(
Editor note - We first posted this story 2 years ago,a few of the details have changed, so we thought what the heck, lets do it again) At first glance you'll notice knee deep weeds, garbage, and little trace of what once was the heart of the Nihonmachi or in english Japan Town. Its not hard to find, just look for the freshly plowed earth and overgrown sidewalk but, you better do it quick!
First a little history, in 1885 Tacoma and its civic leaders forced Chinese laborers from the community and burned their homes and shacks near the waterfront and along Opera Alley, as it was felt the current depression and economic hardships in Tacoma were a result of the cheap Chinese labor. So no China Town for Tacoma, the deportee's were taken by train to Portland or Olympia and in some cases forced to walk. Following the deportation, those responsible were charged, but never convicted.
Within a few years and the arrival the railroads, cheap labor was still needed for both the sawmills and agriculture, allowing a different community to assemble and take shape, Japan Town was born - the 
Nihonmachi was here. Most white people in the community were still bitter towards anyone of Asian decent, welcoming the new community and its residents with segregation and discrimination.
In 1889 the Sisson or Astor House opened and was the first and only hotel at the time, allowing Japanese guests at some 15-20 blocks from the Northern Pacific terminus. Only the ground floor remains in the Gordon Swetland photo.
In the 1920's, much of the Nihonmachi and Japanese small businesses flourished, providing farm fresh food from the fertile Puyallup valley and other services the city craved. Many of the "city trades" were directly tied to rural occupations, particularly logging,fishing, and farming.
Businesses such as boarding houses, hotels, restaurants, barber shops, and gambling houses were dependent on the constant traffic of single male laborers who traveled a circuit in Washington and Oregon from one crop to the next, from the Puyallyp Valley to the Yakima and Spokane Valley. The Sisson House, a small hotel in Tacoma, was one such business catering to laborers. Other city businesses were also oriented toward farming and logging interests.
In Tacoma, Fujimatsu Moriguchi a native of Yawathhama Japan, was one such businessman who made and sold fish cakes and other items from the back of his truck to Japanese laborers working in sawmills and fishing camps around Puget Sound. After internment at Tule Lake, California, Mr. Moriguchi relocated his family to Seattle and opened what is now the largest Japanese supermarket in the Pacific Northwest, Uwajimaya.
Whats left on the 1500 block, are crumbling concrete memories hidden away in the grass and blackberry 
vines. Most notable, and visible is the ruin of 1528 Fawcett. A former two story apartment house that in 1940 housed the Tsuchimochi and the Sato families. It's now gone, only the porch and retaining wall remain.
Along this stretch we found 12 concrete reminders of the past, six connected to Japanese families, 4 remaining houses with no connection, and evidence of four smaller structures that probably served as garages. The opposite side of the street shared a equal amount of homes, and 5 Japanese families, those homes have long since been removed, similar to the fate awaiting the concrete reminders on the other side.
On the 1300 block the traces are more recognizable and homes still stand of the former Nihonmachi. The most notable is the home of Jack Sugimoto at 1335 Fawcett. 
The stick framed home was con-structed in 1900 and features a stacked rock entry (shown in photo). This block contains 6 structures still standing of Nihonmachi.
(Story, Gordon Swetland and Chad Schnieder, Photos Stephen Cysewski and Gordon Swetland)
Update May 24th, 2009 - When previously posted this story we had some limited response from the community and a follow-on photo shoot / tour, that a handful of citizens showed up for. The war years were a dark time for Tacoma and the Nionmachi and about wiped it from existence. We at Then & Now recommend you take the stroll on Fawcett, the trail isn't hard to pick up.
