Castroville Japanese Language School

Castroville Japanese Language School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Photo in 2012
Location	11199 Geil St., Castroville, California
Coordinates	36°45′54″N 121°45′05″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1936
Built by	Kiezo Motokane and Kobayashi
Architectural style	Hip Temple Roof
NRHP reference No.	95001127
Added to NRHP	October 10, 1995

The Castroville Japanese Language School, also known as the Castroville Nihon Gakko, is a historic building located at 11199 Geil St. in Castroville, California that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

History

It was built in 1936 and served Japanese-American sharecropping farmer families of the area as a school, as a Buddhist temple, and as a community meeting hall.

It was closed just six years later, in 1942, when the Japanese-Americans of the area were interned for the duration of World War II. According to Kunio A. Sumida, who nominated it for NRHP listing, the building "represents and symbolizes the denial of the constitutional rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution."

Description

The building is extremely simple and unremarkable, except perhaps for its hipped roof that may reflect Japanese temple architecture, so its importance is for its association with the Japanese-American community and what it represents to some. At the time of its NRHP nomination in 1995, it was somewhat weathered, but otherwise unchanged from its state in 1942. In a 2012 photo, it is apparent that the exterior of the building has been restored, and there is an interpretative display in front of the building.