Day 126: Japanese YWCA, San Francisco, California
đź“ŚAPIA Every Day (126) - The 1830 Sutter Street building in San Francisco, California, home to the Japanese YWCA, is historically significant due to its connections to the Japanese American community and its broader social impacts. The building's history begins in 1912 when Issei women, facing exclusion from mainstream YWCA facilities due to segregationist policies, founded an independent Japanese YWCA. This organization aimed to provide social services specifically for Japanese women and girls.
Due to the 1913 Alien Land Law, which prohibited Japanese immigrants from owning property, the Issei women were unable to purchase land themselves. They received assistance from the San Francisco YWCA, which agreed to hold the property in trust for the Japanese YWCA. The funds for this purchase were raised within the Japanese community, demonstrating a collective effort to establish a permanent home for their organization.
In 1932, after the original structure was destroyed, architect Julia Morgan was commissioned to design the new building. The 1830 Sutter Street Building includes a dormitory, meeting rooms, offices, a kitchen, and an auditorium. The auditorium features a unique Noh theater stage, the only one in the western United States, used for performing classical Japanese dramas. The building also includes a tokonoma, a special alcove for tea ceremonies, and decorative wooden panels known as ranma, designed by artist Chiura Obata.
During World War II, the Japanese YWCA's activities were disrupted under Executive Order 9066. Many of the original founders did not return to San Francisco after the war, and knowledge of the land trust was nearly lost. In 1996, when the San Francisco YWCA attempted to sell the property, academic researchers and community activists uncovered documents proving the original trust agreement. The Soko Bukai, an organization of Japanese Christian Churches, along with other activists, fought a legal battle to enforce the trust and secure the property for the Japanese American community. This effort culminated in a 2002 settlement that allowed Nihonmachi Little Friends (NLF) to purchase the property. Nihonmachi Little Friends, a nonprofit childcare organization, continues the legacy of community service established by the Issei women. The Japanese YWCA building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
LEARN MORE:
National Park Service: Japanese YWCA
San Francisco Planning Department: National Register Nomination Case Report
San Francisco Heritage: Community Voices: Historic Preservation and a Community Legacy
Clio: Former Japanese YWCA of San Francisco: Issei Women's Legacy
California Japantowns: Japanese YWCA Building / Nihonmachi Little Friends
Nihonmachi Little Friends: Our History
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