page_title: History of the Japanese in Los Angeles
section_title: Notable residents
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Japanese in Los Angeles / Notable residents
caption_attribution_description: English: John Naka with the bonsai Goshin John Y. Naka North American Pavilion, National Arboretum.
context_page_description: There is a Japanese American and a Japanese national population in Los Angeles and Greater Los Angeles. Japanese people began arriving in the United States in the late 1800s and have settled in places like Hawaii, Alaska, and California. Los Angeles has become a hub for people of Japanese descent for generations in areas like Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights. As of 2017, Los Angeles has a Japanese and Japanese American population was around 110,000 people.
context_section_description: John F. Aiso (1909–1987), judge
  Brittany Ishibashi (born 1980), actress (Orange County)
  Lance Ito (born 1950), judge
  Shoson Nagahara, writer
  John Naka (1914–2004), horticulturist
  Kyle Nakazawa (born 1988), soccer player
  Isamu Noguchi (1949–1988), artist & architect
  Thomas Noguchi (born 1927), medical examiner-coroner
  Yuji Okumoto (born 1959), actor
  Jolene Purdy (born 1983), actress (half-Japanese) - From Torrance
  James Shigeta (1929–2014), actor
  Miiko Taka (born 1925), actress
  George Takei (born 1937), actor
  Paul Terasaki (1929–2016), scientist
  Tamlyn Tomita (born 1966), actress
  Miyoshi Umeki (1929–2007), Academy Award-winning actress
caption: John Naka with his masterpiece Goshin at the United States National Arboretum
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