SF Japantown shops persevere despite 2-year construction and past setbacks

SAN FRANCISCO - The Peace Plaza in San Francisco's historic Japantown is now in the midst of a major construction project, that will pose a challenge to businesses that remain open even as the renovation closes the plaza for an estimated two years. 

The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department is undertaking the $34-million renovation to address the longtime water leakage into the garage below. The project design also includes upgrades to the Peace Plaza with new cherry trees, a visitor seating area, landscaping, lighting, and other features.

It is a concern, however, for businesses who are still trying to survive after the pandemic and the longtime struggle for survival that the Japantown community has faced over the years.

Some store owners say there has been confusion about the construction project closures, and they are concerned that the public might not realize the Japan Center East and West Malls will remain open.

"I've heard from small businesses that a lot of people are confused about which way to enter, so we need to get that taken care of right away so we don't lose the customers coming to Japantown," said Grace Horikiri, Executive Director of the 
Japantown Community Benefit District. 

"It looks as though it's closed off, so we do have customers coming in and asking if the mall is open or closed. So we have to tell them, no it's open," said Philip Ashizawa, who is president and manager of Soko Hardware.

Philp and his wife Eunice Ashizawa are the third-generation to run the family business. 

Soko Hardware's name "Soko" comes from an old name for San Francisco meaning  "mulberry bush harbor." It is one of Japantown's oldest remaining businesses,

"We're in our 99th year, and next year will be our 100th-year anniversary," Ashizawa said.

Ashizawa grew up in Japantown and has seen the community fight for survival over years of forced displacements that pushed generations of Japanese Americans out.

One of the biggest blows to the community came during World War II after Pearl Harbor, when 120,000 citizens and Japanese immigrants were forced by the U.S. Government into incarceration camps throughout the West.  

Linda Mihara is an origami artist and owner of the Paper Tree store in Japantown. Her family was among the residents who were forced to leave.

Her grandparents, Tokinobu and Hideko Mihara, owned an import company called Oriental Culture Books. The family lived and ran their business in a four-story Victorian house with a large gym in the back on Sutter Street.

"My family's been a part of the Japanese American community for over 100 years. So we go back to our great-grandparents, before Japantown was located in this area. Before the earthquake, Japantown was basically based South of Market. And then the earthquake happened, and then the community moved to this location," Mihara said.

"When the internment happened, they put what they could into storage. Unfortunately, that was all looted," Mihara said.

Despite the post-war discrimination and financial setbacks, her family and others returned and worked to rebuild Japantown in its current location.

"We were a community, you know, we had dentists. We had doctors. We had major grocery stores. We had everything we needed," Mihara said.

"After the camps the population of Japanese Americans rose to prewar level, so about 5,000 overall in the San Francisco area," said Rosalyn Tonai, Executive Director of the National Japanese American Historic Society and a member of the Japantown Task Force.

Tonai says even as residents returned, however, city officials were already laying plans for what they called "urban renewal," which would create another massive displacement.

"By the 1950s and 1960s, the plans were already underway to build the shopping mall that you see today," Tonai said.

That redevelopment created the Japan Center Peace Plaza and shopping malls.

It also caused the displacement, however, of thousands of Japantown residents.

"Essentially the government can come in and demand that under public demain you must move. And at that time, there was very little compensation, so if you were a renter or someone who didn't own your property, you were pretty much subject to eviction," Tonai said.

"2,500 families, households were affected," Tonai said. "About 150 businesses affected."

"In the 60s and 70s a lot of the families moved out, so there isn't the concentration of the Japanese community that there once was," Ashizawa said. "When they built the Center they either moved the houses or tore them down."

Many of those who did own property also left Japantown. Some lost land and classic Victorian homes that would be worth millions of dollars today.

"The city bought the property, basically...I mean it was a shame what they actually paid for the building," Mihara said. "It was less than $100,000 for that property." 

"This is Geary expressway and they basically just took a bulldozer and razed the entire neighborhood," Tonai said. "It looked like a bomb hit."

Now, those businesses remaining still worry about the future.

"Just letting people know the mall is open," said Eunice Ashizawa, who says she hopes the city will do more to alert the public that businesses will still be open during the coming years of construction.

Inside the mall, owners of the Sakura Sakura store, Stephen Jordan and his wife Mariko say they love Japantown and their 25-years in business here is a life's work of love, preserving the community and culture.

"I think the appeal of Japantown is there's no other place in San Francisco or other areas that are like this. We have a lot of unique businesses," Jordan said.

Community leaders are hoping the city will help small businesses during the 2-year construction.

"The majority said have more events. So if we can get the city to help us with permits, maybe waive sound permits or whatever,  that's going to be would be very helpful," Horikiri said.  

Looking farther into the future, there is also a hope that the Peace Plaza's renovation is just the beginning of a larger revitalization for Japantown, preserving legacy businesses and bringing more residents back to the community that was designated in 2018 as the Japantown Cultural District by the City and County of San Francisco.https://japantownculturaldistrict.org/

"Hopefully the next generation, my son is working here now and will pick up the baton," Ashizawa said.

"I think it's really important going forward that we have a shared vision about what Japantown will be in the future," Tonai said.

"Most people don't live here. We shop, and we go to work here, but most of us don't live here. It's very expensive to live in San Francisco," Tonai said. "So we want to work closely with the city to bring people back to their old neighborhood, or bring the families back to the old neighborhood and bring young people back so the neighborhood is vibrant once again."

Click on these links for information on San Francisco Japantown and the San Francisco Rec and Parks construction project updates:

Jana Katsuyama is a reporter for KTVU. Email Jana at jana.katsuyama@fox.com or call her at 510-326-5529. Or follow her on Twitter @JanaKTVU. See more of her reports on her bio page here. 
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