Tea Ceremony

We visited the tea house of Mrs. Yasuko Matsui in Pebble Beach for a truly tranquil, serene tea experience.  Many thanks to principal tea server Hideko Russell, her assistant Susan Schatz, and of course, the teacher, Yasuko Matsui.

Meeting Venue Change!

Unfortunately, and unexpectedly, we must change our meeting venue for tomorrow.  We just learned late yesterday that Junior Wings is now required to submit a particular form to the school district for use of the school classroom.  I completed the paperwork first thing this morning, but it will take some time for it to make the required rounds of approvals.  In the meantime, we must necessarily move our meeting venue.  Mrs. Frey has offered us the use of her living room.  Hopefully this will be only temporary.  I apologize for this late notice and unexpected change but we will be meeting there instead of at Colton.  If you need a ride to the Freys' home, please let me know by 5:30pm tomorrow so I can pick you up on my way.  I will happily do so.

Please contact me or Mrs. Frey for her address (or see my email).  By way of reminder, this is the same place where we had our second Skype potluck party.

Time to Get Ready!

The Nanao Junior Wingers will be arriving in just three short weeks!  Are you ready?  To help you get there, we'll be meeting the following dates:

• July 25:  General Meeting, 6:30-8:00pm, Colton A3 (Use upper gate) (Installment 2 Activities Fee $250 due)
• August 1: General Meeting, 6:30-8:00pm, Colton A3 (Use upper gate) 
• August 2: Tea Ceremony in Pebble Beach (meeting time TBD)
• August 7: Nanao Junior Wings arrive in Los Angeles
• August 10: Nanao Junior Wings Arrive in Monterey
• August 10: Welcome Party, 2:00-5:00pm.  First Presbyterian Church
• August 11: Group Kayaking
• August 18: Farewell Party
• August 19: Nanao Junior Wings depart for Japan

Details of each of these events will be announced in the General Meetings.  In preparation for the meeting on Thursday, July 25, please review all of your past handouts and homework.

See you Thursday!

Photo Update

Here are some photos from today's fieldtrip to San Jose Japantown, the potluck Skype Call #2, the La Mesa Bargain Fair, Colton 8th Grade Promotion Lei Sale, and the lei-making day.  And don't forget our samurai helmets!  If anyone has additional photos you would like me to post, please email them to me.

San Jose Japantown Field Trip

Hi Everyone,

Here is our schedule for the day.  Wear comfortable shoes as we will do a fair amount of walking.  Lunch will be provided for the JW students, but please bring some money for any snacks or souvenirs along the way.  To give you a sense of what we will be seeing, please read the History of San Jose Japantown below.

• 9:00AM - Meet at the Colton upper parking lot.
• 9:15 - Depart for San Jose
• 10:30 - Arrive in Japantown (Drivers: if you have a GPS, set it to 617 North 6th St, San Jose.  This is the address for the Minato Restaurant.  Park near the restaurant in any space available on either side of the street.)
• 10:30-12:00 - Tour Japantown (Nijiya Market, Nichibei Trading, Buddhist temple, San Jose Tofu, Shuei-Do Manju Shop, Nikkei Traditions Gift Shop, Roy's Coffee Shop, and so on).
• 12:00 - 1:30 Mitsuwa Marketplace (Mitsuwa Grocery, Kinokuniya Bookstore, Clover Bakery) (Drivers: 675 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose).
• 1:30 - 2:30 Lunch at Ringer Hut (Drivers: 1072 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose)
• 2:30 - 3:45PM Drive back to Colton

Drivers: here is a link to a map of our planned itinerary: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=206407715351016024059.0004a54dc68ad3f597047&hl=en&doflg=ptm&ie=UTF8&ll=37.341912,-121.889877&spn=0.078883,0.197754&z=13

History of San Jose Japantown

Information for this page from Japantown Business Association and The Preservation Action Council of San Jose, 1994. Photos courtesy Nagareda Studios.

Yamato Bath House 1911

San Jose's Japantown began as did many other communities with the need to combine comradeship and resources to survive as immigrants in a new country. It began near what was known as Heinlenville Chinatown between Jackson and Taylor east of Sixth Street. After the city's second Chinatown burned to the ground under mysterious circumstances, John Heinlen offered his own property for the new location. Mr Heinlen built a new Chinatown entirely of brick despite outrage from the general public. He then rented these buildings to the Chinese at very low rates.

Japanese, new to the country, eventually chose to build their wooden buildings next to Chinatown. Because the Chinese had already settled there, the environment was more familiar to them

Most of Japantown was comprised of single men who found employment in the fruit orchards. Living in the barest of accommodations and having left family and friends at home, their lives were harsh and lonely.

Issei Memorial Building

With as many as 3,000 seasonal workers finding shelter during the spring and summer growing and picking seasons, Japantown , by 1902 had a community of Japanese businesses catering to the society of the single men. The Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 changed the fortunes of the men when wives and children were finally allowed to emigrate from Japan. The nature of the town changed also along with the advent of families and grocery and clothing stores made their appearances.

Misfortune struck again when the U.S. Government forbade female immigration in 1921. Marriage between Caucasians and Asians was illegal in California. With 42 percent of the male population yet single, the problems of community were profound. However, this also caused people to form clubs based upon prefectures from which the people immigrated. These clubs were called “kenjinkai” and helped to form Nihonmachi (Japantown) into a community.

Businesses sought to accommodate their customers by staying open in the evening and  on weekends. The Japanese merchants lived behind their places of business with their families.

Buddhist Church Betsuin

December 7, 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, saw the evacuation and relocation of the Japanese community on the West Coast of the United States. This would errevocably change the face of the nation and cause a legacy for Japanese Americans that is reflected in the lives of the community today. Most of Santa Clara's 3,000 Japanese-American residents were interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming from the relocation centers. Almost all of Japantown's fifty-three businesses closed during internment. Since little time was given to dispose of property and belongings and only a limited amount (150lbs) per person which no one could carry, was allowed to be taken along on the buses and trains to the relocation centers, people sought to store their belongings in the Buddhist and Methodist Churches. As can be imagined, property and personal losses were staggering.

In December of 1944 the Japanese internment policy was revoked. By 1947, 40 businesses and 100 families had re-established themselves in this area.

If you walk down Jackson Street today you will no longer see families living behind their stores, but you will experience the increasingly rare feeling of a neighborhood where history and heritage reside in the keepers of the shops and the people walking along the streets. Restaurants, specialty stores and gift shops, reflect Chinese and Japanese heritage which is carefully preserved by nearby residents and shopkeepers alike. Professional services, doctors, dentists, lawyers, non-profit organizations and churches flourish. Every Sunday morning there is a Japantown Farmers' Market on Jackson Street east of Japantown where both locals an out-of-towners come to buy fresh vegetables, baked goods, or flowers. In this country, where most other Japanese-American neighborhoods were lost after the internments of World War II, San Jose's Japantown is a rare treasure.