Japanese American Portland: History

In the 1890s, the first generation of landless Japanese farmers arrived in Oregon, hoping for better wages and employment opportunities. Mostly young men, the immigrants toiled building railroads, working in canneries and farming. The backbreaking work and scant wages sidelined many dreams of earning fortunes and returning home wealthy.

Many of these workers decided to forge new lives in Portland. By 1900, about 2,600 Japanese immigrants lived in Oregon, with more than half residing in Portland’s Nihonmachi (Japantown), located in present-day Old Town/Chinatown. Many worked in service industries while others opened shops and restaurants. Some headed east to farm in the Hood River Valley, accounting for 75 percent of the Hood River strawberry harvest by 1920.

By 1940, Nihonmachi boasted more than 100 businesses within a six- to eight-block area, where the Japanese community could buy food, receive medical care, bank and obtain legal assistance. The Japanese-American community had a place to call its own and a place to thrive.

That progress came to a halt on Feb. 19, 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the evacuation and internment of thousands of Japanese-American citizens. Entire families were herded into makeshift quarters at the Portland International Livestock Exposition Center (now known as the Portland Expo Center) before being sent to internment camps throughout the region.

In 1945, when Japanese Americans were allowed to return to their homes, they found most of their belongings gone, including their residences and businesses in Nihonmachi.

Still, the spirit of the Issei prevailed, and Japanese Americans relocated throughout the city and the suburbs, bringing with them the unique cultural heritage that is alive and well in the modern landscape. While not forgetting past injustices, the Japanese community reestablished itself as an immensely important part of the vibrant city of Portland.