Issei Garden

Issei Garden stands as a quiet, deliberate marker of history in a neighborhood that has seen its landscape transformed by force. The garden is located at the entrance to Cottage Row, a historic strip of nineteenth-century homes that remains one of the few areas in this part of the city to escape the widespread urban redevelopment of the nineteen sixties. It was built to honor the Issei, the first generation of Japanese immigrants who established this community following the nineteen hundred and six earthquake. You will notice the stone wall design, which mimics the foundations of traditional Japanese castles and symbolizes the collective strength required to build a foundation for a new community.