Park problem in Little Tokyo
When it comes to the Little Tokyo area in downtown Los Angeles, there is practically nowhere for kids to go outside and play. The area is mostly inhabited by shopping centers and various eateries but there are not many options for recreational play for the youth of the district. This problem has not gone unnoticed however. In a few short years, families and their children will have a whole place dedicated to exercise and play.
The Budokan of Los Angeles is a multi-purpose sports complex that will be built in the heart of Little Tokyo. It will provide a place for children to not only be active and stay healthy, it will also serve as an outlet for the youth to stay connected with their culture and community.
Long before the project was even announced, the district had been trying to revive the area with little idea of what exactly would do the trick. It wasn’t until 1994 that the Little Tokyo Service Center was given the opportunity to find a location to build a facility. The task force took 17 years to find a suitable location when they finally got a lease from the City of Los Angeles on May 17, 2011 for land owned by the city.
The executive director of the Little Tokyo Service Center is Dean Matsubayashi who has focused his efforts on the Budokan and its importance to the area of Little Tokyo. While Matsubayashi was not available for comment, he did say earlier this year that the project was important for Little Tokyo as a whole.
“Budokan is special because its development is crucial to our mission of preserving Little Tokyo as the historical, cultural and symbolic home for the Southern California Nikkei community,” Matsubayashi said in an interview with The Rafu Shimpo.
The Budokan was originally a stadium built for martial arts during the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. The venue being built in Los Angeles will model the original in that it will have areas dedicated to martial arts, but the facilities within the building do not stop there. Also included in the Los Angeles Budokan will be two regulation sized basketball courts built from hardwood donated by the Los Angeles Lakers, a rooftop garden space that will function as an area to host banquets and other large events, and two community rooms that will be used for classes and meeting spaces.
“Budo” means the way of the warrior and the purpose of the facility is to not only give the residents of the district to exercise, but it is also supposed to help connect the youth to the culture of Tokyo itself. One main way that this goal will be reached is through the 16,000 square feet of open space that will be dedicated to martial arts competitions and other similar tournaments. This will help the youth connect to the traditional art forms that were originated in Tokyo and will allow them to relate to their more traditional residents and relatives.
“I’ve always wanted my son to be connected to his Japanese roots, but it’s hard when all the martial arts schools close by are too expensive,” Tiffany Wang, a 25-year-old waitress, said. “It will be nice to have a place where he will not only learn about his culture, but have fun too.”
While the Budokan facility will be unique to Little Tokyo, the district still cannot compete with the other area in Los Angeles in terms of resources for recreation.
“It would be much easier for our family if there was a park in town,” Allen Zhang, a 33-year-old father of three said. “My kids could go there after school or on the weekends instead of having to drive across the city for things like that.”
Across the rest of the city, there are parks in many of the other districts that provide places for children to go out and play in the fresh air or compete in youth soccer, baseball and basketball leagues due to the facilities that are available to them.
That being said, the people of Little Tokyo understand their lack of resources, which is a main reason as to why the Budokan is being built in the first place.
While the Budokan will mostly be used as a place of recreation and serve as a substitute for a traditional green park, it will also be extremely important in the development of the area itself.
Parks across the city of Los Angeles are not only used as a place to kick around a ball or to hike trails, they are used as ways to reach out to the community and put on events. The Budokan will use its classroom space and outdoor garden on the roof to remind the citizens of Little Tokyo that tradition and culture is just as important as anything else when building a strong foundation to a community.
The most important thing that the Budokan will bring to Little Tokyo is stability. The area will now be able to provide its children with a safe place to play and learn about their culture. The facility will provide a place for the residents to have larger events and celebrate their culture. Even though the Budokan is not a traditional park, it serves the same purpose and will help Little Tokyo grow and strive for years to come.
