Japan Town in San Francisco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Japan T protest in San Francisco - Essay ExampleThe Japan Center, though looks instead conventional, has many delightful restaurants and shops, stairways and pioneer courtyards and is considered as the focal point of Japanese culture in the halfway of San Francisco. The Peace Pagoda, designed by the famous Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi, is a five-storied stupa which is a contribution by the people of Osaka, Japan to San Francisco.San Franciscos Japantown share its borders with California, Geary, Octavia, and Fillmore Streets. It has about 150 small and medium sized businesses with plentiful cheap housing complexes for seniors. It also has non-profit organizations like the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, Kimochi Senior Center, Nihonmachi minute Friends (preschool), national headquarters for the Japanese American Citizens League, the Japantown Task Force, the Japanese Benevolent Society, and the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of America. (2000 Census , 2006)History The runner Japanese also called as Soko resided in San Francisco during early 1860s. Initially they lived in Chinatown and in neighborhoods south of marketplace Street. Post the disastrous earthquake and fire in 1906, these Sokos started moving to the Western Addition where they opened their own centers of prayers and typical Japanese shops and restaurants. The area slowly started to look Japanese in every manner and was briefly looking like a Ginza which was later known as Nihonmachi, or Japantown. It was the dawn of San Franciscos Japanese American community. San Francisco, California houses the largest Japantown in United States of America. However, it is smaller than the one which was prevalent in United States prior to the ball War II. It so happened that after the invasion on Pearl Harbor by Japanese, the US administration took Japanese Americans into custody and put them in concentration camps. At the same time, African Americans encroached on the unemplo yed neighborhood. These thousands of African Americans had come in search of wartime industrial jobs. However, after the war, Japanese Americans returned along with Japanese immigrants near followed by investments from the Japanese government as well as Japanese companies. Owing to the redevelopment plans by Justin Herman in the 1960 to 1980, the African Americans were relocated to places like Fillmore district in the west, Tenderloin in the east and Hunters summit in the south. At this point of time, many residents of San Francisco decided against returning after the World War II resulted in forced captivity of Japanese Americans - some being probably second or 3rd generation Americans since 1942-45. About one-third of the internees decided to relocate themselves in the East and Midwest after the encouragement of the War Relocation Authority. During the period of 1950s, JapanTown was negatively impacted by this redevelopment due to the widening of Geary boulevard and the oblite ration of scores of Victorians for the construction of the boulevard and the Japan Center Mall. Inspired by the conventional Japanese pedestrian walkways, the famous Webster Bridge was also designed. The Miyako hotel at Post and Laguna has a charming Japanese garden. Also seen is one of the favourite destinations, the twin origami-style fountain in the middle of the one block open air mall which extends from Peace Plaza north toward Pacific