A Neighborhood Lost: Sacramento’s Japantown

A Neighborhood Lost: Sacramento’s Japantown is a 10-minute-long film that was selected as one of the finalists by Access Sacramento for their A Place Called Sacramento 2016 Film Festival. The documentary tells the history of Sacramento’s former Japantown from its beginnings as a stopping point for local Japanese workers wishing to buy goods and services that catered to their needs to the forced relocation of its residents and the destruction of the neighborhood under the policy of Redevelopment in the late 1950s. Sacramento’s Japantown was home to thousands of Japanese immigrants and hundreds of businesses making it one of the largest Japantowns in the state. The growth of Sacramento’s Japantown was a clear indication of the success that many Japanese experienced and through their efforts contributed to the growth of Sacramento.

[@Bajabob69]

Thank you for the wonderful film. I am learning so much about our lost culture.

[@markphenry03]

Thank you, great background. Wish 'J Town' was still around, looked a hella lot more fun than the mall

[@leebachelor3484]

Great job, Dym-Sensei! I learned many new things about Sacramento, despite living here most of my life. Keep up the great work.

[@ShapeShifter499]

Nearly wiped out by a terrible time in past. Now there is only a shell of what it used to be over on 10th. It's sad, if you never lived here or never bothered to care about the history of Sacramento chances are you'd never know a Japantown existed here.

[@adaniel2224]

Yeah, they nearly whipped us dafuq out in the 40's during ww2. I was born in 89 and there was a good chance I coulda been speaking Japanese. I don't condone asian discrimination I'm just pointing out in the 50's people surely didnt care about Japanese ...all things considered.

[@hblee88]

Great job.

[@Dymsensei]

Thanks for watching!

[@staceparsons3034]

This was very interesting, but sad at the same time. The city seems want to continually redevelop into something it can never be... a large metropolitan area. I am sorry that so many Japanese people were affected by the greed and discrimination of the political leaders of that time, and by society in general. Please keep making informative videos such as this one. They keep history alive...

[@KeithAvila]

We need to apologize to the native Americans for pushing them out to build a city. And the native Americans need to apologize to all the animals whom homes were destroyed because they were hungry. And the animals need to apologize to the grass for stepping on them and eating them all the time. And the grass needs to apologize to the earth for stealing the soil to make a blade of grass. And the soil of the earth needs to apologize for taking up space. And space needs to apologize too. I haven’t figured out what space needs to apologize for but being apologetic and making apologies is the new trend so we’ll just have to come up with something.

[@intuitivelyspeaking1773]

Just image your federal court is built over their cemetery

[@staceparsons3034]

@@intuitivelyspeaking1773 I did not know that. I work at the old city cemetery and I’ve heard of things getting built over on gravesites too.

[@MMinerva07]

Brilliant! Thank you!

[@Mittsume3]

Thank you so much for this. It's very interesting.

[@wilsonz9232]

Nicely put together video! Thank you

[@Dymsensei]

Thanks for watching!

[@SooziinCa]

Re: The Wakamatsu Tea & Silk Farm; As a lifelong resident of El Dorado County, who was raised in the Coloma Valley, I personally bestow MUCH gratitude to the young Okei-San, the past & present Veercamp families & the American River Conservancy for saving & protecting this historic, rare & gorgeous portion of California.
At ANY season, when you arrive @ the top of the soft & sloping hill which peers into the Coloma Valley, I will tell you that if there is a Heaven, this is truly what Heaven will look like!

[@MicDiazPresents]

It would be great if a lot of people would see this movie. What streets were in Japantown? I'd like to go around the neighborhood and see what it's like now. Thank you!

[@aaronscalabrini8725]

Interesting born and raised since Sacramento since 1970 just the Japanese where put in the Rios Consumes area Camp for being in the Sacramento area so now I know…..

[@myrtleman5885]

And Kohler Camp off of Roseville Rd. In-between Foothill Farms and North Highlands.

[@ApartmentKing66]

Wonder if Sara Matsui is any relation to the late Bob Matsui.

[@intuitivelyspeaking1773]

They always stealing land