Tacoma Japantown
Other Japantowns
Overview
Though only a few districts remain today, prewar Japantowns were widespread across the West Coast, and have been documented to different degrees. Although this list is not exhaustive, here are a few resources for comparison.
With links to the 3 still-existing Japantowns (San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles) in California, this website also showcases the first statewide survey of prewar historic Japantowns.
The Lost Kinjo: Disappearing Japanese Neighborhoods
“Walking Through the Past”: Published in 2023, this story map shows important locations and highlights from Portland’s historic Japantown. Read more about this story map here.
Bainbridge Island, WA
The Yama Project, Olympic College. Japanese millworkers founded the Yama and Nagaya settlements on Bainbridge Island. Faculty and students at Olympic College worked on the Yama Project to document this settlement.
Seattle, WA
Japanese American Remembrance Trail
Spokane, WA
“Japanese Alley”, documented in brief at HistoryLink
Photo credit: “Peace Plaza, Japantown, San Francisco, California” by Ken Lund is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
