Businesses in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo typically relied on foot traffic prior to the statewide shelter-in-place orders, which brought the state’s economy to a halt. Amid the shuttered retail spaces, several restaurants continue to operate in the ethnic enclave, but all proprietors have said the situation is difficult. Little Tokyo’s community, however, has tried to […]
FOR THE COMMUNITY: Melody Takata’s three decades of teaching Japanese arts
March 28, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Melody Takata has been drumming taiko for around four decades, starting in Los Angeles as a high school student with L.A. Matsuri Taiko before moving to Tokyo for a year during college to study with Oedo Sukeroku Taiko. After finishing her studies, she moved to San Francisco to work with artists in Northern California. She […]
Little Tokyo Service Center Executive Director Matsubayashi dies
September 12, 2019 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — Little Tokyo Service Center’s Executive Director Dean Matsubayashi passed away the evening of Sept. 4, a letter written by Dick Kaku, the organization’s board president, said. Matsubayashi had battled a brain tumor for almost a year. He passed away “peacefully with his family by his side,†Kaku wrote. Matsubayashi served as executive […]
Little Tokyo supporters wary of rail construction, gentrification
January 1, 2019 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — The Metro Regional Connector rail line, slated to run through Little Tokyo upon completion in 2021, has raised concerns among people who care about the ethnic Japanese enclave’s survival and want to protect the 134-year-old neighborhood from the negative effects of gentrification. Metro’s project, now under construction, will bring three new underground […]
Investment fund to preserve Little Tokyo revealed
September 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — In an effort to help preserve Little Tokyo, local activists announced the creation of the Little Tokyo Community Impact Fund, which seeks individual, corporate and foundation support to invest funds in real estate purchases that provide much-needed rent control for legacy and community-related businesses in Little Tokyo while offering reasonable but below-market […]
Little Tokyo senbei and arare maker Umeya closes business
January 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — There will be no more senbei and arare from Umeya. The longtime manufacturer and distributor of Japanese rice cakes and cookies closed down its operations on Dec. 31, 2017. Umeya was founded in Los Angeles by Yasuo Hamano, who was born in 1902 and immigrated to the United States in 1918 from […]
Renowned community photographer Archie Miyatake dies
January 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Editor’s Note: The following press release was issued by the Manzanar Committee. LOS ANGELES — The Manzanar Committee expresses its deepest sympathies to the family of former Manzanar incarceree and renowned community photographer Archie Miyatake, 92, who passed away on Dec. 20, 2016, in Los Angeles. The Miyatake family is best known for being the […]
Numerous leadership changes at Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo nonprofits
January 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — After a long period of stability, various nonprofit organizations in Little Tokyo have experienced significant leadership changes the past few years. Dean Matsubayashi took over at the Little Tokyo Service Center, Leslie Ito at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center and Mitchell Maki at the Go For Broke National Educational Center. […]
Monster hunters descend upon California’s Japantowns with ‘Pokemon Go’
July 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Since the July 6 release of the “Pokemon Go†app for the iOS and Android devices, millions of users have downloaded the game to catch the popular Japanese video game monsters. The game has become a social phenomenon as cnet.com reports users have, on a daily average, spent more time on the app over Facebook […]
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The story of the Little Tokyo that could … and will
Diversity in Los Angeles is a core value. The city has residents from more than 140 countries who speak 86 languages. It’s full of diverse ethnic enclaves, including the neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Chinatown, Koreatown, Leimert Park, Little Tokyo, Thai Town, Little Armenia, Fairfax’s Jewish-Russian community, and Little Bangladesh — to name only a few. […]