Editors of Bay Area vernaculars to hold discussion on Nov. 4.

SAN FRANCISCO.—Japanese American newspapers have been a central source of information within the ethnic Japanese community for 120 years. The first Japanese-language newspaper in the United States mainland, published in 1886 in San Francisco, paved the way for many other ethnic Japanese newspapers throughout the United States. For the past 120 years, persons of Japanese ancestry have depended on the Japanese American vernacular as a major source of news, literature, political agendas and causes, and event announcements.

The current English editors of three remaining Japanese American newspapers in Northern California will convene as panelists to discuss the past, present and future of Japanese American vernaculars, Saturday, Nov. 4, from 2 - 4:30 p.m., in the Hospitality Room of Union Bank, located in the mall behind the Union Bank in San Francisco’s Japantown, 1675 Post St.

The program will include J.K. Yamamoto of the Hokubei Mainichi (San Francisco), Kenji Taguma of the Nichi Bei Times (San Francisco), and Jeffrey Kimoto of NikkeiWest (Sacramento).  The panel will be moderated by Rita Takahashi, a professor at San Francisco State University.

Each will provide historical background information about their respective newspapers, current issues the Japanese American newspapers face, and future implications for short and long-term survival of the vernaculars. 

Many Japanese American newspapers began after the publication of the first Japanese-language newspaper in San Francisco, a city which author Katie Kaori Hayashi of “A History of the Rafu Shimpo: Japanese and Their Newspaper in Los Angeles” (1997) labels “the birthplace of Japanese-language newspapers in the United States.”

According to Hayashi, the Japanese-language newspapers “prospered” with the influx of Japanese students in the Bay Area. In her words, “The birth of Japanese-language newspapers is closely connected with Japanese students in San Francisco and Oakland the end of the 19th century.”

Through the years, the fate of Japanese American newspapers was connected to environmental, political, economic, social, legal, and international contexts. Some survived only a short period, while others thrived, evolved, and grew. Northern California situations and contexts yielded strong support for the publication of these Japanese American newspapers. As the Japanese American population changed, from predominantly Japanese-speaking to English-speaking, the newspapers evolved and adapted accordingly. Soon many vernaculars had both Japanese and English language sections.

The program is free and open to the public. The program is sponsored by the Japanese American National Library in San Francisco. For more information, call (415) 567-5006.