5th and Jackson Landmarks

The intersection of North Fifth and Jackson Streets is home to three key landmarks.  The first is the Issei Voices, a 36 foot horizontal granite monument, that echoes the words and phrases of the first generation Issei pioneers who instilled deep, binding values and traditions in the second generation of Nisei.  On the top of the monument is a timeline of historic milestones in JA history.

The Issei Pioneer stone, an 11,000 pound granite rock from Inujima Island, made the arduous voyage across the Pacific.  This route symbolizes the journey of the Issei immigrants a century ago.  The Issei Stone is a gift from San Jose’s Sister City, Okayama, Japan.  Its strength and durability are a permanent tribute to the courage and perseverance of the Issei pioneers who settled in San Jose’s Japantown.

The Nikkei Lantern is best viewed in the darkness of the night.  Guiding lights along the length of the lantern reflect the optimism of the Nikkei generations, ending at the top with a torch, symbolizing eternal hope.  Etched in the bend of the lantern is ‘February 19, 1942’, the date Executive Order 9066 was signed.  This bend symbolizes the profound stress and dislocations imposed upon Japanese Americans during internment.

Each landmark represents the strong community that resides within Japantown today; some of them were even created by locals such as Ken Matsumoto of ArtObject Gallery.

Civil Liberties Monument

Outside of the Issei Memorial Building is the Civil Liberties Monument.  This monument complements the Internment Ikoi no Ba at the Issei Memorial Building.  It is one of the three monuments commemorating the only three Japantowns remaining in the United States.  The three sides of the monument depict the history and experiences common to all three Japantowns and Japanese-Americans: Immigration and Settlement, World War II Internment, and Celebration of Festivals. Each landmark honors a specific part of the Japanese-American history, and brings the current JA community closer together.

The NCI Program

The Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) is a paid eight-week program designed to foster and connect young leaders to the San Jose, San Francisco and Los Angeles Japantown communities. The NCI program promotes awareness of the three remaining Japantowns and to get youth more involved in the Japanese-American community.

The San Jose NCI program is structured into three phases. During phase one the interns have an opportunity to meet various community leaders within the San Jose Japantown. The second phase, they meet partners who support the community from the San Jose City Council, Assembly, Senate, Congress, the Mayor’s office and the neighborhood association. The last phase the intern is matched with one of the community organizations where they will spend the majority of time working with the organization, the organizations include the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) and Yu Ai Kai (Senior Center).

One day a week is reserved for leadership training, during which all of the Norcal interns gather for workshops and meetings with community leaders. Interns also attend three statewide retreats, one in each Japantown, during which both the Southern California and Northern California interns meet and work together.

If you are a College, University or recent graduate and interested in applying please submit your application no later than Friday, April 5, 2024. The program will run between June 17 through August 9, 2024.

2024 NCI Program Information

• Program Dates: June 17 – August 9, 2024

• Program Locations: San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles

• Program Application for all locations can be found here.

• Application Deadline: Friday, April 5, 2024