Small business

Japanese American businesses, such as groceries, fish shops, laundries, barbershops, public bathhouses, restaurants, drugstores, and dry goods stores, sprang up in communities along the West Coast. Women and children were vitally important to these "mom and pop" enterprises, as their free labor allowed the family to survive and even prosper during lean times.

Small business (330)

Gallery view
List view

330 items

img Japanese American store owner prior to mass removal (ddr-densho-151-91)

Original caption: San Francisco, California. Mr. Tatsuno pictured in his San Francisco drygoods store prior to evacuation of residents of Japanese ancestry. He was in the drygoods business for forty years in San Francisco. Evacuees will be housed in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration.

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-151-91/

img "Yasui Brothers Second store" (ddr-densho-259-303)

Caption by Homer Yasui: "A large gathering of mostly Issei men along the south side of the second [Yasui Brothers] store."

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-259-303/

img Japanese man shaping a glass bowl (ddr-densho-299-48)

Caption on reverse: "FEC-49-2856. 23 April 49 / Manufacturing glassware in Japan: / One of the oldest and highly skilled / employees at Hoya Glass Factory, / Tokyo, Japan, uses a pair of shears / to trim off surplus glass as he care- / fully styles a bowl. / Photographer - Girard / Photograph by U.S. ...

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-299-48/

img Business owner with family (ddr-densho-113-51)

This man, posing with his family in front of their car, owned the Home Brew Supply Store in Seattle. (L to R): Ayako Uyeda, Masato Uyeda, Fumiko Uyeda.

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-113-51/

img Tsutakawa Company camping trip (ddr-densho-128-115)

Front row (L to R): Marion Tsutakawa, Frank Kubo, Jim Tsutakawa, J.K. Saoka, George Tsutakawa, Mr. Baba, J. Shima. Second row (L to R): Bob, Mrs. Tsutakawa, Dick, Mr. Y. Shimada. Front row (L to R): Thomas, Mr. Y. Omi (?), Kumako.

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-128-115/

img Man standing outside office (ddr-densho-128-37)

Frank Kubo stands outside the Tsutakawa Company office where he was employed.

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-128-37/

img Dye works picnic (ddr-densho-135-1)

Dye works shop owners gather for a picnic, a common social activity for families in the business. (L to R): Yae Kumakura, Gonnojo Tamura, Yasuye Shimizu, Suma Tamura.

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-135-1/

img Japanese American family (ddr-densho-135-3)

This family operated the Royal Dye Works in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. (L to R): George, Marian, Yoshio, Mr. Tamura.

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-135-3/

doc Pacific Citizen, Vol. 103, No. 19 (November 7, 1986) (ddr-pc-58-44)

Edition contains Mail Order Supplement, A-D, between pages 4 and 5. Selected article titles: "'Star Trek' Star Honored by Hollywood" (pp. 1, 8), "L.A.'s Nikkei-Oriented Movie Theater Closes Doors" (pp. 1, 5), "Mineta Recalls Impact of 99th Congress on JAs" (p. 2), and "Take Risks, Help Others, Matsui Tells Students" (pp. 6-7).

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-pc-58-44/

vh Mas Hashimoto Interview Segment 4 (ddr-densho-1015-7-4)

Parents' prewar sake brewery

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1015-7-4/

vh Jiro Sugidono Interview Segment 6 (ddr-densho-1015-2-6)

Description of father's auto mechanic business

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1015-2-6/

vh Eddie Owada Interview Segment 2 (ddr-manz-1-37-2)

Father's prewar photography business

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-manz-1-37-2/

vh Dale Minami Interview Segment 2 (ddr-densho-1000-141-2)

Father's life in Gardena, California: gardening and running a sporting goods store in Little Tokyo

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-141-2/

vh Yosh Nakagawa Interview Segment 13 (ddr-densho-1000-172-13)

Memories of family grocery store: informal credit system

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-172-13/

vh Mii Tai Interview Segment 3 (ddr-densho-1000-186-3)

Description of parents' laundry business

This interview was conducted as part of a project to capture stories of the Japanese American community of Spokane, Washington. Densho worked in collaboration with the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.

http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1000-186-3/