Japantown

 

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

Japantown is a common name for official Japanese American or Japanese Canadian communities in big cities. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo, and Nihonmachi (日本町 or 日本街), the latter two being common names of Los Angeles and San Francisco's Japantown, respectively. In the Philippines, concentrations of Japanese and Japanese Filipinos in big cities are called Japantown, or Little Japan.

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 thought they would have a better life in the United States. Slowly they began to make small communities all across the United States^{[citation needed]} and some parts of Canada.

At one time, there were 43 different Japantowns in California^[1], 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, Buddhist and Christian churches, and sometimes Japanese hospitals.^[2] After the World War II internment of the Japanese, most of those communities have declined or disappeared.

There are currently three recognized Japantowns left in the United States, which are facing issues such as commercialization, reconstruction, and dwindling Japanese populations.^[3]

Official Japantowns in North America

• Japantown, San Francisco, California, United States
• Japantown, San Jose, California, United States
• Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, United States

Concentrated and historical Japanese populations

• Sakura Square, Denver, Colorado, United States
• Japantown, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Gardena, California
• Torrance, California
• West Los Angeles, California (see: Sawtelle, Los Angeles, California)
• Hawaii
• Novi, Michigan
• Westchester County, New York
• Edgewater, New Jersey
• The International District in Seattle, Washington
• Portland, Oregon
• Ontario, Oregon

Outside North America

Official Japantowns in South America

• Liberdade is the Japanese district in São Paulo, Brazil. It has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, see Japanese people.

Official Japantowns in Asia

• Japantown, Manila, Philippines
• Japantown, Iloilo City Philippines
• Japantown, Cebu City, Philippines
• Japantown, Davao City, Philippines
• LittleJapan, Davao City, Philippines

Concentrated and historical Japanese populations

• 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 may be owned by Thais), and there are Japanese grocery shops, restaurants, bars, dry cleaning, clubs, etc. in and around Phrompong.
• About 7,000 Japanese lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, mainly concentrated in Blok M district and the rest lived by surrounding area. This number decreased drastically as the Jakarta Riots of May 1998 happened.

Europe

• 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.
• London has several Japanese shops and restaurants around Leicester Square.

References

See also

• Chinatown
• Koreatown
• Little Saigon
• Little India
• List of named ethnic enclaves in North American cities

External links

• California Japantowns
• Nijiya Market Locations (may give a hint as to the locations of Japanese populations in California)

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