Despite the fact that I had a conspicuous amount of exposure to a wide range of ethnic

communities due to my ethnically diverse group of friends, I had very limited prior experience
with Little Tokyo. The only visit I paid there before the political tour was for the Day of
Remembrance event held at the Japanese American National Museum. For the tour, I used
various online resources as the primary vehicle for investigating basic and objective facts about
the community. It first caught my attention that Little Tokyo is only one of the three major
Japanese communities in America. It seemed that the Japanese Diaspora in America was more
dispersed with relatively small degree of centralization than those of other ethnic groups. In
exploring the history of Little Tokyo, I discovered that it extends back to the early twentieth
century when a plethora of Japanese immigrants was drawn to settle around the area. With the
onset of WWII, many residents of the town were forced into Japanese internment camps,
creating a sudden vacancy in Little Tokyo for years. It was only in the 70’s when a refreshed
endeavor to redevelop the town broke its decades of stagnation. I also discovered that one
prolonged issue that Little Tokyo has been facing was land use. Due to its strategic location in
Los Angeles, there has been substantial effort by multiple parties to “develop” the area
surrounding the town which threatened the existence of Little Tokyo. Nevertheless, drawing
strength from active Japanese Americans, who are particularly politicized because of the history
of Japanese internment, and also from increasing business investment in Little Tokyo, resistance
against such eradication efforts has been successful.

I enjoy a matured knowledge of Little Tokyo after taking Asian American Studies 10 with
Professor Daniel Lee in the 2009 summer session at UCLA. We discussed the potent social
forces and opposition against the Kajima corporations’ bid to be the primary contractor for the
New Otani hotel’s renovation, and its potential bid to renovate the Japanese American National
Museum.  One of the most interesting narratives from Little Tokyo came after reading the Los
Angeles Times’ article on senior-citizen apartments, typically occupied by elderly Japanese
Americans. My personal reaction, after seeing the headline and the article’s teaser on the Times’
website was “my goodness, Koreatown has no borders now.” The reporter, from interviews with
both Japanese and Korean seniors, drew contrasts between Japanese and Korean culture, and
despite both groups of seniors shared Asian American identities (nearly all were either
permanent residents or citizens), both groups complained about each other’s presence. Japanese
seniors said that Korean residents placed empty kimchi bottles and delivery plates and dishes
outside their units,  they talked loudly, while Korean residents complained that the Japanese
seniors were reclusive and too quiet, so much so that Korean seniors couldn’t live, according to
one Korean elderly person, “normally.”
Art Ishii, on my group’s interview with him at the Centenary United Methodist church on
Central Avenue, gave me some insight. I asked him what happened to little tokyo, why is the
fountain at the Japanese Village Plaza turned off, why are for-lease signs so prevalent. He told
me not many people my age know the history of sour ethnic enclaves. The Mitsuwa Marketplace
(Yaohan, as I remembered) was once owned by Cubans, and now a Korean investment group, its
owners try to build a relationship with the Little Tokyo community.