2008 Woodie Awards
Getting down in Japantown
Theater, dance and martial arts showcase
'Spirit of Japantown'
Rie Nakanishi
Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: News
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In spite of its 118-year history, the recognition of Japantown is still not what the community expects, said Kathy Sakamoto, executive director of the Japantown Business Association and the organizer of the festival.
"The idea was to get people to know that there was Japantown (in San Jose). It's been here for 118 years," Sakamoto said. "We want this to last another 118 years."
The event was hosted by the Japantown Community Congress of San Jose, a nonprofit organization working with the city of San Jose on a capital improvement project of Japantown.
Despite on-and-off rain throughout the day, the festival featured various performances relating to Japanese culture, such as Kendo, Aikido and Ikebana demonstrations, Japanese animation theater and multi-ethnic cultures such as Hawaiian dance and Filipino folk dance.
Junior animation majors Kendrra Thoms and Kris Wineman, who were attending the festival, said they were excited to see the martial arts performances and visit the booths.
"It's fun. Too bad it rained," Thoms said. "Food is exciting, and that's what I want."
There were also about 130 booths, selling food, arts and crafts on the street.
"This Spirit of Japantown is a celebration of the history of Japantown and great businesses," said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. "This is a very historic community with the tremendous contribution to our city over a long period of time. It is one of the few remaining Japantowns in the entire country, so we are very proud of that and we continue to build it."
According to the Japanese Museum of San Jose Web site, Issei - Japanese first-generation immigrants - came to Santa Clara Valley in 1890 where an agricultural industry was prosperous at the time.
Soon afterwards, Japantown was established when the valley's Japanese population came together and started farming in the area. Japantown was "a comfortable place for the Issei to gather together to survive in a society hostile to their presence," where they could also have access to Japanese foods and products as well as boarding houses, employment agencies and social gatherings, according to the Web site.
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