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Japantown

{{Short description|Common name for Japanese enclaves in cities and towns outside of Japan}}

{{Redirect|Little Japan|the pejorative|Xiao Riben}}

{{For |historical Japanese communities in early modern Southeast and East Asia|Nihonmachi}}

{{Infobox Chinese/Header

|pic=Praça da Liberdaed 2024 03 24.jpg|piccap=Liberdade in São Paulo, Brazil

}}

{{Infobox Chinese/Japanese

|kanji=日本人街

|kana=にほんじんがい

|romaji=Nihonjin-gai

|kunrei=Nihonzin-gai

}}

{{Infobox Chinese/Footer}}

{{nihongo|Japantown|日本人街}} is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or {{nihongo|Nihonmachi|日本町}}, the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.

History

{{See also|Japanese diaspora}}

File:Japanese inhabitants in the Philippines.png living in the Philippines as portrayed in the Boxer codex (1590)]]

Historically, Japantowns represented the Japanese diaspora and its individual members known as {{nihongo|nikkei|日系}}, who are Japanese emigrants from Japan and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. Emigration from Japan first happened and was recorded as early as the 12th century to the Philippines,{{cite web|url=http://asiapacificuniverse.com/pkm/tech.htm|title=Philippine Civilization, Culture and Technology|first=Paul|last=Kekai Manansala}} but did not become a mass phenomenon until the Meiji Era, when Japanese began to go to the Philippines,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mfCzrbOn80C&q=Japanese+immigrants+to+Davao&pg=PA157|title=The Japanese in Colonial Southeast Asia|page=157|editor1=Shiraishi, Saya |editor2=Shiraishi, Takashi |date=1993|work=Cornell Southeast Asia Program|publisher=SEAP Publications |isbn=9780877274025}} North America, and beginning in 1897 with 35 emigrants to Mexico;Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Japan: [http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/mexico/index.html Japan-Mexico relations] and later to Peru, beginning in 1899 with 790 emigrants.Palm, Hugo. [http://www.universia.edu.pe/noticias/principales/destacada.php?id=65889 "Desafíos que nos acercan,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415092911/http://www.universia.edu.pe/noticias/principales/destacada.php?id=65889 |date=2009-04-15 }} El Comercio (Lima, Peru). March 12, 2008. There was also significant emigration to the territories of the Empire of Japan during the colonial period; however, most such emigrants repatriated to Japan after the end of World War II in Asia.{{cite web | title = Brief Historical Overview of Japanese Emigration | author = Azuma, Eiichiro | publisher = International Nikkei Research Project | access-date = 2007-02-02 | year = 2005 | url = http://www.janm.org/projects/inrp/english/overview.htm | archive-date = 2007-02-19 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070219054825/http://www.janm.org/projects/inrp/english/overview.htm | url-status = dead }}

For a brief period in the 16th–17th centuries, Japanese overseas activity and presence in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in the region boomed. Sizeable Japanese communities, known as Nihonmachi, could be found in many of the major ports and political centers of the region, where they exerted significant political and economic influence.

The Japanese had been active on the seas and across the region for centuries, traveling for commercial, political, religious and other reasons. The 16th century, however, saw a dramatic increase in such travel and activity. The internal strife of the Sengoku period caused a great many people, primarily samurai, commoner merchants, and Christian refugees to seek their fortunes across the seas. Many of the samurai who fled Japan around this time were those who stood on the losing sides of various major conflicts; some were rōnin, some veterans of the Japanese invasions of Korea or of various other major conflicts. As Toyotomi Hideyoshi and later the Tokugawa shōguns issued repeated bans on Christianity, many fled the country; a significant portion of those settled in Catholic Manila.Wray. p8.

In western countries such as Canada and the United States, the Japanese tended to integrate with society so that many if not all Japantowns are in danger of completely disappearing, with the remaining only existing in San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles, California.{{cite web|url=https://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/sf-japantowns-last-hurrah/|title=SF Japantown's Last Hurrah|access-date=2014-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226152720/https://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/sf-japantowns-last-hurrah/|archive-date=2014-02-26|url-status=dead}}

Characteristics

The features described below are characteristic of many modern Japantowns.

=Japanese architectural styles=

{{Main|Japanese architecture}}

File:Japantown-pagoda-crop.jpg|alt=]]

Many historical Japantowns will exhibit architectural styles that reflect the Japanese culture. Japanese architecture has traditionally been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors (fusuma) were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to be customized for different occasions. People usually sat on cushions or otherwise on the floor, traditionally; chairs and high tables were not widely used until the 20th century. Since the 19th century, however, Japan has incorporated much of Western, modern, and post-modern architecture into construction and design.

File:20140810-0429 Nisei Week Festival.JPG ]]

=Japanese language=

{{Main|Japanese language|Japanese dialects}}

Many Japantowns will exhibit the use of the Japanese language in signage existing on road signs and on buildings as Japanese which is the official and primary language of Japan. Japanese has a lexically distinct pitch-accent system. Early Japanese is known largely on the basis of its state in the 8th century, when the three major works of Old Japanese were compiled. The earliest attestation of the Japanese language is in a Chinese document from 252 AD.

Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts: hiragana, derived from the Chinese cursive script, katakana, derived as a shorthand from Chinese characters, and kanji, imported from China. The Latin alphabet, rōmaji, is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when inputting Japanese into a computer. The Hindu–Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino–Japanese numerals are also common.

Locations

{{Infobox ethnic group

| group = Japanese diaspora
{{lang|ja|日系人}}

| image =

| caption =

| population = About 3,600,000{{cite web |url=http://www.jadesas.or.jp/EN/aboutnikkei/index.html |title=- the Association of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad |access-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131201063237/http://www.jadesas.or.jp/en/aboutnikkei/index.html |archive-date=1 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}

| region1 = {{flag|Brazil}}

| pop1 = 1,600,000

| ref1 = {{cite web|title=Japan-Brazil Relations (Basic Data)|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/brazil/data.html|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=14 July 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.japao100.com.br/arquivo/nipo-brasileiros-estao-mais-presentes/|title=Centenário da Imigração Japonesa - Reportagens - Nipo-brasileiros estão mais presentes no Norte e no Centro-Oeste do Brasil|work=japao100.com.br|access-date=2018-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813021532/http://www.japao100.com.br/arquivo/nipo-brasileiros-estao-mais-presentes/|archive-date=2017-08-13|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/brazil/data.html|title=ブラジル基礎データ ｜ 外務省|work=外務省}}

| region2 = {{flag|United States}}

| pop2 = 1,404,286

| ref2 = {{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF1_QTP8&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161012022855/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF1_QTP8&prodType=table|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-10-12|title=American FactFinder - Results|author=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS)|work=census.gov}}

| region4 = {{flag|Philippines}}

| pop4 = 120,000

| ref4 = {{cite news |last=Agnote |first=Dario |date=October 11, 2006 |title=A glimmer of hope for castoffs |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20061011f1.html |newspaper=The Japan Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607035509/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20061011f1.html |archive-date=June 7, 2011 |access-date=August 9, 2016}}{{cite book |last=Ohno |first=Shun |date=2006 |chapter=The Intermarried issei and mestizo nisei in the Philippines |editor-last=Adachi |editor-first=Nobuko |title=Japanese diasporas: Unsung pasts, conflicting presents, and uncertain futures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8P2SAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |page=97 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-98723-7}}

| region3 = {{flag|China}}

| pop3 = 127,282

| ref3 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/toko/tokei/hojin/10/pdfs/1.pdf|title=Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas|website=Mofa.go.jp|access-date=16 January 2018}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region5 = {{flag|Canada}}

| pop5 = 109,740

| ref5 = {{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=1&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GK=0&GRP=0&PID=105396&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|title=File not found - Fichier non trouvé|work=statcan.gc.ca}}

| region6 = {{flag|Peru}}

| pop6 = 103,949

| ref6 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/peru/data.html |title=Japan-Peru Relations |work=mofa.go.jp |date=2012-11-27 |access-date=April 29, 2016}}

| region7 = {{flag|Thailand}}

| pop7 = 78,431 (2022, Japanese nationality only{{Ref |population |note}})

| ref7 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/thailand/data.html|script-title=ja:タイ基礎データ|trans-title=Kingdom of Thailand basic data|language=ja|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|access-date=November 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225212237/https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/thailand/data.html|archive-date=2024-02-25|url-status=bot: unknown}}

| region8 = {{flag|Australia}}

| pop8 = 72,000

| ref8 = {{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3412.0|title=3412.0 - Migration, Australia, 2013-14|work=abs.gov.au|date=17 June 2021}}

| region9 = {{flag|Germany}}

| pop9 = 70,000

| ref9 = {{cite web|url=http://www.bib-demografie.de/DE/Aktuelles/Presse/Archiv/2017/2017-03-01-zuwanderung-aussereuropaeische-Laender-fast-verdoppelt.html|title=BiB - Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung - Pressemitteilungen - Zuwanderung aus außereuropäischen Ländern fast verdoppelt|website=Bib-demografie.de|access-date=22 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209232407/http://www.bib-demografie.de/DE/Aktuelles/Presse/Archiv/2017/2017-03-01-zuwanderung-aussereuropaeische-Laender-fast-verdoppelt.html|archive-date=9 December 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

| region10 = {{flag|Argentina}}

| pop10 = 65,000

| ref10 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/argentine/index.html|title=Japan-Argentine Relations|work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan}}{{cite web|url=http://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201611/171079-japon-visita-oficial-primer-ministro-nipon-shinzo-abe-casa-de-gobierno.html|archivedate=2023-03-16|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20230316163003/https://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201611/171079-japon-visita-oficial-primer-ministro-nipon-shinzo-abe-casa-de-gobierno.html|title=Argentina inicia una nueva etapa en su relación con Japón|work=Telam.com.ar. |access-date=November 21, 2016}}

| region11 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}

| pop11 = 63,011

| ref11 = Itoh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VBijCPLvWyUC&dq=keiko+itoh++united+kingdom&pg=PA7 p. 7.]

| region12 = {{flag|South Korea}}

| pop12 = 58,169

| ref12 = {{cite web|url=http://www.dmcnews.kr/xe/5189|title=통계 - 국내 체류외국인 140만명으로 다문화사회 진입 가속화|work=dmcnews.kr|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126012422/http://www.dmcnews.kr/xe/5189|archive-date=26 January 2016|df=dmy-all}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region13 = {{flag|Mexico}}

| pop13 = 35,000

| ref13 = {{cite journal|last1=Lizcano Fernández |first1=Francisco |title=Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI |journal=Revista Convergencia |date=May–August 2005 |volume=12 |issue=38 |page=201 |url=http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/105/10503808.pdf |access-date=28 January 2015 |publisher=Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México |location=Toluca, Mexico |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022220348/http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/105/10503808.pdf |archive-date=22 October 2013 }}

| region14 = {{flag| France}}

| pop14 = 30,947

| ref14 = {{Ref |population |note}}

| region15 = {{flag|Singapore}}

| pop15 = 27,525

| ref15 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/singapore/data.html|title=MOFA Japan|date=3 December 2014}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region16 = {{flag|Hong Kong}}

| pop16 = 27,429

| ref16 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/000162700.pdf|title=海外在留邦人数調査統計（平成２８年要約版）|date=October 1, 2015|trans-title=Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas (Heisei 28 Summary Edition)|access-date=November 10, 2016|language=ja|page=32}}

| region18 = {{flag|Malaysia}}

| pop18 = 22,000

| ref18 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/malaysia/data.html|title=マレーシア基礎データ ｜ 外務省|work=外務省}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region19 = {{flag|FSM|name=Micronesia}}

| pop19 = 20,000

| ref19 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mra.fm/pdfs/nr_los_FromFSMAmbassador.pdf|title=Letter from the Embassy of the Federated States of Micronesia|website=Mra.fm|access-date=16 January 2018|archive-date=12 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412091457/http://www.mra.fm/pdfs/nr_los_FromFSMAmbassador.pdf|url-status=dead}}

| region17 = {{flag|Vietnam}}

| pop17 = 17,266 (2017, Japanese nationality only{{Ref |population |note}})

| ref17 = {{cite web|title=Japan-Vietnam Relations (Basic Data)|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/vietnam/data.html|language=en|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|access-date=November 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118202234/https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/vietnam/data.html|archive-date=2023-11-18|url-status=bot: unknown}}

| region20 = {{flag|Indonesia}}

| pop20 = 14,720

| ref20 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/indonesia/data.html|title=インドネシア基礎データ ｜ 外務省|work=外務省}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region21 = {{flag|New Zealand}}

| pop21 = 14,118

| ref21 = {{cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/japanese/page-5|title=5. – Japanese – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand|work=teara.govt.nz}}

| region22 = {{flag|Bolivia}}

| pop22 = 14,000

| ref22 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/bolivia/data.html|title=ボリビア基礎データ ｜ 外務省|work=外務省}}

| region23 = {{flag|Netherlands}}

| pop23 = 10,460

| ref23 = {{cite web |title=Japan-Netherlands Relations (Basic Data) |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/netherlands/data.html#:~:text=Number%20of%20Residents%3A,in%20Japan%3A%201%2C294%20(2020) |website=mofa.go.jp}}

| region24 = {{flag|Spain}}

| pop24 = 8,720

| ref24 = {{cite web |title=Japanese culture celebrated in Barcelona |url=https://www.catalannews.com/culture/item/japanese-culture-celebrated-in-barcelona |website=catalannews.com|date=31 May 2018 }}

| region25 = {{flag|India}}

| pop25 = 8,398

| ref25 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/000162700.pdf|title=海外在留邦人数調査統計（平成２８年要約版）|date=October 1, 2015|trans-title=Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas (Heisei 28 Summary Edition)|access-date=November 10, 2016|language=ja|page=30}}See also Japanese people in India

| region26 = {{NCL}}

| pop26 = 8,000

| ref26 = {{cite web|url=http://www.newcaledonia.co.nz/downloads/newcal-weekly-08-08-22.pdf|title=Tourism New Caledonia - Prepare your trip in New Caledonia|work=newcaledonia.co.nz|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014081506/http://www.newcaledonia.co.nz/downloads/newcal-weekly-08-08-22.pdf|archive-date=14 October 2008|df=dmy-all}}

| region27 = {{flag|Italy}}

| pop27 = 7,556

| ref27 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofa/toko/tokei/hojin/10/pdfs/1.pdf|title=外務省: ご案内- ご利用のページが見つかりません|work=mofa.go.jp}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region28 = {{flag|Paraguay}}

| pop28 = 7,000

| ref28 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/paraguay/index.html|title=Japan-Paraguay Relations|work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan}}

| region29 = {{flag|Belgium}}

| pop29 = 6,519

| ref29 =

| region30 = {{flag|Marshall Islands}}

| pop30 = 6,000

| ref30 = {{cite web|url=http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2006/jun/10/pacific-islands-president-bainbridge-lawmakers/?printer=1/#|title=Pacific Islands President, Bainbridge Lawmakers Find Common Ground|author=Rachel Pritchett|work=BSUN|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716165044/http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2006/jun/10/pacific-islands-president-bainbridge-lawmakers/?printer=1%2F|archive-date=16 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}

| region31 = {{flag| Sweden }}

| pop31 = 5,235

| ref31 =

| region32 = {{flag|Palau}}

| pop32 = 5,000

| ref32 = {{cite web |url=http://www.fasid.or.jp/daigakuin/sien/kaisetsu/gaiyo17/data/02/Kimio_Fujita_Economic_Development_and_Policy_Issues.ppt |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-12-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722121419/http://www.fasid.or.jp/daigakuin/sien/kaisetsu/gaiyo17/data/02/Kimio_Fujita_Economic_Development_and_Policy_Issues.ppt |archive-date=22 July 2011 |df=dmy-all }}

|region33 = {{flag|Macau}}

| pop33 = 4,200

| ref33 = {{cite web|url=http://www.dsec.gov.mo/getAttachment/7a3b17c2-22cc-4197-9bd5-ccc6eec388a2/E_CEN_PUB_2011_Y.aspx|title=Macau Population Census|work=Census Bureau of Macau|date=May 2012|access-date=22 July 2016}}

| region34 = {{flag| Switzerland }}

| pop34 = 4,071

| ref34 = {{Ref |population |note}}

| region35 = {{flag|Austria}}

| pop35 = 3,500

| ref35 = {{cite web |title=Japan and Austria – 150 years of friendship |url=https://www.society.at/japan-and-austria-150-years-of-friendship/ |website=society.at|date=29 June 2020 }}

| region36 = {{flag| Uruguay }}

| pop36 = 3,456

| ref36 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/uruguay/data.html|title=ウルグアイ基礎データ ｜ 外務省|work=外務省}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region37 = {{flag|Cambodia}}

| pop37 = 3,363 (2022, Japanese nationality only{{Ref |population |note}})

| ref37 = {{cite web|title=Japan-Cambodia Relations (Basic Data)|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/cambodia/data.html|language=en|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|access-date=November 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118202235/https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/cambodia/data.html|archive-date=2023-11-18|url-status=bot: unknown}}

| region38 = {{flag|Ireland}}

| pop38 = 3,122

| ref38 = {{cite web |title=Japan-Ireland Relations (Overview) |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/ireland/data.html |website=mofa.go.jp}}

| region39 = {{flag|Colombia}}

| pop39 = 3,000

| ref39 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/colombia/data.html|title=コロンビア基礎データ ｜ 外務省|work=外務省}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region40 = {{flag|Chile}}

| pop40 = 2,600

| ref40 = {{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/chile/index.html|title=MOFA: Chile}}

| region41 = {{flag|Russia}}

| pop41 = 1,321

| ref41 ={{Cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/100436737.pdf|title=Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas|website=www.mofa.go.jp}}{{Ref |population |note}}

| region43 = {{flag|Qatar}}

| pop43 = 1,000

| ref43 = {{cite web|url=http://bqdoha.com/2013/12/population-qatar|title=Qatar's population - by nationality|work=bq Magazine|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221142214/http://bqdoha.com/2013/12/population-qatar|archive-date=21 December 2014|df=dmy-all}}

| related = Ryukyuan diaspora

| footnotes =

{{note |population}}note: The population of naturalized Japanese people and their descendants is unknown. Only the number of the permanent residents with Japanese nationality is shown, except for the United States, where ancestral origin is recorded independent of nationality.

}}

=Americas=

Japantowns were created because of the widespread immigration of Japanese to America in the Meiji period (1868–1912). At that time, many Japanese were poor and sought economic opportunities in the United States. Japanese immigrants initially settled in Western parts of the US and Canada.

At one time, there were 43 different Japantowns in California,

{{cite web

| url = http://www.californiajapantowns.org/preserving.html

| title = Preserving California's Japantowns

| access-date = 2006-11-04

| author = Donna Graves

|author2=Gail Dubrow

| publisher = Preserving California's Japantowns

}}

ranging from several square blocks of Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, to one in the small farming community of Marysville in Yuba County. Besides typical businesses, these communities usually had Japanese language schools for the immigrants' children, Japanese language newspapers, Buddhist and Christian churches, and sometimes Japanese hospitals.

{{cite web

|url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views4h.htm

|title=A History of Japanese Americans in California: HISTORIC SITES

|access-date=August 18, 2010

|publisher=National Park Service

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104074253/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views4h.htm

|archive-date=2011-01-04

}}

After the World War II internment of the Japanese, most of those communities declined significantly or disappeared altogether.

There are currently four recognized Japantowns left in the United States, which are facing issues such as commercialization, reconstruction, gentrification and dwindling Japanese populations.

{{cite web

|url=http://www.rafu.com/j_town.html

|title=Community Leaders Discuss State of California's J-Towns

|access-date=August 18, 2010

|author=Kori-Kai Yoshida

|date=2006-06-24

|work=Nichi Bei Times, reprinted at Rafu Shimpo Online

|publisher=Los Angeles News Publishing Co.

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223152511/http://www.rafu.com/j_town.html

|archive-date=2010-12-23

}}

==Argentina==

{{See also|Japanese Argentines}}

  • Colonia Urquiza is the Japanese district in La Plata, Argentina. Colonia Urquiza is the largest Japanese district in Argentina, and concentrates many institutions such as schools, restaurants and training centers.http://sur.infonews.com/notas/la-pequena-japon-argenta {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107145436/http://sur.infonews.com/notas/la-pequena-japon-argenta |date=2014-01-07 }} La pequeña japon argenta

==Brazil==

{{See also|Japanese Brazilians}}

  • Liberdade is the Japanese district in São Paulo, Brazil. São Paulo metropolitan area is the city that has the largest Japanese population outside Japan{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ricardogeromel/2013/07/12/all-you-need-to-know-about-sao-paulo-brazils-largest-city/ |title=All You Need To Know About Sao Paulo, Brazil's Largest City |date=2013-07-12 |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Forbes |last=Geromel |first=Ricardo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001073124/https://www.forbes.com/sites/ricardogeromel/2013/07/12/all-you-need-to-know-about-sao-paulo-brazils-largest-city/ |archive-date=2022-10-01 |url-status=live |language=en}} and the largest population of people that have Japanese descent{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}.

==Canada==

{{See also|Japanese Canadians|Japanese Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area}}

Image:1927 - Japanese-Canadian area of Vancouver, British Columbia.jpg

Several Japantowns emerged in the British Columbia's Lower Mainland during the early 20th century, including Japantown, Vancouver.{{cite web|url=https://onthisspot.ca/cities/vancouver/japantown|title=Vancouver's Japanese Canadian Community|last=Farris|first=Andrew|access-date=8 December 2021|year=2018|publisher=On The Spot Enterprise|website=onthisspot.ca}} Steveston in Richmond, British Columbia was another community whose population in 1942 was primarily made up of people of Japanese descent.{{cite web|url=https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2015/06/20/As-Steveston-Japanese-Community-Shrinks-Its-History-Grows/|title=As Steveston's Japanese Community Shrinks, Its History Grows|last=Cheung|first=Christopher|publisher=The Tyee|website=thetyee.ca|date=20 June 2015|access-date=8 December 2021}} However, these communities were dispersed after Japanese Canadians were interned during World War II.

In the early 21st century, a Little Japan has emerged around Bay and Dundas Street in Toronto, Ontario.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/amp/life/2016/05/11/japanese-influence-is-seeping-into-downtown-toronto.html|title = Japanese influence is seeping into downtown Toronto | the Star| website=Toronto Star | date=11 May 2016 }}

Canadian municipalities with Japanese populations higher than the national average (0.3%) include:

==Mexico==

{{See also|Japanese Mexicans}}

  • Little Tokyo, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City this neighborhood in the Cuauhtémoc district is home to many Japanese establishments from restaurants, ramen houses, Japanese bars, Japanese book stores, Japanese hotels and many other businesses catering to the Japanese community in the city as well as to the locals and tourists. Future plans for the neighborhood include a welcoming torii and Japanese style lanterns along the streets on Little Tokyo as designation markers of the "Barrio Japonés" and many other cultural markers.
  • Aguilas, Mexico City neighborhood in Mexico City. This part of the city is home to many Mexicans of Japanese origin.. Japanese clubs and restaurants as well as the Japanese gardens. This area was mainly settled by many Japanese during WWII as the Mexican government concentrated many Japanese nationals in this area. Today it is a thriving part of the city with many Japanese institutions for the Nikkei community.
  • Acacoyagua, Chiapas. Acacoyagua is to this day the oldest Japanese colony in Latin America. It is a colony from the late 1800s where Japan sent off citizens to populate other parts of the world because of overpopulation at the time. The Enomoto Colony tried to farm coffee seeing the success of the neighboring German colonies in the Soconusco region. The colony prospered and to this day maintains their Japanese identity in the region. A Torii has been erected to welcome visitors as many institutions and buildings have Japanese cultural markers, especially in the Central Park. The descendants are very proud of their culture and have very strong ties to Japan, including welcoming the Crown Prince of Japan And Japanese festivals.

==Peru==

{{See also|Japanese Peruvians}}

==United States==

{{See also|Japanese Americans}}

File:Japantown-plaza-14jul2005.jpg

Prior to World War II, there were countless Japantowns across the country with over 40 in California alone. The mass evacuation and incarceration of Japanese Americans in the wake of Executive Order 9066 resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of Japanese American properties and businesses, effectively erasing many of the historic Japantowns across the country as their old neighborhoods were quickly occupied by new families who had moved in during their absence and were further obliterated in urban renewal projects of the 1950s and 60s.{{cite web |title=California Japantowns |url=http://www.californiajapantowns.org/index.html |publisher=California Japanese American Community Leadership Council (CJACLC) |access-date=22 July 2023}}

Even the surviving Japantowns are a shadow of their former selves as later generations scattered and dispersed across the country as pre-war housing covenants began to be lifted in the 1960s, and now cater more to tourists and the greater Asian Pacific communities.{{cite book |last1=Okamura |first1=Raymond |title=Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California |date=December 1988 |publisher=California Department of Parks and Recreation Office of Historic Preservation |isbn=978-0941925112 |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/5views/5views4b.htm#:~:text=The%201930%20census%20shows%20that,%2C%20Sacramento%2C%20which%20had%208%2C114.}}

Designated Japantown areas remain in the following areas:

===Concentrated and historical Japanese populations in the United States===

Northern California: In addition to Japantown districts in San Francisco and San Jose, suburbs and neighborhoods with significant Japanese American populations, histories, and/or previously recognized Japantowns included:{{cite web |last1=Pease |first1=Ben |title=Japantown Atlas |url=http://japantownatlas.com/index.html |publisher=California State Library: California Civil Liberties Public Education Project (CCLPEP) |date=22 March 2008}}

Southern California:

Pacific Islands:

{{See also|Japanese in Hawaii}}

  • Honolulu, Hawaii - constituted 43% of Hawaii's population in 1920. They now number about 16.7%.

Elsewhere in western U.S.

Image:SakuraSquare.JPG, Denver, Colorado]]

{{cite web

| url = http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650224881/Salt-Lake-street-may-honor-Japantown.html?

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100411055447/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/650224881/Salt-Lake-street-may-honor-Japantown.html

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = April 11, 2010

| title = Salt Lake street may honor Japantown

| access-date = April 19, 2011

| author = Elaine Jarvik

| date = 2007-01-22

| work = Deseret News archives

| publisher = Deseret News Publishing Company

}}

Eastern U.S.:

=Asia=

==Cambodia==

  • St 63 and St 422 (Trasak Paem), Phnom Penh{{cite web |title=Little Tokyo in Phnom Penh and the growing Japanese-Cambodian relationship |url=https://heartlanderoverseas.wordpress.com/2022/06/26/little-tokyo-in-phnom-penh-and-the-growing-relationship-between-japan-and-cambodia/ |website=heartlanderoverseas.wordpress.com |date=26 June 2022 |access-date=17 November 2023}}

==China==

{{See also|Japanese in China}}

  • Gubei, Shanghai, a residential area which has many expatriates from Japan. It is informally referred to as a "Little Tokyo." There is a Takashimaya department store in Gubei.{{cite web

|url = http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjbz/cxfldm/2011/31/01/12/310112107.html

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20121127211648/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjbz/cxfldm/2011/31/01/12/310112107.html

|url-status = dead

|archive-date = November 27, 2012

|script-title = zh:2011年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码：虹桥镇

|publisher = National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China

|language = zh

|access-date = 2012-08-09

}}

  • Eastern District, Hong Kong is the home to the largest Japanese community in Hong Kong, where it is widely distributed in district such as Taikoo Shing, with nearly a quarter of total Japanese in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Japanese School is also settled their headquarter in Eastern district.
  • More than 50 percent of Kowloon Japanese residents live in Hung Hom in Kowloon City District, as one of the most popular area in Hong Kong for Japanese,{{Cite web |url=http://www.census2011.gov.hk/tc/main-table/A208.html |title=2011年按區議會分區、國籍及在港居住年期劃分的人口 (A208) |access-date=2015-05-26 |archive-date=2015-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526214630/http://www.census2011.gov.hk/tc/main-table/A208.html |url-status=dead }} it is called as "Little Japan" or Hong Kong's "Shitamachi (Japanese: 下町) when there is great concentration with Japanese restaurants with traditional style.[http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/food/art/20150524/19156852 香港淺草　日本人愛紅磡　下町飲食街]
  • Furthermore, there is also a Japanese school campus in Tai Po area in the New Territories.

==India==

{{See also|Japanese in India}}

==Malaysia==

{{See also|Japanese migration to Malaysia}}

In the late 2000s, Malaysia began to become a popular destination for Japanese retirees. Malaysia My Second Home retirement programme received 513 Japanese applicants from 2002 until 2006. Motivations for choosing Malaysia include the low cost of real-estate and of hiring home care workers. Such retirees sometimes refer to themselves ironically as economic migrants or even economic refugees, referring to the fact that they could not afford as high a quality of life in retirement, or indeed to retire at all, were they still living in Japan.

==Philippines==

{{See also|Japanese in the Philippines}}

| align =

| direction =

| total_width = 350

| image1 = Davao Japantown in 1930s.JPG

| caption1 =

| image2 = Davao Little Tokyo in 1930s.jpg

| caption2 =

| image3 =

| caption3 =

| alt1 =

| footer = Little Tokyo (Mintal) in Davao City (1936)

}}

  • Japantown, Paco, Manila
  • Japantown, Iloilo City
  • Japantown, Cebu City
  • Japantown, Mandaue
  • Japantown, Davao City
  • Little Tokyo, Davao City
  • Little Tokyo, Makati. This Japanese neighborhood can be found along the stretch of Chino Roces Avenue and neighboring streets in the area approximately between Rufino Street and Arnaiz Avenue.{{cite web|url=https://primer.com.ph/feature/2019/08/16/little-tokyo-in-makati-street-guide-2019/|title=Here's Your Ultimate Guide to Little Tokyo, Makati }}
  • Mintal, a barangay in Davao City known as Little Tokyo.
  • Little Kyoto, Cebu City{{Cite web|url=https://sugbo.ph/2021/sachikos-little-kyoto/|title=Sachiko's Little Kyoto: Japan Feels in Cebu City|date=August 19, 2021|website=sugbo.ph}}{{cite web|url=https://sugbo.ph/2021/sachikos-little-kyoto/|title=Sachiko's Little Kyoto: Japan Feels in Cebu City |date=19 August 2021 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.vivomigsgee.com/2021/11/07/sachikos-little-kyoto-a-little-slice-of-japan-in-cebu/|title=Sachiko's Little Kyoto: A Little Slice of Japan in Cebu |date=7 November 2021 }}

==Singapore==

{{See also|Japanese expatriates in Singapore}}

==South Korea==

==Taiwan==

==Vietnam==

{{See also|Japanese in Vietnam}}

  • Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.{{Cite web |url=https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/features/20180514/little-tokyo-in-the-heart-of-saigon/45593.html |title=Little Tokyo in the heart of Saigon |date=2018-05-14 |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Tuoi Tre News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901232344/https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/features/20180514/little-tokyo-in-the-heart-of-saigon/45593.html |archive-date=2022-09-01 |url-status=live |language=en}}

==Concentrated and historical Japanese populations in Asia==

===Indonesia===

{{See also|Japanese migration to Indonesia}}

  • Parts of Jakarta's shopping district of Blok M has been developed into the formation of Japanese-oriented facilities, including clusters of restaurants, spas, nightclubs, bars, karaoke parlors and cafés; earning the nickname "Little Tokyo", as it is also coupled with the high density of Japanese expats living around the area.[http://jakartaglobe.id/eyewitness/blok-m-jakartas-little-tokyo/ Blok M: Jakarta's Little Tokyo]
  • A district in Batam, was dubbed as "Nagoya" after the Japanese city by the same name by Japanese engineers from the Taisei Corporation and expats who came to Batam in the 1970s to work on its infrastructure projects. officially the district is known as Lubuk Baja, Until 2005, the area was known for its karaoke parlors, Japanese-style bars and prostitution. Most of which are no longer present, save for a number of Japanese styled restaurants and karaoke bars.{{cite web | url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2019/12/17/nagoya-a-quarter-of-japanese-legacy-in-batam.html | title=Nagoya: A quarter of Japanese legacy in Batam }}
  • In addition of being Surabaya's Chinatown, the Kya Kya district is also historically known as "Kembang Jepun" (lit. 'Japanese flowers') due to the abundance of Karayuki-san prostitutes there. As well as Japanese brothels and taverns within the district during the colonial days of Indonesia.{{cite web | url=https://radarsurabaya.jawapos.com/kota-lama/77977776/asal-usul-jalan-kembang-jepun-dan-keberadaan-karayukisan-di-surabaya | title=Asal Usul Jalan Kembang Jepun dan Keberadaan Karayuki-san di Surabaya }}
  • At Cikarang, which is known as the Industrial center of the country, also had a significant community of Japanese expatriates in the city, mostly due to the abundance of Japanese companies investing in the area and setting up factories there. They are mostly concentrated within the Jababeka Industrial estate,{{cite web | url=https://ameera.republika.co.id/berita/oy7an8380/mengintip-kegiatan-komunitas-jepang-di-jababeka | title=Mengintip Kegiatan Komunitas Jepang di Jababeka }} out of Cikarang's ten thousand expatriate community, roughly around seven thousand of them are Japanese, there is also a Japanese school in Cikarang.{{cite web | url=https://cjs.or.id/ | title=チカラン日本人学校 Cikarang Japanese School }}

===Pakistan===

{{See also|Japanese in Pakistan}}

  • There is an active Japanese presence (including multinational companies and expatriates) in industrial areas of Karachi, such as Port Qasim. During the 1980s and 1990s, there were over 2,000 Japanese living in Karachi, making them one of the significant expatriate communities in the country. Now, the community has shrunk to a few hundred.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dhalahore.net/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=434:karachi-enclave-for-japanese-investors-at-port-qasim&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=142|title=Karachi: Enclave for Japanese investors at Port Qasim}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} There is also a Karachi Japanese School.[http://www.geocities.co.jp/karachijapaneseschool/ Karachi Japanese School]

===Thailand===

{{See also|Japanese migration to Thailand}}

  • In Bangkok a Japanese population lives in and around Sukhumvit Road, Thong Lo and Phrompong. Many of the apartment complexes are rented solely to Japanese people (although they are owned by Thais), and there are Japanese grocery shops, restaurants, bars, dry cleaning, clubs, etc. in and around Phrompong.
  • In Si Racha a Japanese population lives in and around the city center as the second largest Japanese community outside Bangkok.
  • In Chiangmai a Japanese population lives around the city center as the popular place for Japanese retirees with good weather and less crowded city.
  • In Ayutthaya a growing number of Japanese population returns and lives in and around Rojana Road close to many Japanese companies, the city also well known place of the first Japanese quarter in Thailand dated back to 16th century, the Ban Yipun.

=Europe=

File:Ekohaus1.jpg

==Germany==

  • Düsseldorf has the largest Japanese population in Germany. The Japanese community of Düsseldorf grew from an area Immermannstraße nearby Düsseldorf Central Station, nicknamed "Little Tokyo", where Japanese offices and stores are concentrated. Düsseldorf is home to Japanese companies since the 1960s. Today Düsseldorf has a Japanese international school and a Japanese Temple called Eko Haus, which are both located in Niederkassel.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rga.de/rhein-wupper/warum-japaner-nach-duesseldorf-13595511.html |title=Warum es die Japaner nach Düsseldorf zog |first=Alexander |last=Schulte |date=2020-03-12 |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=Remscheider General-Anzeiger |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029002610/https://www.rga.de/rhein-wupper/warum-japaner-nach-duesseldorf-13595511.html |archive-date=2020-10-29 |url-status=live |language=de |url-access=subscription}}

==United Kingdom==

{{See also|Japanese in the United Kingdom|Japanese in London}}

File:Afternoon-Tea-at-Japanese-Village-Knightsbridge-1886.jpg, 1886]]

  • From 1885 until 1887, in the Victorian era, there was a "Japanese Village" in Knightsbridge, London, organised by Tannaker Buhicrosan[https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2015118936.html "Buhicrosan, Tannaker, 1839–1894"], Library of Congress, accessed 19 September 2020[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45909 British history online], 'Knightsbridge Green Area: Scotch Corner and the High Road', Survey of London: volume 45: Knightsbridge (2000), pp. 79-88{{cite book |last=Cortazzi |first=Sir Hugh |author-link=Hugh Cortazzi |year=2009 |title=Japan in Late Victorian London: The Japanese Native Village in Knightsbridge and 'The Mikado', 1885 |publisher=Sainsbury Institute |isbn=978-0954592110 }}
  • London is home to the largest Japanese community in the United Kingdom, with Acton and Finchley having the higher concentrations of Japanese residents. North London is a popular area in London for Japanese residents to live.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/born_abroad/countries/html/japan.stm|title=Born abroad - an immigration map of Britain: Japan|work=BBC News}}

==France==

{{See also|Japanese in France|Japanese in Paris}}

==Spain==

{{See also|Japanese in Spain}}

Since the late 1970s-early 1980s many Japanese companies chose Spain to set themselves.

==The Netherlands==

=Oceania=

==Australia==

{{See also|Japanese Australians}}

See also

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{Commons category-inline}}
  • [http://japantownatlas.com/ Japantown Atlas] The Japantown Atlas maps nearly two dozen communities in California where Japanese Americans lived and worked prior to World War II.
  • [http://www.californiajapantowns.org/ California Japantowns]
  • [https://www.japanese-city.com/calendar/events/index.php?com=location&c=littletokyo&d=365 Map of Little Tokyo Japantown, Los Angeles]
  • [https://www.japanese-city.com/calendar/events/p/location-japanese-little-tokyo.php?s=name Little Tokyo Japantown Guide]
  • [http://www.sawtelleblvd.com/ Sawtelle Blvd. (West L.A.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518142039/http://www.sawtelleblvd.com/ |date=2008-05-18 }}
  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100128103032/http://www.nijiya.com/store.html Nijiya Market Locations]}} (may give a hint as to the locations of Japanese populations in California)
  • [https://www.academia.edu/5462481/The_Japanese_Ethnopole_as_Determinant_The_Effects_of_the_Japantowns_on_Second-Generation_Japanese-Americans Arnold, Bruce Makoto. "The Japanese Ethnopole as Determinant: The Effects of the Japantowns on Second-Generation Japanese-Americans."]

{{Ethnic enclaves}}