SAN JOSE, Calif. — Santo Market, located on the corner of North Sixth Street and East Taylor Street in San Jose’s Japantown, is more than a Japanese American and Asian American grocery store. The market, which first opened in 1946 on Jackson Street before moving to its current location in 1957, sells a variety […]
Archives for August 2022
Santo Market serves up poké bowls, mochi and more in San Jose’s Japantown
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Issey Miyake, known for bold sculpted designs, dies at 84
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Issey Miyake, who built one of Japan’s biggest fashion brands and was known for his boldly sculpted pleated pieces as well as former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ black turtlenecks, has died. He was 84. Miyake died Aug. 5 of liver cancer, Miyake Design Office said Aug. 9. Miyake defined an era in Japan’s […]
Hawai‘i-style dishes a hit at Takahashi Market
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
SAN MATEO, Calif. — In 1906, Takahashi Market, a San Mateo, Calif.-based Japanese American and Asian American grocery store, opened its doors. At its centennial mark in 2006, the market installed a commercial kitchen, enabling them to start serving plate lunches with poké, musubi and loco moco. “The musubis are definitely the most popular […]
FINDING YOUR NIKKEI ROOTS: Who was George Masa?
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
(What should you do when your genealogy hits the proverbial brick wall?) Genealogists often use the term “brick wall” when they hit a roadblock in their research. It happens to all of us. What do you do when you can’t find any more information? Have you exhausted all obvious resources? If so, then be sure […]
Umami Mart: Come to shop, stay for a drink, and return for the community
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
OAKLAND, Calif. — Started and co-owned by childhood friends Kayoko Akabori and Yoko Kumano, Umami Mart is a specialty store and tasting bar featuring high-end barware, home goods and a hand-picked selection of sake, shochu and whiskies. The idea for Umami Mart was born from a blog they started in 2007, which still runs strong […]
Facing eviction, community rallies around S.F. Taiko Dojo
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
An iconic Japanese American institution that has inspired the proliferation of the art of Japanese drumming in America is facing eviction due to rising rents, and the potential of losing the beloved taiko group has sent reverberations throughout the taiko community and beyond. But without missing a beat, supporters of San Francisco Taiko Dojo — […]
Sansei granddaughters create incarceration artwork
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Kathy Fujii-Oka’s “The Legacy of Fujii Nursery” depicts her grandfather and his brother, owners of the Fujii Nursery in the 1920s in Berkeley, Calif., behind bars in acrylic. In the background of the artwork is a photo of her grandfather and his brother surrounded by military trucks with plants headed to Fort Ord in Monterey, […]
Pioneering event aims to put Nikkei vintners on winemaking map
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
For decades, the Bay Area has been a world class destination for wine enthusiasts, drawing millions of visitors to Napa, Sonoma, and even the burgeoning Livermore Valley. But on July 17, a group of Nikkei winemakers tried something new — hosting a wine tasting event at a sake brewery in an industrial park in southeastern […]
A changing of the guard for Honolulu tofu factory
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Paul Uyehara pointed to the tsuru (crane) and turtle logo on his polo shirt. The third-generation president and custodian of Aloha Tofu Factory, explained that the company logo was created to honor his grandparents, Kamesaburo and Tsuruko Uyehara, who founded the company in 1950. “To me, it’s kind of a way to always remember my […]
‘Remembrance for Peace’ commemorates atomic bombings
August 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment
According to an excerpt from her essay, “In Hiroshima, Japan, a Teenager Finds an Unexpected Home,” Daisy Okazaki went “to the Peace Park for the memorial of the 74th anniversary of the bombing” Aug. 6, 2019. The Aug. 9 virtual “Remembrance for Peace” event — presented by the Nichi Bei Foundation and Friends of Hibakusha […]
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