Map of Japantown, Portland, Oregon, ca. 1940, courtesy of Doug Katagiri. Japantown began as a place of hotel rooms, restaurants, barbers, food markets, bathhouses, laundries, and gambling halls. As the community grew and spread, the downtown business district remained Nihonmachi.

The map depicts the central core area, with businesses located in northwest Portland, ca. 1940. It is taken from the booklet A Glimpse of Portland’s Japantown 1940 – A Tour Guide . For more information, please contact the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center at 503-224-1458 or go to www.oregonnikkei.org . No photographs may be reproduced without written permission.