Many people driving by elegant Japantown appreciate the graceful architecture of the pagodas and fountains but do not know much about the Japanese community that has long been a vibrant part of San Francisco. Japantown--one of only three left in this country--began as Nihonjinmachi, or "Japanese People's Town," after the first Japanese arrived here in 1869. As their numbers increased, institutions arose to serve them, including churches, schools, and various civic and social organizations. The population drifted through various parts of the city and finally settled in the Western Addition after the 1906 earthquake.

Named Best of Debut of the Year by Suspense Magazine and the winner of the Barry Award for Best Debut Novel.​ In this “sophisticated international thriller” (The New York Times Book Review), an American antiques-dealer-turned-reluctant-private-eye must use his knowledge of Japanese culture to unravel a major murder in San Francisco—before he and his daughter become targets themselves. San Francisco antiques dealer Jim Brodie receives a call one night from a friend at the SFPD: an entire family has been senselessly gunned down in the Japantown neighborhood of the bustling city. As an American born and raised in Japan and part-owner of his father’s Tokyo private investigation firm, Brodie has advised the local police in the past, but the near-perfect murders in Japantown are like nothing he’s ever encountered. With his array of Asian contacts and fluency in Japanese, Brodie follows leads gathered from a shadow powerbroker, a renegade Japanese detective, and the elusive tycoon at the center of the Japantown murders along a trail that takes him from the crime scene in California to terrorized citizens and informants in Japan. Step by step, he unravels a web of intrigue stretching back centuries and unearths a deadly secret that threatens not only his life but also the lives of his entire circle of family and friends. “Readers will want to see more of the talented Jim Brodie, with his expertise in Japanese culture, history, and martial arts” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

"The Japanese started to arrive in San Jose, California, around 1890 in the Heinlenville area, which was once on the outskirts of the city. Many of the businesses that the Japanese opened would serve the needs of the growing Japanese population, who came to the Santa Clara Valley to take advantage of opportunities in the agricultural industry. Out of 46 Japantowns, only three remain in California. San Jose's Japantown is unique in that it is the only surviving Japantown that has remained in its original location. Today, San Jose's Japantown is a thriving and evolving mix of traditional and contemporary arts, culture and lifestyle."--Cover.

A renowned chef and physician shares her secrets to a healthy life in this cookbook filled with healthy recipes that will fuel and energize your body and mind. "I like to think of a spicebox as the cook's equivalent of a doctor's bag--containing the essential tools to use in the art of cooking. Learning to use spices is the best way to add interest and vibrancy to simple home cooking."—from the Introduction In her first cookbook, chef and physician Linda Shiue puts the phrase "let food be thy medicine" to the test. With 175 vegetarian and pescatarian recipes curated from her own kitchen, Dr. Shiue takes you on a journey of vibrant, fresh flavors through a range of spices from amchar masala to za'atar. With a comprehensive "Healthy Cooking 101" chapter, lists of the healthiest ingredients out there, and tips for prevention, Spicebox Kitchen is a culinary wellness trip you can take in your own kitchen.

A 1.48-square-mile piece of unincorporated Los Angeles County when it was annexed by the City of Los Angeles in 1922, tiny Sawtelle has lived very large in the hearts and minds of Japanese Americans. Their homes, livelihoods, religions, businesses, language, and other ethnocentric and social involvements are rooted in the area, with the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle as the cultural nexus. Bisected by Sawtelle Boulevard, this particular Japantown flourished through a close-knit network of immigrants who were denied citizenship until 1952 and were excluded by law from land ownership. Only through second-generation, American-born children could they buy real property. These vintage images--collected from local families, businesses, and organizations--provide rare glimpses into the Japanese immigrant experience in Los Angeles.

In San Francisco they have a Japantown. The history is very fascinating. You will learn the ends and outs of Japantown not just in San Francisco but all over America and how it got started. Also the Japanese immigration.

On June 29, 1776, Fr. Francisco Palou dedicated the first site of Mission San Francisco de Asis on the shores of Dolores Lagoon. At the time, it was a just a patch in the village of Chutchuii, the home of the Ohlone people, and Palou could never have foreseen the vibrant city that would eventually spring up around the humble settlement. The final mission building, popularly known as Mission Dolores and San Francisco's oldest complete structure, was dedicated on August 2, 1791, at what became Sixteenth and Dolores Streets. After the gold rush, the district around the mission began its dramatic evolution to the diverse area we know today, a bustling mix of immigrants from other states, Europe, and South and Central America.