Opened in this location on June 9, 1957 by father and son Kaichi and Ron Seko. Seattle’s largest Japanese restaurant in the 1960s with 40 tatami rooms on 2 floors. Known for its karaoke, offered since 1970s.
Run by Kamekichi and Haruko Tokita family from 1913 until WWII forced their removal and incarceration. Present location of the NPS Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.
Pays tribute to Chiyo Murakami and evokes the spirit of children growing up in Japantown. Nihonmachi Fence shows the rise and fall of Seattle’s Japanese American population.
Originally took up 2 entire blocks. Run from 1913-1971, neighborhood youth from different ethnic backgrounds came together to play baseball and basketball here.
Used to detain Issei (first generation) Japanese community and business leaders amid wartime hysteria and racism that followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Sanzo and Matsuyo Murakami opened Higo 10 Cents Store here in 1932. Now an artist gallery and store that includes an exhibit about the family’s experience before, during and after WWII.
As tensions heightened leading up to WWII, Japanese American porters were replaced by Filipino Americans who wore large “Filipino” identification buttons.
Built around 1906. Served many Asian immigrant children, until December 21, 1921 when students marched up Jackson Street to newly built Bailey Gatzert School.
The Maritime Washington National Heritage Area tells a nationally important story of maritime heritage, from Native American canoe cultures to industrial working waterfronts, that shaped western Washington and contributes today to our development as a nation.
Artwork by Amy Nikaitani about 4 businesses – Kokusai Theater, Maneki, Uwajimaya and Sagamiya Confectionary – alongside artwork by Erin Shigaki as part of her “Never Again Is Now” series.
Built in 1910 by architect Sabro Ozasa. Japanese American families stored their personal belongings here during the WWII incarceration. Many of the trunks and suitcases are on view in the Hotel’s Tea & Coffee House.
New gate marks entrance to communal bathhouse, the only one preserved intact in the US. Served many Nikkei before WWII, who came to soak in the baths after school, dinner and sports.
When WA State law forbade Japanese immigrants from purchasing land, a Jewish attorney bought the property for the Nishimura family. Once the second largest hotel in Seattle with 444 rooms.
Once the Jackson Loan Office, business owners Julius Blumenthal and Maurice Zimmer took care of the building for the Murakami family during WWII. Now a boutique blending Asian and European influences.
Betsuin temple dedicated October 4, 1941. Site of US Maritime Commission Office during WWII. Holds annual Bon Odori celebration. Densho, which preserves WWII testimonies of Japanese Americans, located behind the church.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 giving the War Department authority to create zones from which Japanese Americans were excluded. The first exclusion area designated was Bainbridge Island. On March 30, 1942 the Japanese Americans living on Bainbridge Island were gathered at Eagledale Ferry Dock and sent to an incarceration camp in Manzanar, CA before being tranferred to Minidoka in Idaho.
Started in 1935 by George Tokuda, who met his future wife Tama in 1942 in the Minidoka concentration camp. The drugstore was restarted after the War, moving several times before settling in this location. WA State public education program on the history and lessons of the WWII forced removal and incarceration is named in honor of son Kip who originally developed the fund in WA while serving as State legislator.
