At this time, there were about 100 person of Japanese descent in the Philadelphia area. These were mostly college students, sellers of silk and art goods, and workers in the estates of the Main Line. Unlike the west coast JA experience, the east-coaster ivy-leaguers established themselves as engineers, architects, doctors, dentists, and businessmen. Most notably among these JAs were Inazo Nitobe (scholar), Hideyo Noguchi (scientist), Ume Tsuda (educator/founder of Tsuda College for Women), and Yosuke Nakano (TJ Hospital designer).
Wartime
Executive Order 9066 sent 115,000 persons of Japanese descent into an American "diaspora", but as the camps deterioted, the War Relocation Authority (WRA) committed itself to resettlement. Upon transitioning from life in the camps to life in the community, the Nisei (1st American born) began holding socials in an effort held fellows get a solid footing.
Post-WWII
When the displaced JAs were finally allowed to return to the west coast, nearly half did. This left a mix of pre-war east-coasters and post-diaspora west-coasters. In 1947, under the charter set by Mas Satow and Mike Masaoka, the Philadelphia JACL chapter was established.