Asian American Studies 197A
Winter Quarter 2002

Political Tour of Communities

Political Tour of Little Tokyo
By Hyun Ja Pak

Japanese Americans have been one of the oldest standing communities in Asian America, yet it was one of the very few communities that I had very little knowledge about. I chose to go on the Little Tokyo political tour in hopes to find out more about the community in the present day and also to see what effects history had on this particular part of Los Angeles. I was also curious to see how Little Tokyo differed from the other ethnic enclaves and what distinctively made Little Tokyo a "Little Tokyo." Considering that Japanese Americans had one of the longest traced Asian American histories, I found it quite a disappointment for me not to know more about the community.

Throughout my study of Asian Americans, my perspectives of Japanese Americans have been stretched in many directions. My first interest in the community was in the shocking knowledge of interment. As a freshman, I was taken back by the revelation that Japanese Interment even occurred. In addition, I was seriously disturbed and almost offended that it took me 13 years of education before anyone informed me of such incident. Through other classes I learned in more depth about the history of Japan and its role in the United States. It was interesting learning about the political aspirations of westernizing Japan, but also very distressing to learn about the economical and societal exploitation in labor.

Upon preparing for my political tour very little information was collected. I was able to skim through websites on Little Tokyo and the different service centers they had their, but again, as it was unidentifiable for me so very little resonated in interest. Many of the websites were filled with information on both the redevelopment and current promotion of Little Tokyo. I would say that a bulk of my research on Little Tokyo was based on the knowledge I obtained through classes and community organizations.

My political tour was eye-opening. I was surprised to see that such a rich enclave could be so easily overlooked if not people are not being aware. Little Tokyo is definitely different from the other areas of Downtown Los Angeles. I found it interesting that once we past the streets bordering the Garment District and other run-down areas laid a distinctively different area that was marked with both modernization and preservation of the traditions of old Los Angeles.
We began our tour at the Visual Communications Center. VC is located in the Union Center which was originally a church. Till this day the architecture holds true construction of the original church. In 1920 to about 1942 the church served as place of family gathering. When many of the families were sent off to internment, possessions were stored at the basement of the church till they returned. Along with Visual Communications, East West Players Theatre has converted this former church into a place of art and, at one time, a place of dense gathering for Japanese Americans.

In recent years, the neighboring Union Center Café had been a place of "Tuesday Night" spoken word in the courtyard. There people came to speak and hear Japanese Americans perform live arts for the community. I found it interesting that the Japanese community was such an avid supporter of the arts. In fact, in the late 1980s Little Tokyo passed a mandate that buildings constructed after that time were to commission an artist and their sculpture or artwork was to become a part of that building. As a result of this, beautiful historical and modern artworks are ornamented throughout Little Tokyo.

Little Tokyo also has a historical timeline that is paved on the sidewalks. It captures six decades of Japanese history. The timeline described various facts from the very first businesses to establishment of pool halls where much of the organizing took place to the development of service centers and community contributors. It also noted the demographics of Little Tokyo. As of 1890, only 40 Japanese lived in Los Angeles. This rapidly grew to 35,000 Japanese in a 3 mile radius in 1930. The original Little Tokyo was located in Boyle Heights. Many of the original churches still remain there and many Japanese Americans still commute out there to congregate and worship.

We continued our tour down the street towards a line of stores that led to the Japanese American National Museum. The museum was established in 1992. It was here that we stopped and viewed the town from afar. On the far-east end of the town was a small building that resembled a villa. It turned out to be an old Catholic church that was a community where Japanese American artists lived. In the early 80s the Southern California Institute of Architecture took over the building and the Japanese artists were run out of their homes because of high cost of living. Leslie also informed us that the emphasis of Little Tokyo was on the redevelopment of the town.

Directly, north of where we were standing stood the New Otani Hotel. Currently there is an on-going campaign that involves the unionization of the hotel workers. The original construction of the hotel caused a great deal of discrepancy within the community. In order for the New Otani hotel to be established many residents of Little Tokyo were run out of town. As a result many of these Japanese Americans relocated to other areas outside of Little Tokyo.

Another campaign that the city is working on is the construction of a gymnasium. Leslie also mentioned about the communities want to build a local gymnasium. Apparently the Japanese community is great fans and players of basketball. Currently their league is forced to hold their games at various locations. As a result, Little Tokyo hopes that they will be able to build a gymnasium for the community and as a result help draw back the Japanese Americans to Little Tokyo. In addition to lure back Japanese Americans to Little Tokyo, community member anticipate that the new redevelopment of Los Angeles will also draw in crowds towards the city.

During the tour Leslie took us to a nearby pastry store that sold Japanese rice cakes. Here she shared with us the rice cakes and we were able to learn from the store worker that the Girl’s Day celebration that already in preparations. Japanese Girl’s day is on March 3rd. At places like the rice cake shop, special foods and goodies were being made for the festivities and according to him, community member eagerly wait for this time of year because of the special rice cakes that come out during the season.

As we walked through the Village Plaza towards the Service Center, Leslie pointed out towards the Japanese retirement residential area. The nearby retirement complex is in high demand and a popular place for senior citizens. It is conveniently located near the plaza and gives older residents a walking distance to purchase their consumer needs. The Service Center is on the outer end of the Little Tokyo where many of the community organization are located. On the north face of the building is a memorial for the Japanese war victims in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and World War II.

As a result of this political tour I felt that I was able to learn a lot more about Little Tokyo than I anticipated. I found it useful and very sobering understanding not only the successes but also the political struggles that cause the town to become what it was today. Now I feel that I am able to return to the town and be able to educate others of the rich past and resource Little Tokyo has to offer. In regards to this information being relevant with current Asian American Studies, it is most definitely right on with what is being address and needs to be address. The perk of a political tour is that you are able to walk away with so much more a hands-on experience than if you read it or heard it through a second source.

I hope to return to Little Tokyo and visit the museum and other places of history in the near future. I’m certain that my new knowledge of the place is definitely will keep me interested on the progress of the gymnasium and the result of the different campaigns going on. I was very pleased to know that not only have I learned the history behind such crucial members of the Asian American history, but also now I can see the present result of the working to a fairer society.

I definitely believe and hope to lead future political tours for other students. I think that the things I learned were valuable and very worthwhile. Especially as Americans, it’s important to see how all aspects of our history have played a role in the development of today’s larger society. I also believe that being a resident of LA this is a hotspot of culture, history, and fun that is very overlooked. I hope that as more students become aware of the importance of these enclaves that they will see how crucial their contribution is to the community. That it should no longer be a forgotten space but redevelop it into a thriving place of tradition and culture. I would like to see Japanese Americans, as well as Asian Americans, not only feel the need to be responsible for the Little Tokyo, but to also learn from what the previous Japanese Americans left for us to discover and expand on. It’d be great to see Little Tokyo return to being a central place where Japanese Americans could unite.