The CJACLC’s California Japantown Preservation Committee coordinated the development of a landmark honoring the historic heritage of ethnic Japanese neighborhoods. The design process involved the communities of the California’s three remaining Japantowns in San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.

Each landmark stands 9 feet high and weighs over 1,000 lbs. Its three faces depict the Issei pioneers, WWII internment experience, and current community life.

The landmark was funded by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, with resources from Proposition 40 historical and cultural heritage preservation funds.

Designed by: Louis Quaintance & Eugene Daub
Poem by: Janice Mirikitani
Materials: bronze and stone
Installation:

• Unveiled in San Francisco Japantown’s Peace Plaza in June 2005
• Installed in front of Issei Memorial in San Jose Japantown in the fall of 2005
• Unveiled at the Union Center for the Arts in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles in August 2006