Japantown

For historical Japanese communities in early modern Southeast and East Asia, see Nihonmachi.

Japantown
Liberdade in São Paulo, Brazil, the most populous Japantown in the world
Japanese name
Kanji	日本人街
Kana	にほんじんがい
Transcriptions Romanization Nihonjin-gai Kunrei-shiki ひもとひとまち

Japantown (日本人街, Nihonjin-gai) is a common name for official Japanese communities in big cities outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo, or Nihonmachi (日本町), the first two being common names for the Japanese communities in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.

History

See also: Japanese diaspora

Historically, Japantowns represented the Japanese diaspora, and its individual members known as nikkei (日系), are Japanese emigrants from Japan and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. Emigration from Japan first happened and was recorded as early as the 12th century to the Philippines, but did not become a mass phenomenon until the Meiji Era, when Japanese began to go to the Philippines, North America, and beginning in 1897 with 35 emigrants to Mexico; and later to Peru, beginning in 1899 with 790 emigrants. There was also significant emigration to the territories of the Empire of Japan during the colonial period; however, most such emigrants repatriated to Japan after the end of World War II in Asia.

For a brief period in the 16th-17th centuries, Japanese overseas activity and presence in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in the region boomed. Sizeable Japanese communities, known as Nihonmachi, could be found in many of the major ports and political centers of the region, where they exerted significant political and economic influence.

The Japanese had been active on the seas and across the region for centuries, traveling for commercial, political, religious and other reasons. The 16th century, however, saw a dramatic increase in such travel and activity. The internal strife of the Sengoku period caused a great many people, primarily samurai, commoner merchants, and Christian refugees to seek their fortunes across the seas. Many of the samurai who fled Japan around this time were those who stood on the losing sides of various major conflicts; some were ronin, some veterans of the Japanese invasions of Korea or of various other major conflicts. As Toyotomi Hideyoshi and later the Tokugawa shoguns issued repeated bans on Christianity, many fled the country; a significant portion of those settled in Catholic Manila.

In the western countries such as Canada and the United States, the Japanese tended to integrate with society that many if not all Japantowns are in danger of completely disappearing with the remaining only existing in San Francisco and San Jose, California.

Characteristics

The features described below are characteristic of many modern Japantowns.

Japanese architectural styles

Main article: Japanese architecture

The five-tiered Peace Pagoda made of concrete.

Many historical Japantowns will exhibit architectural styles that reflect the Japanese culture. Japanese architecture has traditionally been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors (fusuma) were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to be customized for different occasions. People usually sat on cushions or otherwise on the floor, traditionally; chairs and high tables were not widely used until the 20th century. Since the 19th century, however, Japan has incorporated much of Western, modern, and post-modern architecture into construction and design, and is today a leader in cutting-edge architectural design and technology.

The earliest Japanese architecture was seen in prehistoric times in simple pit-houses and stores that were adapted to a hunter-gatherer population. Influence from Han Dynasty China via Korea saw the introduction of more complex grain stores and ceremonial burial chambers.

The Peace Pagoda as seen at night.

Japanese culture

Main article: Culture of Japan

The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe, and North America. The inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world during the Tokugawa shogunate, until the arrival of "The Black Ships" and the Meiji period.

Pine Trees, Hasegawa Tōhaku

Japanese language

Main articles: Japanese language and Japanese dialects

Many Japantowns will exhibit the use of the Japanese language in signage existing on road signs and on buildings as Japanese is the official and primary language of Japan. Japanese is relatively small but has a lexically distinct pitch-accent system. Early Japanese is known largely on the basis of its state in the 8th century, when the three major works of Old Japanese were compiled. The earliest attestation of the Japanese language is in a Chinese document from 252 AD.

Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts: hiragana, derived from the Chinese cursive script, katakana, derived as a shorthand from Chinese characters, and kanji, imported from China. The Latin alphabet, rōmaji, is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when inputting Japanese into a computer. The Hindu-Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also common.

Locations

Japanese diaspora
日系人

Total population
About 2,600,000 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Brazil	1,500,000[2]
United States	1,204,205[3]
China	127,282[4]
Philippines	120,000-200,000[5][6]
Canada	109,740[7]
United Kingdom	100,000
Peru	90,000[8]
South Korea	58,169[9]
Thailand	47,000[10]
Australia	40,968[11]
Germany	34,388
Argentina	34,000[12]
France	30,947[13]
Hong Kong	21,297
Micronesia	20,000[14]
Mexico	15,650[15]
Indonesia	11,263[16]
Bolivia	9,500[17]
New Caledonia	8,000[18]
Italy	7,556[19]
Paraguay	7,000[20]
New Zealand	6,888[21]
Marshall Islands	6,000[22]
India	5,554Japanese people in India
Palau	5,000[23]
Switzerland	4,071[24]
Chile	2,600[25]
^ note: The population of naturalized Japanese people and their descendants is unknown. Only the number of the permanent residents with Japanese nationality is shown.

North America

Japantowns were created because of the widespread immigration of Japanese to America in the Meiji period (1868–1912). At that time, many Japanese were poor and sought economic opportunities in the United States. Japanese immigrants initially settled in Western parts of the US and Canada.

At one time, there were 43 different Japantowns in California, ranging from several square blocks of Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, to one in the small farming community of Marysville in Yuba County. Besides typical businesses, these communities usually had Japanese language schools for the immigrant's children, Japanese language newspapers, Buddhist and Christian churches, and sometimes Japanese hospitals. After the World War II internment of the Japanese, most of those communities declined significantly or disappeared altogether.

There are currently three recognized Japantowns left in the United States, which are facing issues such as commercialization, reconstruction, gentrification and dwindling Japanese populations.

Canada

File:1927 - Japanese-Canadian area of Vancouver, British Columbia.jpg

Kids at play in 1927 in Japantown, Vancouver

• Japantown, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Steveston, British Columbia

Some municipalities with Japanese populations higher than the national average (0.3%) include:

• Richmond, British Columbia (2%)
• Lethbridge, Alberta (1.9%) - this city also has a Chinatown.
• Burnaby, British Columbia (1.7%)
• Vancouver, British Columbia (1.7%) - this city also has a Chinatown, a Little India, and a Little Italy.
• North Vancouver, British Columbia (1.6%)
• North Vancouver (district municipality), British Columbia (1.5%)
• Port Coquitlam, British Columbia (1.4%)
• West Vancouver, British Columbia (1.2%)
• Coquitlam, British Columbia (1%)
• Kamloops, British Columbia (1%)
• Port Moody, British Columbia (1%)
• 29 Street SW Calgary, Alberta (0.5%) - this city also has a Chinatown.
• Richmond Hill, Ontario (0.5%)
• Toronto, Ontario (0.5%) - this city also has a Chinatown, a Koreatown, a Little India and a Little Tibet.
• Markham, Ontario (0.4%) - this city also has a Little India.

United States

Looking across Post Street north on Buchanan Street in San Francisco's Japantown.

• Japantown, San Francisco, California
• Japantown, San Jose, California
• Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California
• Sawtelle Japantown, Los Angeles, California

Concentrated and historical Japanese populations in the United States

San Francisco Bay Area: In addition to Japantown districts in San Francisco and San Jose, suburbs and neighborhoods with significant Japanese American populations and/or histories include:

• Alameda, California
• Berkeley, California
• Hayward, California
• Lower Haight, San Francisco, California
• Mountain View, California
• Oakland, California
• Palo Alto, California
• San Mateo, California
• Santa Clara, California
• South San Francisco, California
• Sunnyvale, California
• Walnut Creek, California
• Watsonville, California

Outside Bay Area:

• Lower Colorado River Valley, Arizona
• Fontana, California
• Gardena, California
• Long Beach, California
• Sacramento, California - this city also has a Chinatown
• Salinas, California
• Torrance, California
• Sawtelle Boulevard, West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
• Sakura Square, Denver, Colorado - this city also has a Chinatown
• Japantown Street, Salt Lake City, Utah - this city also has a Chinatown

Sakura Square, Denver, Colorado

• Honolulu, Hawaii - this city also has a Chinatown
• Porter Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• St. Mark's Place, East Village, New York City
• Westchester County, New York
• Portland, Oregon - this city also has a Chinatown
• Ontario, Oregon
• Dublin, Ohio
• Cleveland, Ohio - this city also has a Chinatown
• International District in Seattle, Washington

South America

Brazil

• Liberdade is the Japanese district in São Paulo, Brazil. São Paulo metropolitan area is the city that has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan and the largest population of people that have Japanese descent.

Argentina

• Colonia Urquiza is the Japanese district in La Plata, Argentina. Colonia Urquiza is the largest Japanese district in Argentina, and concentrates many institutions such as schools, restaurants and training centers.

Asia

China

• Gubei, Shanghai, a residential area which has many expatriates from Japan. It is informally referred to as a "Little Tokyo." There is a Takashimaya department store in Gubei.

• Hong Kong
  • Eastern District is the home to the largest Japanese community in Hong Kong, where it is widely distributed in districts such as Taikoo Shing, Sai Wan Ho, Braemar Hill and Fortress Hill with nearly a quarter of total Japanese in Hong Kong. The Society of Japanese Language Education Hong Kong is also settled their headquarter in that district.
  • Furthermore, about 40 percent of Kowloon Japanese live in Hung Hom in Kowloon City District as the one of the most popular area in Hong Kong for Japanese residents, it is called as "Little Japan" or Hong Kong's "Shitamachi (Japanese: 下町) when there is great concentration with Japanese restaurants with traditional style.

India

• Sataku, Haldia

Malaysia

Main article: Japanese migration to Malaysia

In the late 2000s, Malaysia began to become a popular destination for Japanese retirees. Malaysia My Second Home retirement programme received 513 Japanese applicants from 2002 until 2006. Motivations for choosing Malaysia include the low cost of real-estate and of hiring home care workers. Such retirees sometimes refer to themselves ironically as economic migrants or even economic refugees, referring to the fact that they could not afford as high a quality of life in retirement, or indeed to retire at all, were they still living in Japan.

• Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur
• Little Japan, Taman Molek, Johor Bahru
• Jalan Bendahara, Ipoh
• Jalan Air Itam, Penang

Philippines

• Japantown, Paco, Manila, Philippines
• Japantown, Iloilo City, Philippines
• Japantown, Cebu City, Philippines
• Japantown, Mandaue City, Philippines
• Japantown, Davao City, Philippines
• Little Tokyo, Davao City, Philippines
• Little Tokyo, Makati City, Philippines

Taiwan

• Tianmu, Taipei, Taiwan
• Linsen North Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Vietnam

• Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Concentrated and historical Japanese populations in Asia

Indonesia

• About 7,000 Japanese used to live in Jakarta, Indonesia, mainly concentrated in Blok M district and the rest lived by surrounding area. This number decreased drastically following the Indonesian riots of May 1998.

Pakistan

• There is an active Japanese presence (including multinational companies and expatriates) in industrial areas of Karachi, such as Port Qasim. During the 1980s and 1990s, there were over 2,000 Japanese living in Karachi, making them one of the significant expatriate communities in the country. Now, the community has shrunk to a few hundred. There is also a Karachi Japanese School.

Thailand

• In Bangkok a Japanese population lives in and around Sukhumvit Road, and Phrompong. Many of the apartment complexes are rented solely to Japanese people (although they are owned by Thais), and there are Japanese grocery shops, restaurants, bars, dry cleaning, clubs, etc. in and around Phrompong.
• In Si Racha a Japanese population lives in and around the city center as the second largest Japanese community outside Bangkok.
• In Chiangmai a Japanese population lives around the city center as the popular place for Japanese retirees with good weather and less crowded city.
• In Ayutthaya a growing number of Japanese population returns and lives in and around Rojana Road close to many Japanese companies, the city also well known place of the first Japanese quarter in Thailand dated back to 16th century.

Europe

Germany

• Düsseldorf (especially the district Oberkassel) has the largest Japanese population in Germany (and Europe). It has the biggest Buddhist temple of Europe as well. The towns surrounding Düsseldorf (e.g. Meerbusch in the west of Düsseldorf) have significant Japanese population as well.

United Kingdom

• London is home to the largest Japanese communities, with Acton and Finchley having the highest concentration of residents from Japanese origin. North London is the most popular area in London for Japanese residents to live.

France

• Paris has Japanese restaurants and shops concentrated near the Opéra Garnier (especially on Rue Sainte-Anne) and the city's Japanese population is largely concentrated in 15th arrondissement and 16th arrondissement.

The Netherlands

• Amstelveen
• Buitenveldert

Australia

• Little Tokyo, Adelaide
• Japantown, Darwin
• Artarmon, Sydney has a small Japantown by the railway station, containing Japanese restaurants, Japanese grocery stores and a Japanese bookshop. Nearby suburbs such as Northbridge and St Leonards also have a number of Japanese businesses.
• Gold Coast, Australia has a big Japanese population which is still rising.

See also

• List of named ethnic enclaves in North American cities

External links

• Japantown Atlas The Japantown Atlas maps nearly two dozen communities in California where Japanese Americans lived and worked prior to World War II.
• California Japantowns
• Sawtelle Blvd. (West L.A.)
• Nijiya Market Locations (may give a hint as to the locations of Japanese populations in California)
• Arnold, Bruce Makoto. "The Japanese Ethnopole as Determinant: The Effects of the Japantowns on Second-Generation Japanese-Americans."