Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/808617
G oro Yamashita remembers running up and around the steps of Watson- ville's Buddhist temple when he was younger. The Watsonville he knew as a child was a hub for Japanese culture, where many Japanese and Japanese- Americans settled and raised a family. But now, the 64-year-old Yamashita says the city has changed much since then. Much like every city across the county and the country, Watson- ville's identity and demographics have changed through the decades as old families grow and move and new families come. While the city is known as a main hub for Hispanic culture in the county, it was once a hub for Japanese culture. Yamashita and a slew of others remember a Watsonville that had a "Japantown" nestled near Main Street and Riverside Avenue. Inside the organiza- tion's headquarters off Blackburn Street, there are maps that show the reach in Watsonville. Beyond the businesses in town, they also had a strong presence in South County's agricul- tural scene. Many in the com- munity think refer to themselves by genera- tions. The Issei genera- tion were the first wave to arrive in the U.S. from Japan. Through a series of political maneuvers, laws and discrimination, this generation was barred from becoming natural- ized citizens and own- ing land. The Nissei — or second genera- tion — were American citizens because they were born in the U.S. Historian Sandy Lydon, author of "The Japanese in the Mon- terey Bay Region," said there is enough content for a two-semester course on Japanese heritage and history in the area. The Japanese carved out a niche in the Pajaro Valley farming industry, moving from laborers to property leasers to land owners. But with that heri- tage comes one of the biggest blemishes in American History. Few can talk about the history without talk- ing about the intern- ment of anyone with cultural ties to Japan in the 1940s following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Mas Hashimoto has made it a point to tour schools to talk about his time in the camps. He doesn't think of it as an internment camp though, instead think- ing of it as incarcera- tion. "I was a P.O.W.," he said. "Held by my own country." Fred Oda said he remembers his family being forced to leave their barber shop busi- ness and home. Thanks for the work of a family lawyer, Oda's father was able to keep the busi- ness and returned to cutting hair on Main Street. Others weren't as fortunate. Goro Yamashita's father and uncle ran a Japanese market called Pajaro Valley Fish Market on Main Street. After being held in the camps for the dura- tion of World War II, the brothers returned to find the business operating under a new tenant, Yamashita said. They started from scratch again, working jobs to save enough money to build a new market from the ground up and opened it at 114 Union St. By Calvin Men Japanese CommunityRemains Strong in Watsonville Campbell 408-378-4921 900 DELL AVE. Morgan Hill 408-779-7368 95 E. MAIN AVE. Hollister 861-638-1999 2610 SAN JUAN RD. Salinas 831-424-7368 210 W.MARKET ST. Santa Clara 408-727-0822 2550 LAFAYETTE ST. Santa Cruz 831-477-7133 3700 SOQUEL AVE. Watsonville 831-722-0334 285 W. BEACH ST. • AIR COMPRESSORS • AUTO TOOLS • CHAIN SAWS • GENERATORS • GARDEN TOOLS • LOG SPLITTERS • MIXERS • FORKLIFTS • MANLIFTS • LIGHT TOWERS • REACH LIFTS • BACKHOES • TRUCKS • TRAILERS www.AToolShed.com 1-800-A-TOOL-SHED WE DELIVER equipment rentals & sales we pay the sales tax on rentals! PHOTOS DAN COYRO - SANTA CRuz SeNTiNel continued on next page