From the late 1800s, Japantowns began to emerge in California’s port towns and agricultural areas, where Japanese immigrants helped build the state’s economy through fishing, farming, and other businesses. By the 1930s, as many as forty Japantowns existed throughout the state. The forced evacuation of Japanese Americans during World War II, and later urban renewal in the 1960s and 1970s, greatly impacted the fate of these unique historic districts. Today, three Japantowns remain in San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles, while others exist only in memory.
