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The rich history of San Jose's 'Japantown'

Tom Wilmer
Tom Wilmer with Jimi Yamaichi in San Jose's Japantown

Japantown in the heart of downtown San Jose has been a vital part of Santa Clara Valley’s history since the 1890s. 

The first wave of Japanese immigrants (Issie), were attracted to the area for job opportunities in the burgeoning agriculture industry.

The insular Japantown neighborhood provided the Japanese with a safe-harbor place to shop and socialize.

Within two months of the onset of WWII, Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 forced all Japanese to pack their bags and relocate to internment camps far from the Pacific Coast. Japantown resident, Jimi Yamaichi was 19 years old when he and his family were ordered to report to the San Jose State University Gymnasium. 

Tom Wilmer produces on-air content for Issues & Ideas airing over KCBX and is producer and host of the six-time Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR podcast Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer. Recorded live on-location across America and around the world, the podcasts feature the arts, culture, music, nature, history, science, wine & spirits, brewpubs, and the culinary arts--everything from baseball to exploring South Pacific atolls to interviewing the real Santa Claus in the Arctic.