Little Tokyo also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, is an ethnically Japanese American district in downtown Los Angeles and the heart of the largest Japanese-American population in North America. It is the largest and most populous of only three official Japantowns in the United States, all of which are in California. Founded around the beginning of the 20th century, the area, sometimes called Lil' Tokyo, J-Town, 小東京 (Shō-tōkyō), is the cultural center for Japanese Americans in Southern California. It was declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1995.
Con Safos is an album by Ruben and the Jets. The title of the album is a graffiti tag used by Mexican-American graffiti artists to discourage other graffiti artists from painting over or altering their graffiti, sometimes painted as "c/s".
Ruben and the Jets was an American rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California. The band originated as an alias for The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa's band, to release Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968). Later, musician Rubén Guevara Jr. continued the band with his own lineup. Guevara's "Jets" recorded two albums, For Real! (1973) and Con Safos (1974).
The Rafu Shimpo is a Japanese-English language newspaper based in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California and is the largest bilingual English-Japanese daily newspaper in the United States. As of February 2021, it is published online daily. In print publication is only on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Sawtelle Boulevard is a north/south street in the Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. For most of its length, it parallels the San Diego Freeway, one block to the east.
Nisei Week is an annual festival celebrating Japanese American (JA) culture and history in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Nisei means 2nd generation in Japanese, describing the first American born Japanese, a group which the seven-day festival was originally meant to attract. Though named for the Nisei generation, Nisei Week is no longer targeted at Niseis, nor is the festival still contained within a week. Nisei Week Foundation president for 2006, Michelle Suzuki, described the festival as "the opportunity for people of all backgrounds to celebrate Japanese heritage and culture".
Cedar Grove OnStage is an Asian Pacific American theatre arts organization established in 2006, based in Los Angeles, co-founded by playwright Tim Toyama and actor/director Chris Tashima who serves as Artistic Director. It is a division of the entertainment company, Cedar Grove Productions and their focus is to develop, produce and present new and original Asian American theatre works.
Velina Hasu Houston is an American playwright, essayist, poet, author, editor and screenwriter who has had many works produced, presented and published. Her work draws from her experience of being multiracial, as well as from the immigrant experiences of her family and those she encountered growing up in Junction City, Kansas.
Frances Kazuko Hashimoto was a Japanese-American businesswoman and community activist. Hashimoto was a key figure and proponent of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo neighborhood. The head of Mikawaya since 1970, Hashimoto, the inventor of mochi ice cream, also introduced the dessert to American consumers.
Denise Uyehara is an American performance artist, director and writer. Her interdisciplinary and solo performances and installations examine and explore memory, time-travel, immigration, race, sexuality, and gender. She is the founding member of the performance group Sacred Naked Nature Girls, a group of four women of different ethnicities and sexual orientation, who use their bodies as a means to construct identities and inspire dialogue. Her work is internationally recognized and has been featured in exhibitions in Los Angeles, Helsinki, London, Tokyo, and Vancouver. She is also the author of two full-length plays, Hobbies and Hiro. Uyehara is a fellow of the Asian Cultural Council.
Karin Higa was a curator and specialist in Asian American art.
Chizuko Judy Sugita de Queiroz is an American artist and art educator; her paintings depict her memories of a childhood during the Japanese American internment.
David Ono is a Japanese American filmmaker and news anchor for KABC-TV Channel 7 in Los Angeles, California. He is the co-anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News at 4 and 6 p.m. with Ellen Leyva. He also fills in for co-anchor Marc Brown at 5 and 11 P.M.
Eric Nakamura is a Japanese American magazine publisher, gallerist, and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Giant Robot, owner of the Giant Robot store and GR2 Gallery, and curator of the Giant Robot Biennales and other museum exhibitions.
Cold Tofu, also known as Cold Tofu Improv, is a non-profit organization and Asian American improvisation and comedy group based in Los Angeles.
Patrick Nagatani was an American photographer and educator perhaps best known for his work relating to the unique history of Japanese Americans including their experience with internment camps.
T. K. Shindo was a Japanese photographer.
Kumiko Serizawa was a Japanese American master doll-maker of traditional Japanese dolls.
Takayo "Rose" Matsui Ochi was a Japanese-American attorney and civil rights activist notable for fighting for the approval of the Manzanar to become a National Historic Site and being the first Asian American woman to be appointed at the United States Assistant Attorney General level by President Bill Clinton, as well as being the first Asian American to be appointed to the Los Angeles Police Commission.
Nobuko JoAnne Miyamoto is a Japanese American folk singer, songwriter, author, and activist in the Asian American Movement. She was a member of the band Yellow Pearl along with Chris Kando Iijima and Charlie Chin. They are known for co-creating the 1973 folk album A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America. This album is considered the first Asian-American album in history. She was a member of the band Warriors of the Rainbow during the late 1970s.
