"windows of little tokyo" project + tour
“windows of little tokyo” project + tour
november 2, 2019
written by brittany ko
photographs by seo yun son + lauren pham
a few saturdays ago our beloved cruise ship captain, scott oshima of sustainable little tokyo, toured us around one of my favorite japanese american enclaves to view and celebrate the opening of windows of little tokyo — a project that showcases visions for the future of little tokyo by artists: alan nakagawa, angelica villegas, jen cienfuegos, cat chiu phillips, chiho harazaki, edwin ushiro, kenji liu, kristen sadakane, kuniharu yoshida, nancy uyemura and amwa. windows of little tokyo is on view at a critical time for this 135-year-old neighborhood where gentrification and rent are on the rise, making housing unaffordable for long-standing small businesses, working-class individuals, and families.
fueled by burritos from cafe dulce, a bounty of sushi from mitsuru, and scott’s sunny disposition, we set sail from the jaccc, where amwa’s piece can be seen hanging on the window of the aratani theater.
amwa’s vision compiles ephemera sourced directly from the neighborhood with historical facts to create a collage that beckons viewers to look closer, to ask questions, and to invest time into orienting oneself in a place, rather than taking the position of a passive consumer. relating to a place is much like getting acquainted with a new friend or lover. time is required to understand their nuances — unexplainable by words but felt in the body. if we form strong emotional bonds with the places we encounter, enjoy, and spend moments in, we will begin to understand the imperative for preserving the small-businesses that birthed them and the communities who contribute to the symbiotic nature distinctive to these types of neighborhoods.
from the jaccc we walked to the little tokyo library to view kuniharu yoshida’s poetic piece featuring beautiful ink paintings of bunnies practicing archery and frogs imbibing sake. we were all delightfully surprised to be shown into the library’s sun-kissed community garden where we spent a few quiet minutes looking at everything. next we veered toward demitasse, a local coffee shop known for its involvement in the community. chiho harazaki’s portrait of charlie parker stood commemorating bronzeville, next to their piece from last year’s windows of little tokyo exhibit, which owner bobby roshan asked to keep permanently. we traipsed through the japanese village plaza, stopping at cafe dulce where edwin ushiro told us about the community members that he immortalized in his piece, some of whom he knows personally and others whom he’s seen and hopes to meet one day.
then we docked for a daydream at the port of mitsuru where we were graced by the shining faces of chef and owners mamoru and dora who stood at the doorway, next to nancy uyemura’s reflective piece and poem honoring the family-owned restaurant.
i had to run to a meeting before the tour ended, but left high, on the sun’s rays, scott’s unmatched hosting expertise, and the feeling of warmth derived specifically from free flowy community events and viewing art that does what it set out to do: connect us to our-each-other-selves; it felt like sea-legs, wobbly but with the giddy possibility for anything on the horizon.
mitsuru chef and owners mamoru and dora
about “windows of little tokyo”
little tokyo transforms into an outdoor art exhibition with 10 artworks displayed on windows across our historic, 135-year-old japanese american neighborhood. see visions for the future of first street north—a block critical to the past, present, and future of little tokyo!
learn more about sustainable little tokyo and other resistance and preservation-based projects in little tokyo here.