November 13, 2003
University to commemorate Japanese Language School
The UW, Tacoma will host an event on Tuesday to commemorate the history of the Japanese Language School building, slated to be torn down this winter.
The event, called “Commemorating the Japanese Language School,” features three activities, all designed to honor the former students and the legacy of the school, as well as to help preserve the rich history associated with the building and the Japanese community that once thrived in downtown Tacoma.
The culminating event is the “Panel of Former Students,” at 5:30 p.m. in the Keystone Auditorium, featuring people who were students of the Japanese Language School before the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The former students will talk about the vital role the school played in Tacoma’s Japanese community and in their lives. Included will be a brief lecture by Michael Sullivan, a local historian who teaches at UW Tacoma. Sullivan will speak about the school’s history, about Tacoma’s pre-World War II Japanese community and about issues surrounding the internment of Japanese-American citizens.
Also on Nov. 18, from 2 to 5 p.m., there will be a festival of Japanese culture, featuring demonstrations and displays of Sumi painting, pottery, martial arts, the tea ceremony and more, in the UWT Academic Building.
The day’s activities begin in the Keystone Auditorium with a lecture from 1 to 2 p.m. by Ron Magden, historian and author of the book, Furusato: Tacoma-Pierce County Japanese 1888-1988. Magden worked with several former students of the Japanese Language School in writing Furusato.
“Commemorating the Japanese Language School” is sponsored by the UWT Arts & Lectures, Asia Pacific Cultural Center, the UWT Pacific Rim Center and the Chancellor’s Task force on Human Diversity. Admission to all activities is free.
The story of the Japanese Language School
The Japanese Language School, which in Japanese was called Nihongo Gakko, was the heart of the Japanese-American community that existed in downtown Tacoma prior to World War II. Children would walk to the Japanese Language School and study a few hours after public school let out, and many community gatherings were held there. As the war began, the school was used to gather and register Japanese-American residents before transporting them to internment campus. After the war, few returned to downtown Tacoma.
Since the mid-1940s, the wooden structure, in the 1700 block of Tacoma Avenue South, has for the most part been abandoned.
UW Tacoma acquired the language school property in the early 1990s as part of its program to purchase land within the 46-acre “footprint” the campus will eventually inhabit. At that time, a study was commissioned to evaluate the building’s potential. Tenants were sought with no success.
More recently, after the City of Tacoma labeled the building a safety hazard, UWT commissioned another study, this one by BOLA Architects of Seattle, a firm known for its expertise and commitment to historic preservation. BOLA determined the building has deteriorated to a point where rehabilitation would have questionable historic preservation benefit. The cost of such a project is estimated at $3 million. The result would be a copy that would not meet the standard to be considered a rehabilitated historic building.
BOLA recommended focusing resources and efforts on preserving the building’s heritage. A commemorative Japanese garden is being planned for the site, to be installed in the future. The Asia Pacific Cultural Center is planning to develop a display about the school featuring historic photos. Two UWT professors, involved with an independent academic project, have been interviewing former students of the school to collect oral histories and plan to compile them into a book.
For more information about the event or UWT’s efforts to preserve the heritage of the school, call 253-692-4663, or visit http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/news.
The Japanese Language School, which in Japanese was called Nihongo Gakko, was the heart of the Japanese-American community that existed in downtown Tacoma prior to World War II. Children would walk to the Japanese Language School and study a few hours after public school let out, and many community gatherings were held there. As the war began, the school was used to gather and register Japanese-American residents before transporting them to internment campus. After the war, few returned to downtown Tacoma.
Since the mid-1940s, the wooden structure, in the 1700 block of Tacoma Avenue South, has for the most part been abandoned.
UW Tacoma acquired the language school property in the early 1990s as part of its program to purchase land within the 46-acre “footprint” the campus will eventually inhabit. At that time, a study was commissioned to evaluate the building’s potential. Tenants were sought with no success.
More recently, after the City of Tacoma labeled the building a safety hazard, UWT commissioned another study, this one by BOLA Architects of Seattle, a firm known for its expertise and commitment to historic preservation. BOLA determined the building has deteriorated to a point where rehabilitation would have questionable historic preservation benefit. The cost of such a project is estimated at $3 million. The result would be a copy that would not meet the standard to be considered a rehabilitated historic building.
BOLA recommended focusing resources and efforts on preserving the building’s heritage. A commemorative Japanese garden is being planned for the site, to be installed in the future. The Asia Pacific Cultural Center is planning to develop a display about the school featuring historic photos. Two UWT professors, involved with an independent academic project, have been interviewing former students of the school to collect oral histories and plan to compile them into a book.
For more information about the event or UWT’s efforts to preserve the heritage of the school, call 253-692-4663, or visit http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/news.
