A flourishing Japanese American community on Terminal Island that was forcibly swept out of homes and businesses following the bombing of Pearl Harbor is the focus of renewed attention in the city and Port of Los Angeles.
Not much remains. Only a row of vacant commercial buildings still stand at 700-702 and 712-716 Tuna Sts. on the expanse of land that stands between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
And those have been at risk as the port looks for needed cargo, rail and equipment space.
The Terminal Islanders Association, made up of a number of descendants from those families, has been pushing to make sure the remaining buildings are preserved and remembered.
This week, Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker announced he would spearhead a movement in the city to preserve and designate what remains as city historic-cultural monuments.
“Japanese fishermen who settled on Terminal Island in the early 20th century were the initiators and innovators of what eventually became a booming tuna fishing industry in Los Angeles,” McOsker said in a written comment. “Yet, the story of these families is also marked by one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history — a time when an entire community was forcibly removed, their homes and livelihoods destroyed.”
Port spokesperson Phillip Sanfield said talks are underway on the effort.
“The port,” he said in a statement, “is working with representatives of the Terminal Islanders Association on solutions that will recognize and memorialize the Japanese community and this important chapter of our history.”
The story is highlighted in an ongoing exhibit — titled “Taminaru, a Day in the Life of a Japanese American Fishing Village” — at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, Berth 84, at the foot of Sixth Street east of Harbor Boulevard, in San Pedro.
It was also featured in the short documentary “The Smell of Money,” produced by the Port of Los Angeles and directed by Jack Baric.
Tuna Street, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy, was “the heart” of the thriving community and was lined with restaurants, barber shops and pool halls.
“In 1942,” the conservancy article states, “this community was the first in the nation to be forcibly removed and relocated to World War II internment camps. Immediately after the forced evacuation of the residents, their homes were demolished. After the war, many of them returned to find very little of their former fishing village and once-thriving community. The fact that any buildings remain is remarkable.”
The community grew to be about 3,000 by 1940, the article says.
“The building at 700-702 Tuna Street housed the Nanka Company Dry Goods Store, one of many Japanese American businesses located on the street before World War II,” the article says. “It was the area’s only clothing store and reportedly was particularly popular with the women of Fish Harbor.
“The building at 712-716 Tuna Street housed the A. Nakamura Company Grocery Store, one of many groceries located at Fish Harbor,” the story adds.”The proprietor was Akimatsu Nakamura, a Japanese-born American citizen. His family lived nearby at 222-a Terminal Way. As were most of the Japanese American residents of Terminal Island, Mr. Nakamura was arrested by the FBI in 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.”
McOsker’s motion calls for the city’s Planning Department to prepare the application for the Historic Cultural Monument designation that will then be reviewed by the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission. The commission then would submit a recommendation to the Los Angeles City Council for final consideration.
If approved, the buildings would be protected from demolition or significant alteration.
Many of those who were moved to internment camps lost their homes and businesses, which were demolished. The community on Terminal Island was reportedly the first to be evacuated. Even before then President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, all non-native Japanese fishermen and community leaders were taken into custody, and traffic to and from Terminal Island was suspended.
Paul Hiroshi Boyea, a Terminal Islanders Association board member, said in a statement that McOsker’s motion was a welcome move.
“The two historic Terminal Island buildings on Tuna Street represent culture, family and American history that should never be forgotten,” he said in the statement, provided by McOsker’s council office. “They are also the last remaining physical remnants from this important era of Japanese American heritage and their significant contributions to California’s fishing industry.”