Economic recovery is vital to Japantown's survival.
Japantown Cultural District: Economic Revitalization Through Arts & Culture
To advance strategy efforts in the area of arts, culture, and economic development and revitalization, KOHO strives to continue the long standing traditions of Japantown while designing authentic experiences that reflect our cultural narratives past and present, and attract new audiences to fuel economic revitalization.
KOHO will host curated programs that showcase and develop the talent and skills of Japanese-American creatives and AAPI allies and will activate empty storefronts and public spaces with pop-ups, art exhibitions, panel discussions, and professional development and creative workshops that amplify Japantown’s 117 year old history and narratives of today.
Due to two waves of displacement- first the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII, followed by evictions in the Redevelopment era in the 1960s-70s- many of our Japanese-American community no longer live in Japantown, seeing a boundary shrinkage from 40 blocks in the 1940s to now 9 blocks, with the most recognizable landmarks now our Peace Plaza Pagoda and the Japan Center Malls. KOHO will be a gathering place for the return of Japanese-Americans to Japantown.
A Voice for the People and Strength of Community
Celebrating the ever evolving creative spirit of our Japanese and Japanese-American community, KOHO gives voice to our immigrant ancestors, the strength and resilience of those who endured the incarceration experience of World War II, the residents and businesses displaced during the Redevelopment era in the 1960s-80s, and the narratives of our multi-ethnic, intergenerational community of today, many who are longing for a deeper connection to their heritage, to place, purpose and pride.
KOHO Origin Story
The synergy of KOHO’s founding team is dynamic and diverse. Working in parallel with the branding team, Plinth Agency, we will share progress and infuse themes and ideas that resonate and encourage discussion about intergenerational cultural issues, perceptions, of Japanese-American, Japanese, and American mixed-race experience from the community.
Workshops will engage participants through the creative process to develop a container to hold the many iterations of what it means ‘to create’ in the context of the Japanese and Japanese-American culture, be it music, visual art, dance, or performance art.
The origin of an arts hub was imagined by the community in 2013, and identified as a key strategy of the Japantown Cultural Heritage and Economic Sustainability Strategy (JCHESS) report. This report was the result of three years of town-hall community meetings culminating in a 5-year economic preservation and development plan officially endorsed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission, and Historic Preservation Commission.
KOHO was created as a program of the Japantown Cultural District (JCD), who is funded by the Mayor’s office of Housing and Community Development to address cultural heritage preservation and work with City agencies “to celebrate and strengthen the unique cultural identities of San Francisco’s neighborhoods; to preserve and promote diverse communities cultural assets and to ensure that residents and institutions thrive and, to formalize partnerships between the City and communities.”
In 2021, the JCD conducted a series of focus groups to hear from our Japantown intergenerational artist community of what a Co-Creative Hub would look like today. The results informed the creation of KOHO with a new logo and website launch by the end of that year.
KOHO is a Japanese word defined as Public Relations or Mountain Peak depending upon which kanji is chosen. Both definitions fit the mission of KOHO. As mountain peak, KOHO serves as a beacon for the return of our displaced families. As Public Relations, KOHO shares widely Japantown’s history and narratives of the past, present and hopes for the future, to instill pride within our community and attract new audiences.
On June 23, 2022, the KOHO Launch Party featured over 20 Japanese-American vendors, artists and entertainers and attracted 1200+ participants, many who claimed pride and ownership of a new sense of belonging in our Japantown community. Due to the program’s success, the Japantown Task Force/Japantown Cultural District Board of Directors voted to officially release governance of KOHO to allow the program to become an independent organization. In April 2023, KOHO became a fiscally-sponsored organization under Kultivate Labs.