On June 9, 2017, my gallivanting brought me to the well known city of San Francisco, specifically its Japantown. Here, ramen and sushi restaurants galore were in the nearby surrounding area. As I walked through the city, the architecture caused it to stand out. There was a large peace Pagoda standing in the center, which brought with it a sense of cultural solidarity. I browsed the Japan Center and found myself enjoying tea in one of the shops. When I walked back outside, I noticed the self guided history walk that was waiting to be read.

Through doing this, I learned a great deal about the city itself. Originally, the town was part of the Western Addition in 1855 which came from the Van Ness Ordinance. Although the land was barren, in the 1870’s people began to move and develop the area. This was brought down in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake which led to devastating fires that forced people out. In a period of recovery, the Japanese were some of the first people to come back and rebuild on this land. With their influence, they started calling the area “Nihonmachi” or Japantown due to the stores and architecture they were creating. When World War II hit, the population of Japantown were forced into Internment camps in different locations. Thus, causing the city to deteriorate at the lack of upkeep. After the war, when the citizens returned, overcrowding became an issue and the resources to fit the number of people were severely lacking. This, in turn, led to the renewal of Japantown when the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency sold the land to Japanese Americans from Hawaii. The process to redo and maintain its authenticity took years, but ultimately the finished product is what we see today.

Currently, there are about 12,000 Japanese Americans living in San Francisco, causing it to be a great place of community and cultural enrichment.

San Francisco: Japantown