How Ethnicity Shapes Landscapes: Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California

For this particular assignment I chose to discuss Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, California. Although not many Japanese people live here and it is not primarily a residential area, this part of Los Angeles thrives on tourism of Japanese and non-Japanese people from all over.

This part of town is part of a redevelopment of Japanese culture in an attempt to restore the area to its original Japanese heritage. Little Tokyo would fall under the 3^rd type of ethnic landscape patterns in America as its development-- re-development, rather, is a little after the fact. Not many Japanese people live here in the present because they were forced into internment camps during WWII. After Japan’s infamous attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent racial tensions that followed many Japanese people were forced out of this and other public areas of the United States.  Many Japanese people have since settled elsewhere, predominantly into surrounding suburbs. Little Tokyo was later threatened in the late 1960s by the rapid growth of the surrounding aspects of the city. Left to historical neglect and dismay, Little Tokyo was helped out by the mayor and became part of a project known as the Little Tokyo Redevelopment Project. Under this project there was funding for many buildings which would symbolize the Japanese’s ability to overcome obstacles to find their place in American Society (Michael Several, Little Tokyo).

Some of the buildings that are part of this redevelopment project have a very distinct Japanese styling to them. Like this fire lookout tower known to the Japanese homeland as yaguras; this is Japanese for tower or turret. Picture below.

(Photo from <http://media.discovernikkei.org/articles/3497/little-tokyo-yagura-2007.jpg>)

Other very typical pieces of Japanese architecture are this Buddhist temple and this Torii gate (respectively pictured below). These structures both embody Japanese religious values and have great importance in the redevelopment project in order to revamp the area of Little Tokyo and provide historical significance.

(Photo from <http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityprojectca/855386366/sizes/o/in/photostream/>)

(Photo from <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8O8Qdm0L3b9M3ZP1NEAiCFPym_Crxpgvzu6Gi-f_G03IkRi4DLLYziqi75wRHLjxoiPu3-HBRQrutWMTUGInf61S_j04i0TQmUwhZQJmHfJE-DaCeQzVs73B3b4JczzeRvjWbX3PtAEq/s1600-h/little-tokyo-facade.jpg>)

There also tons of pieces of Japanese art that are publicly displayed throughout Little Tokyo.

For example, this is a sculpture of an origami horse in front of a bank in Little Tokyo. Although not created by a Japanese person this sculpture is based distinctly on the Japanese folk-art style of origami.

(Photo from <http://www.publicartinla.com/Downtown/Little_Tokyo/origami_horse.html>)

Want to find an authentic Japanese restaurant? Look no further than Takumi Restaurant. This authentic Japanese restaurant lies within Little Tokyo in LA and serves up sushi with a side of traditional Japanese atmosphere.

Little Tokyo is full of Japanese influences such as Japanese style art and architecture, building names, bilingual atmosphere, and many restaurants that try to bring in tourists and let them get a glimpse of how Japanese influences, through recent redevelopment, have shaped this section of the city of Los Angeles.

References-

Little Tokyo Historical Background: <http://www.publicartinla.com/Downtown/Little_Tokyo/little_tokyo.html>