Sports in Japantowns

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San Jose Asahi Baseball Team, 1925

Sports in Japantowns were a major pastime for many Japanese Americans. Two of the most popular sports were baseball and sumo wrestling and many Japantowns had their own local tournaments and teams that would compete against other Japantowns throughout California. Baseball proved to be a good way for Japanese Americans to interact with Caucasians and worked to break down cultural barriers between the different groups. The practice of sumo wrestling acted as a way for Japanese Americans to connect with their roots in Japanese culture and tradition. With the interment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the destruction of many Japantowns from urban development projects of the 1950s and 60s led to a decline in both sumo wresting and baseball in Japanese communities.