JANUARY 2019 / ZINE #003 A YEAR IN LITTLE TOKYO WHAT IS TAKACHIZU? A YEAR IN The Japanese words Takara (Treasure) and Chizu (Map) join to form Takachizu (Treasure map). Takachizu was a LITTLE TOKYO temporary community “show & tell” gathering space designed to identify and reflect on that which is most valuable, celebrated, and most in need of protection in Little Tokyo.

Day of Remembrance During 2016, we conducted dozens of WINTER SPRING workshops with residents, workers, shoppers, and visitors to Little Tokyo. Participants brought in “treasures” that represented Little Tokyo’s values to them. These treasures were shared Shinnenkai in a group setting, documented, and then added to a temporary exhibition Hinamatsuri and online archive. VC Film Festival The gathered treasures will help give guidance and focus to a multi- Oshogatsu, New Years Kodomo No Hi/ Children's Day year planning initiative of Little Tokyo Service Center and Sustainable Little Tokyo. Matsuri at Centenary

The full archive of collected treasures are shared online at Obon Festivals takachizu.org and selections will Bonnenkai be presented in themed zines like Delicious Little Tokyo this one.

This zine showcases treasures that illustrate the festivals, traditions, Takachizu was developed and Week and events that give an annual rhythm produced by artist Rosten Woo FandangObon to Little Tokyo. with Maya Santos and design by Tiffanie Tran and Tom Kracauer.

Haunted Little Tokyo

Takachizu is a project of Sustainable Little Tokyo initiated by +LAB, LTSC’s creative community development strategy utilizing collaboration

Maryknoll Shotokan and experimentation to advance Little Tokyo’s power over its future. FALL Teriyaki Bingo Fundraiser SUMMER 2 3 Treasure #000 OSHOGATSU This treasure added by Toshio Handa TRE

I became a member of the Japanese Chamber terrorism, and it caused a real slow down I'm a member of a calligraphy school. of Commerce in early 2000 and started to of business, including Little Tokyo. It This year I went on the stage with my work for the Oshogatsu new year project became like a ghost town. So we started fellows to do a demonstration. I am from since 2006. In the past I would go on this event to revitalize Little Tokyo. Japan, so it stimulates my culture, my vacation, but since 2006 I no longer sense of heritage. In about 2010, I took ASU travel. From November to December I have When I started working with this project, my two grandchildren to volunteer. We lots of community meetings to prepare. the Doubletree was the New Otani, a were in charge of a booth to sell drinks. We raise the flag, but it’s joined by famous Japanese hotel with Japanese I was very happy to have them involved. all participants. The purpose is to management staff. They were very I felt somehow this way heritage is vitalize Little Tokyo. First to provide cooperative with us and provided space transmitted from one generation to the opportunities and services to develop for us. We used to make mochi and the next. That's how I felt. business in our community, and also to hotel provided the entire kitchen for preserve our cultural heritage. us. Later on they sold it. A very large I think we will have a large audience RES hotel like Doubletree doesn’t care that as we continue to become more well- In Japan, January 1st is the most sacred much about what we do. So the situation known. However people who organize and event. They celebrate January 1st, 2nd, and is quite different; these days we set up promote will hopefully get more Japanese 3rd as three happy days with January 1st outside. Things keep changing and we have and involved. Every The New Year is marked by as the most important. Our event focuses to cope. Lots of changes but gradually year we have an influx of Japanese from Oshogatsu, a community-wide on January 1st. The event involves lots of we saw an increase in visitors. In the Japan but they are not quite interested celebration organized by the cultural activities, dances, drums, paper old days we saw Japanese and Japanese in getting involved with the Japanese Japanese American Chamber art, Japanese calligraphy. Americans. But nowadays the majority of culture scene. When they leave Japan visitors are just... American people. they have ambition to know about foreign of Commerce. In 1990 there was a worldwide economic People seem to know that on January 1st, culture, that’s why they left Japan but crash and in 2001 a lot of fear of if I go there, something's going on. we can involve more Japanese Americans. 4 5 Treasure #126 Treasure #046 SHINNENKAI (LTBA) EVACUATION ORDER

Photo by Mickie Okamoto This treasure added by Steve Nagano

Newly installed members of the Little Tokyo Business Association Evacuation Order is important to me

(LTBA) show their state certificates of appreciation. Held nationally throughout and almost all Japanese in America. February, the Annual Day of It not only destroyed our communities, Front row, left: Joanne Kumamoto, Tomoko Omura, Yuriko Shikai, but also in many ways today, binds Remembrance commemorates Yoko Kawaguchi, Yoshiko Ueda, Ellen Endo, Assemblyman Miguel us together. Our people's common Roosevelt's Executive Order Santiago, Mike Okamoto, Tamako Henken, Haru Takehana. - experience, as devastating as it was, 9066. It forced almost 120,000 is a common thread through our history Back row, left: Tetsu Shiota, Hiroshi Yamauchi, Doug Aihara, Americans of Japanese ances and Little Tokyo's history. Chris Komai, Thornton Dickerson, Paul Abe, Edwin Takahashi, try from their homes and into and Hironori Yonezawa. federal detention camps.

6 7 Treasure #125 HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE

would be respectful and finally, after, didn’t drive. So when I came here and I she would say ‘I haven’t much English. began I only came here as a chauffeur. I’m a Buddhist. I’m still studying. When I’m finished, then I will learn your But when I began to listen to the Buddha religion!’ The studying of course, never teachings here, I felt very comfortable. ends. I appreciate Buddhism as it is And it appealed to me. I felt comfortable presented here. and I recognized that what I thought was quaint in my father was actually a It wasn’t that I rejected Christianity reflection of his Buddhist background. per se, except that I always felt I was He would say ‘Let’s not say that flower a hypocrite. That I was not Christ-like. died. Let’s just say that flower has But the real reason I came here, and I’ve completed its bloom, life keeps going’ told this to Rimban, was when my husband I’d say ‘isn’t daddy cute.’ Or he’d say died after an illness. I wanted to spend that his old car had served him well, I’d time with my mother. Because my father think ‘It’s a car it’s a machine.’ But he had passed on. And one way I could be always expressed... Gratitude. I began with her and be of any help to her was to recognize him and the manner in which to drive her to the temple because she they lived their lives. Little Tokyo's many Temples and Churches create the continuity Treasure #127 of community life. Group treasure OSAISEN ENVELOPE Well I am an interloper here because I don’t know about the rest of you but I I did not have the history that all of have found that in the Buddhist tradition My memory is of Hanamatsuri at Nishi. you do. Because in fact I did not become there is an openness and a lack of fear After our service, we had a donor that affiliated with Higashi until after my regarding spiritual or religious life. would give us a little coupon — a little father died and then my husband died. My parents never said that Buddhists were 25 cent coupon but this went a long In fact, I was sent to a Presbyterian better than anyone or that you had to way back in the sixties. So for all of Church by my father who was a very devout be careful about this religion or that us kids who grew up in the sixties, we Buddhist! At some point as an adult, religion. They always admired people who all remember getting those tickets and Caucasian friends asked me why did you were passionate about their spiritual running out of the main Hondo after the go to a Christian church? I said I don’t lives. service and getting our goodies. The sad know... my father told me to! So I asked thing is that our temple has moved to my mother. My father had died by that For instance, when people would come to First and Vignes and I feel like we lost time. And her answer was that my father the door. To proselytize, my younger our connectivity to LT when we moved to very much admired the Japanese-American sister would say ‘just close the door!’ our present location. Before, we used to minister of the Christian church and felt And my mother would say ‘no these people walk right outside our door and we’d be in that anything he taught me would benefit are earnestly trying to share their all of the businesses and when we moved we me as a human being. For which I was very information and it takes a lot of guts to became more of a commuter temple which is grateful. do that — to go from door to door.’ So she kind of sad — though our temple was able Group treasure to grow. 8 9 Treasure #126 Treasure #042 SUNDAY SCHOOL VC FILM FESTIVAL

Group treasure

What I brought was my Buddhist Sunday meeting and they had a big Chego parade school gathas book. This one is to commemorate the location. We had a This treasure added by Abe & Francis at Visual Communications interesting because it has hiragana lot of kids in Sunday school. I think the and katakana and romanji. I know this enrollment was like 500. To me it’s kind This is a postcard from the first time I ever volunteered/ is not the first one, I know they have of sad, because I see like 50 kids in our worked at a film festival. VC FilmFest (now known as LA Asian many editions. This was from when I was whole Sunday school but the times are an assistant to the nursery class, when different. But back in the old days this Pacific Film Fest) was my point of entry to JTOWN; well that I was a senior in high school. So some was the only Buddhist temple. and LTD's dance crew competition, VIBE. It was the family-like- time in the '50s. When I look at this spirit at Visual Communications (VC) that kept me coming back now I think about all the kids that went It would be thrilling to see that many through the system. I think ours started or even half that number attending our to events in the neighborhood. As a FilAm from Long Beach, JTOWN in 1917. It started in Yamata Hall, this temple. But on the other hand it is in really contributed to my identity as an API human. I'm forever an indication that Japanese Americans building they leased the 2nd floor, the thankful to the universe for pointing me here. 3rd floor was a gambling hall. So on are more integrated into society. There Saturday you’d gamble and come down on are so many activities, as you say, that Sunday to ask for forgiveness. It was at are now available, where then there were not. And one did not feel welcome nor Central and Jackson. That’s all freeway For many others, connections now. This was the first gathering and comfortable in many situations where at this first one, in 1917, that was the that is not the case now. So there is no to Little Tokyo are maintained first place that they actually had a need to seek out people who look like you through culture. necessarily. 10 11 Treasure Treasure Treasure #040 #124 KOYASAN’S #176 CHIBI-K/ ZENSHUJI OBON CARNIVAL FLYER STAGE CHILDREN'S DAY

OBONs are Buddhist - festivals celebrating history and commu nity. A prominent feature of an Obon is a Bon Odori dance.

Group treasure This treasure added by JACCC

This is a picture of the Four The Chibi-K Kids for Kids Leaves. They were the first Fun Run was a popular event boy band in Japan. One was a of the annual Children’s Day gymnast and would do these Celebration at the Japanese dance routines. Misora Hibari American Cultural and also came. Koyasan functioned Community Center. Although almost as a community theater JACCC no longer hosts Chibi-K, in a way, before there was they continue to celebrate This treasure added by Sunil Vernekar an Aritani. Children’s Day through the annual Fiesta Matsuri. This flyer of the 58th Obon Carnival from Zenshuji Soto Mission. Zenshuji is the flagship temple in North America for Soto Zen. www.jaccc.org The carnival is a fundraiser for the temple. A Buddhist festival that shares food, entertainment, and a Buddhist service with Children's Day the community. A yearly event that brings a wonderful feeling in is May 5th! Little Tokyo. Flyer design by Atsuko Kubota. 12 13 Treasure #088 Treasure #018 SAKURA TREES MY MOM, TWIN SISTER AND I AT THE NISEI WEEK PARADE

Started in 1934, Nisei week has had many forms and holds many traditions. Held in

This treasure added by Amy Honjiyo the height of Summer, it's one of the longest This treasure added by running and biggest celebrations of the year. Our Metro center is moving from one corner to another. There Kimberly Kawasaki were sakura trees that were planted at the original station and because they were moving they dug them up and were just going to let them die. They didn’t have any idea what to do. So the I would come to Little Tokyo with my mom and twin sister to 16 trees were moved to this parking lot here. There’s maybe 13 dance in the parade. We would come weeks prior to learn the that survived that are now planted in Zenshuji’s garden, so dances and enjoy our soda during intermission. These are fond it’s going to have that history. And as you walk up, there’s one memories I have growing up, and am grateful that my parents with a little card on it because an orphanage in Japan, in the helped grow my connection to Little Tokyo from an early age. Tohuko area, adopted the trees in the honor of the person who I look forward to doing the same and passing on those memories started the orphanage. to my own, new family.

14 15 Treasure #121 ONDO DANCING BACHI

Nisei Week is an annual festival held in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles every summer in August. It is described as “the opportunity for people of all backgrounds to celebrate Japanese heritage and culture”. One of the main events is the Nisei Week Parade. In this parade they have martial arts dojos, celebrities, community heroes, players, pageant queens, etc. One of the main participants in the parade are the Japanese ondo dancers. The professional Japanese dance troupes dance the different dance for that particular year. There is also or there was also a section for people from the public to dance.

I used to dance with my grandmother and mom during the 70’s, and we were three generations of Japanese-Americans dancing in the parade. My submission to Takachizu are the bachi or sticks that my grandma and mom helped me to make. They are covered with red and white ribbon and have bells and tassels on the ends. Whenever I think of the time I spent dancing in the parade with my mom and grandmother, I think of these sticks. It is also an important time for me because it was when my mom and grandmother first taught me about our Japanese heritage. We spent a lot of time in Little Tokyo going to events such as Nisei Week to connect ourselves to our cultural identity. I felt that in part because my grandmother and mother had experienced a lot of racism and discrimination especially during WWII and going to the internment camps, they wanted to prepare me for any racism or discrimination that I might encounter as I grew up. Because of this, although I have experienced racism and discrimination, I have never felt ashamed to be Japanese-American. This is also why I volunteer for Little Tokyo. I hope that somehow, I can help in preserving an ethnic neighborhood that could provide a place for people to connect to their cultural identity.

This treasure added by Shelly Niimi

16 17 Treasure #036 Treasure #138 PICTURE OF GEORGE NAGATA, SHOTOKAN 75TH NW PIONEER

Group treasure

You know we started on Thursday night and we wash and marinate the chicken for three days Little Tokyo residents in This treasure added by Kent Marume - before we cook it. So it's not Photo by Marc Amba the know look forward to the Shotokon (mar phony sauce going on top. NW Parade 2015. San Diego resident, George Nagata, rides in the tial arts) annual Teriyaki 75th Annual Parade. This image is important to me because this Bingo BBQ. summer marked my gateway and formal entry to Little Tokyo. I started working in Little Tokyo in November of 2015 (JACCC) and worked/volunteered for Kizuna.

18 19 Treasure #137 FUJIMA KANSUMA KAI CLASSICAL DANCE Madame Kansuma, who is 99, has been During World War II, Kansuma performed involved with Nisei Week for more than 80 and taught classical dance to lift the years. The legendary Japanese classical spirits of fellow incarcerees at the dance instructor joined in the closing Rohwer concentration camp in Arkansas and ceremony festivities, accompanied by her other camps. daughter Miyako Tachibana, who was Nisei Week choreographer in 2014. In her long and distinguished career, Madame Kansuma has taught more than Tachibana said that serving as choreo- 2,000 dancers, 48 of whom have been grapher for next year’s parade is the granted professional standing by kabuki best way for her mother to celebrate her grandmasters. Her troupe, Fujima Kansuma 100th year. Kai, has performed extensively, including in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics opening, “She sees this community as HOME and she the 1980 Tournament of Roses Parade, has taught here for decades. It will give at numerous at us all an opportunity to celebrate and Disneyland, and at the Dorothy Chandler thank her for her many years of teaching Pavilion. and presenting us in a fashion that represents our Soke Fujima School and Madame Kansuma was awarded in 1985 our culture in the best light possible,” the Fifth Class Order of the Precious Tachibana said. “Throughout her 80-plus Crown from the government of Japan in years of being part of Nisei Week, she recognition of her contributions toward has always kept the bar high and we do encouraging the appreciation of Japanese our best to keep up with her.” culture in the U.S.

Born Sumako Hamaguchi in San Francisco In 1987, she received the National in 1918, she began training in Japanese Heritage Fellowship Award from the dance at the age of nine. Traditionally, National Endowment for the Arts. The a Japanese child begins training in dance award was presented in recognition of on the sixth day of the sixth month of her lifetime achievements, artistic her sixth year, but Sumako persisted excellence and contributions “to our through many challenging years while nation’s traditional arts heritage.” training in Japan. A student of Kikugoro Onoe IV, Kansuma studied acting, dancing, She was the recipient of the Japanese American National Museum’s Cultural Madame Kansuma, born in 1918 kimono dress and etiquette, shamisen and tokiwasu music. Ambassador Award in 2005. This treasure added by Chris Aihara Granted the professional name of Kansuma -Text adapted from the Rafu Shimpo in 1938, she returned to America and opened her dance studio in the Los Angeles hotel owned by her father.

20 21 Treasure #017 Treasure #014 Treasure #106 TOFU FESTIVAL T-SHIRT MOCHITSUKI POSTER SCOUT APRON

This treasure added by Julie Itahara

After the L.A. Riots, Little Tokyo was a ghost town on the weekends. LTSC began the Tofu Festival to bring people to the neighborhood. By the 12th year thousands of people attended the event. The event showed how LTSC is willing to take risks to help the neighborhood, and how people love Little Tokyo. Community spirit is maintained through community events like the Tofu/Sake Fest, group runs, and secular festivals.

This treasure added by Chris Aihara This treasure added by Sophie Wang Treasure #023

SAMURAI 5K This poster is one in a series This is an apron from the promoting the annual community boyscout troop at Nishi and This treasure added by Amy Honjiyo mochitsuki. Spearheaded by it’s just a reminder that all The idea that only runners would Sansei + Nisei, the intention the food memories and thoughts be on the streets of Little was to build a community, about food in Little Tokyo is Tokyo sounded liberating! continue traditions and create not just restaurants. There’s And to run to the Music Center an event that was Japanese also a lot of food memories and back was a real bonus! American. Designed by Qris related to things in the For a long time, my Samurai 5K Yamashita. community outside of what you t-shirt was my favorite t-shirt. see on 1st or 2nd Street. They A sleeveless t-shirt with a would wear these aprons when samurai on the back! The year's cycle is brought they would come together to around again with an annual make manju together. Mochitsuki (mochi making). 22 23 Sustainable Little Tokyo is a community-driven SAVE LITTLE TOKYO! initiative working to ensure a healthy, equitable, and culturally rich Little Stop the erasure of our historic community! Tokyo for generations to come. Led by Little Tokyo Community First Street North is at risk. Located behind Japanese Council (LTCC), Little Tokyo American National Museum, Far Bar, Fugetsu-Do, and Service Center (LTSC), and more, First Street North is one of the last 3 remaining Japanese Cultural & Community Center (JACCC), Sustainable pieces of land that can be controlled by the community— Little Tokyo began in 2013 as or sold off to the highest bidders if the city doesn’t hear a multi-day community vision effort and has evolved into our voice. a holistic, neighborhood-wide campaign to promote the environmental, economic, and • Sign the petition: bit.ly/savelittletokyo cultural sustainability of Little Tokyo. • Write a letter or tag @JoseHuizar and sustainablelittletokyo.org @EricGarcetti +LAB • Educate yourself at is LTSC’s effort to strategically incorporate sustainablelittletokyo.org/fsn collaborative and experimen- tal creative strategies into • Make a friend do the same and spread key community development the word! efforts in Little Tokyo. +LAB works to advance equity, sus- tainability, community empow- erment, and cultural vibrancy within a community of color.

Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) is a social service and com- munity development organiza- tion committed to improving the lives of individuals and families through culturally sensitive social service care, strengthening neigh- borhoods through housing and community development, and promoting the rich heritage of our ethnic communities. ltsc.org