Interviews

1. Going to America after completing a three-year contract twice (Japanese)

2. Opening of Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo (Japanese)

3. Wanting to serve authentic nigiri sushi in America (Japanese)

4. Difficulty of spreading authentic sushi (Japanese)

5. Teaching how to eat sushi (Japanese)

6. Presenting nebuta from hometown Aomori at Nisei Week (Japanese)

7. Becoming a member of nikkei community (Japanese)

8. Why I became an American citizen (Japanese)

9. I’m worried about the future of sushi in America (Japanese)

10. Unforgettable words of my mother (Japanese)

Toyoshima,Toshiaki

(b. 1949) Sushi chef. Owner of Sushi Gen restaurant in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.

Opening of Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo (Japanese)

(Japanese) And I worked there (at Tokyo Kaikan) for another three years, and before I realized, it was already around 1979. I couldn’t find a good reason to go back to Japan at the time, so I decided to start here. I already had a family then and decided to start business. It was just around that time when the construction of a shopping center called Honda Plaza in Little Tokyo started – it was just about the time when Little Tokyo was beginning to thrive. I knew that the place was going to attract many people, but we were in the outskirts of town, and some people were like, “Are you sure about this place?” And now we’re right in the middle of town. I opened my restaurant in 1980.

California Little Tokyo Los Angeles restaurants Sushi Gen (restaurant) United States

Date: April 16, 2016

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Mistue Watanabe

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Toshiaki Toyoshima was born on August 21, 1949 in Aomori Prefecture. In 1962, he moved to Tokyo at the age of 16 and received his training to become a chef as a live-in trainee at a sushi restaurant, while taking evening classes at the same time. Later he joined Sanchoukai, a chefs’ association, and worked at a number of sushi restaurants. In 1973, he signed a contract to work at a restaurant, Tokyo Kaikan, in Los Angeles for three years, and moved to America. After finishing the contract, he went back to Japan once but was asked by Tokyo Kaikan to work for them again, which led him to sign another contract of three years and return to Los Angeles. Upon completing his second contract, he decided to stay in America, and in 1980, he opened “Sushi Gen” in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. He worked for the foundation of Aomori Kenjinkai (prefectural association) of Southern California and contributed to the development of nikkei communities in Los Angeles. In addition, he became the first chairperson of the Nebuta Performance Preservation Committee in 2007, and has committed to the inheritance of Japanese culture. In 2015, he received an award by the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles. (May 2018)