and more vibrantly than before. Its a great feeling. Robert a lot of development, though, and things going on right around japantown. Concerned about the future . George well, this block here has been designated a historic block, and this will always be. And the flavor of the early little tokyo from the late 19th century is going to remain. Yes, there has been a lot of new development here, theres the miyako hotel here, theres the union bank trust, and theres what used to be the old timey hotel with the thirdfloor garden. But these have all contributed to the vitality of this city because, you know, little tokyo is going down. The japaneseamerican communityfirst of all, little tokyo began because of the racial restrictions here. So, this was a essentially a ghetto. But now, with the freedom to live everywhere, the japaneseamerican community is spread throughout. And so, little tokyo is going down. But this new energy thats come back, yes, japanese investment, but also japaneseamerican investment as well, as well as asianamerican investment. For example, little tokyo village at Japanese Village plaza was developed by a koreanamerican, but he very much a member of the japaneseamerican community. So yes, its a good thing. Its a much more vibrant, vital, economically healthy place. Robert leslie ito, president and ceo of the japanese american Cultural Community center, the jaccc. Leslie ito i consider myself a fourth generation angelino. And you know, our community and our lives pre and postwar have been here in little tokyo. Robert how much disruption during the war for your family . Leslie my grandpa, my greatgrandfather on my maternal side, had a nursery, and he gave that up. And you know, i think there was a lot of sacrifice, personal sacrifice and that had been left. And you know, as a yonsei, i reflect back on all the cultural things that we lost. Robert so, what does that mean for the japantown that exists here in los angeles now . Leslie i think that it because of that loss, the historical loss, it makes it all the more important for us to preserve the existing footprint, and even try to expand it out even further if we can. I think it makes it really important for festivals like nisei week, and programming that the jaccc does, that we continue to do that work in a more concerted and targeted effort because were trying to reclaim and reestablish those cultural traditions. Its a really exciting time in little tokyo right now. We have the budokan is coming, the community gymnasium, the jaccc is vibrant with programs. And you know, we have these major cultural pillars. Robert michael okamura, president of the little tokyo Historical Society. Michael okamura we all know in all the japantowns, theres such dynamic change occurring, and little tokyo is also going through this with so much intrusion from the government, local, federal, and state, mainly projects, and the private sector. So much forprofit developers coming in here and building apartments and condominiums, and its really displacing the local japanese population and residents. So, what the Historical Society is charged to do is preserve, educate, and share the history of little tokyo, which is 133 years old. Its the second oldest neighborhood in the city of los angeles, and the first establishment was in 1884. The site is where bunkado gift shop is currently, and there are two very large parking lots that are cityowned. So, you know, little tokyo is always under threat that the city could take over and use those parking lots for office space. Robert do you think they could take over enough to essentially lose what japantown is or was . Michael i hope not, but with the younger generation, you know, weve learned a lot from our forebears. The issei generation, the immigrants were the ones who founded little tokyo, the niseis built it up. And everything was for the sake of the children. The japanese term is kodomo no tame ni, for the next generation. The lths creates these naming sites throughout little tokyo, and we honor our issei and nisei pioneers. Robert the little tokyo Historical Society and Little Tokyo Service center have erected statues dedicated to community icons. One is of toyo miyatake. Alan miyatake so, they said, were going to honor your grandfather first. Robert alan miyatake, owner of a longtime family japantown photography store, and the grandson of legendary internment camp photographer toyo miyatake, who talks to us about how his grandfather smuggled camera parts into camp to build a camera and take what turned out to be historic, invaluable images of internment. Robert do you think your grandfather had any idea that he would be considered such a historical figure in the japantown community . Alan you know, thats interesting because, you know, with all the foresight he had about taking pictures, you cant help but think that, you know, he was going to have i dont think he had any idea what it was going to be like, but im sure that hes happy about it, my dad too, that you know, the family can be remembered in such a nice way. Robert he was so important in preserving history, and now hes a historical figure. Alan well, thats true, thats true that, you know, he is part of the history of little tokyo, hes a part of los angeles and the United States about the impact from his photographs from internment camps. Robert what would be his thoughts about the japantown today . Alan you know, my grandfather was pretty progressive. You know, he was always willing to see change. So, im sure he wouldnt be the type that would think, oh no, this is not the way it used to be. So, i think he was always willing to see change as long as its for progress, you know, and improvement. Robert when we come back, some final thoughts about las japantown. Im gonna let it shine. E, its Energy Saving time, im gonna reduce mine. Californians all align to let our great state shine. Let it shine, the powers ours to let it shine unplug chargers go, devices go offline. Turn thermostats down low, leds shine mighty fine. Small actions quickly grow, to let our great state shine. Energy upgrade california, will let us shine. Robert welcome back to Asian Pacific america in las japantown, where george takei is bringing his broadway show, and maybe even to the bay area, and how nonprofits are helping jtown retain its culture. Robert allegiance coming here, and any chance it might come to the bay area . George there is that chance. Were going to measure how successful we can be here. So, support us here in los angeles. Allegiance played from 192015 to 16, and this is my hometown. So, i said, we have to bring it to los angeles. And if it is enormously successful here, the prospect of it traveling is very good. Kristin fukushima we are at a crossroads of, you know, what will happen to our community . Robert kristin fukushima, managing director of the Little Tokyo Community council, talked to us about the activity of nonprofits in las japantown. Kristin my organization is a coalition of all the different nonprofits, and organizations in little tokyo, as well as the businesses, residents, and churches, and temples. And technically, churches and temples are also nonprofits. And so, we have eight of those in little tokyo as well. Robert did that evolve with the community, or were they sort of institutional right from the beginning . Kristin there have always been organizations and different kind of associations and groups within the japanese and japaneseamerican community, and therefore here in little tokyo. I think as the rise of nonprofits became more of a thing, especially in the 80s and the 90s, that really institutionalized a lot of these movements and work that came out of the asianamerican movement. And a lot of that happened here in little tokyo. Robert dont you feel like that provides a real backbone for the community in terms of it being established here . Kristin i think so. I know that all the japantowns in many areas in los angeles and beyond are experiencing gentrification and displacement. I think part of why for little tokyo weve managed to really hold on to a lot of our culture and who we are as a community is because of these institutions and these nonprofits that really, like you say, provide the backbone, provide programming. Have really helped us hold on to our cultural and even political power as stakeholders here in little tokyo. Robert well, as you can tell, Community Leaders are all cautiously optimistic about the future of their respective japantowns, and all equally enthusiastic about trying to make sure their communities thrive. And thats it for our program today. Please join us again next week and every week here on Asian Pacific america. Thanks for watching, and we leave you now with more street dancing from the nisei week festival here in los angeles. Enjoy. [singing in foreign language] on a different level. Big, beautiful ship that were turning around. My car. Chrissie teaghan here reporting live. Good morning and welcome to sunday today on this new years eve. Im Hallie Jackson filling in for willie who deserves a well deserved day off. It will be a bitter new years eve for tense of millions across new york city. New york city bracing for one of the coldest ever. Whats in store for all of those in times square and when will we finally
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