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Sento at Sixth and Main: Preserving Landmarks of Japanese American Heritage
Sento at Sixth and Main Preserving Landmarks of Japanese American Heritage Author:Gail Lee Dubrow, Donna Graves, Gail Dubrow, Karen Cheng The Hashidate-Yu, a Japanese-style public bathhouse, or sento, gave Japanese immigrants and their families a chance to relax and socialize at the corner of Sixth and South Main Streets in Seattle, the heart of the area known as Nihonmachi, or Japantown. There used to be hundreds of bathhouses in Japanese American communities across the United St... more »ates, but the Hashidate-Yu, carefully preserved in recent years, is one of only two of these historic sento that have survived. The details found there are poignant reminders of daily life in Japanese America prior to internment during World War II. Sento at Sixth and Main combines in-depth research on historic places, personal memories, and striking vintage photographs to showcase once-familiar parts of Japanese American life -- bathhouses, community halls, farms, lumber camps, temples, schools, hospitals, midwiferies, and bowling alleys. This exploration of a previously undocumented architectural heritage weaves the loose thread of Japanese American history back into the fabric of public memory. Focusing on ten places significant in Japanese American heritage -- located in Seattle, Auburn, and Selleck in Washington and Sebastopol, San Jose, and Los Angeles in California -- Sento at Sixth and Main also calls attention to the many landmarks awaiting further study and protection.« less