Visiting Seattle was very exciting for me since I have never been there before and I am a huge coffee enthusiast. Not only is it centrally located with the beautiful Washington sites surrounding it, but it also has a fascinating Japanese background.

 

To begin with, the Japantown in Seattle is much larger in acreage than the one in Los Angeles. When touring the area, I learned that it originated from the Japanese immigrants who lived nearby. They created bathhouses, barbershops, and other forms of trade to keep their business thriving in the port city. When World War II came about, many of the residents were forced out until further notice. These events inspired author Jaime Ford to write a book called, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet which is based off of the Panama Hotel, located in this specific Japantown. In Ford’s book, the theme of Chinese separating themselves from the Japanese during wartime is apparent. It discusses how Chinese would wear pins that identified them as Chinese rather than being grouped together with the Japanese. This is especially relevant to Seattle since Japantown and Chinatown are very close together.

 

Another intricate part to Seattle’s Japanese influence is seen in its Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. The wall was created to celebrate the first generation Japanese immigrants, or Issei, who lived on Bainbridge Island as well as act as a memorial to those who were forced out during the Exclusion Act of 1942. On the wall, itself, there are many names of those who were victims to such removal. Additionally, the wall has murals and quotes which adds to the hope that we as a society will not forget that this occurred, nor let it happen again.

 

Seattle, to this day, has a large asian community, which refers back to the its history of being so close to the water and trade. Overall, it was an adventure to explore this gorgeous and rainy city.