History Speaks

The history of Japanese-Americans was often marked by prejudice, stoic perseverance and sense of duty to family and heritage, which fostered a resilience that would ultimately spawn a thriving culture. According to the Los Angeles-based Japanese-American Network, the first mass Japanese emigration to U.S. territories occurred in 1868, when 153 “Gannenmono,” as these pioneers became known, were transported to Hawaii sugar plantations. They and their successors endured harsh treatment, meager wages and ubiquitous prejudice.

Later injustices included President Coolidge’s signing of a 1924 immigration bill that restricted Japanese immigration to the United States, and President Roosevelt’s 1942 executive order that established Manzanar and other Japanese-American internment camps that remained through most of World War II. Thankfully, prejudice towards Japanese-Americans gradually subsided after the war, and most enjoyed the fruits of unfettered opportunity.

A 16-sign program at San Francisco’s Japantown History Walk recounts the growth, achievements and struggles of that region’s Japanese community. The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California commissioned San Francisco-based NDD Creative to develop the Walk’s interpretive-graphics package. The program, which designers Tony Kaz Naganuma, Grace Horikiri and Karen Kai developed, references the roles schools, athletic clubs, churches and other cultural institutions played in the communities of the “Issei” (first-generation Japanese immigrants), “Nisei” (their children) and their legacies, as well as their challenges.

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Arrow Sign Co. (Oakland) fabricated the signage and “Shoji” screens with a powdercoated aluminum frame and encased porcelain-enamel panels, which KVO Industries (Santa Rosa, CA) built. Arrow also constructed the “sensu” (fans) that serve as gateway elements from the 49-mile Scenic Drive, which features many of the Bay Area’s historic attractions, into Japantown.

Arrow fabricated the blades from 1-in.-thick, cut aluminum, to which it applied a powdercoated finish and porcelain-enamel overlay. The bases also comprise powdercoated aluminum, and aluminum hemisphere pins join the components. Winsor Fireform (Tumwater, WA) fabricated the porcelain-enamel sensu overlays.