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Clark & Division: Japanese Americans on Chicago’s Near North Side, 1940s-1960s - Part 3

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Keiko Harada Ohtaka

Clark Street and Division Street bring back so many great memories. They were very busy streets with lots of traffic. Our family lived on Clark Street right above Toguri’s Mercantile Company. We played outside on the sidewalk, daily, with our friends without any supervision from our parents. No one would think of letting the kids do that today!

No family we knew had a car so we walked everywhere, unless it was outside of the neighborhood. Then we took the streetcar, bus or subway. Ogden Elementary School was about ten blocks away and we met friends along the way. There were no school buses, so we had to dress for the extremes of temperature as we walked. School was never closed in the winter, because Chicago was ready for the bad weather. No “snow days” for us!

1953 Ogden Elementary School Photo. (Courtesy of David Toguri)

We were lucky, because things were convenient. There was a Woolworth’s, Windsor Theater, and Dressler’s Drugstore all within a few blocks and, of course, three Japanese grocery stores within about five blocks. One was owned by the Kaneko family (Excel Food Mart), one by the Toguri family (Diamond Trading) and one by the Yahiro family (Sun Grocery).

I didn’t know that hot and humid were not the same thing until I moved out East. In the summer in Chicago, you could ride the CTA bus and practically stick to the person next to you because we were all so sweaty! No A/C back then on public transportation.

My younger brother, sister, and I all played with the same friends. No age discrimination. No one had babysitters.

Our telephones had party lines. If you wanted to make a call but someone was already talking, you had to wait. Sometimes we’d listen to what they were saying until you’d hear them say, “I think someone is listening.” Then we’d quickly hang up!

We had iceboxes and I remember the man putting a huge chunk of ice on his shoulder and bringing it to our second floor kitchen. We got our first TV while living on Clark Street. In those days, the repairman came to your place. Now we have to take it to a shop or buy a new one. We had four stations and Howdy Doody was the only children’s show. Most of us lived in apartment buildings with one bathtub and one toilet down the hall!

When our family moved out of the Clark and Division area, I had to occasionally go back to a Japanese grocery store to buy food such as “takuwan,” pickled radish. It tasted great but had a smell that was not pleasant. We had to have the whole radish wrapped in wet paper towels so that we would not get nasty looks from other bus riders on our way home!

Clark and Division. Not only did we make wonderful memories but life-long friendships!

* * * * *

Steve Naruo Harada

Nisei Barber Shop at 1118 North Clark Street (Courtesy of the author)

• Playing on the cracked sidewalks on 1100 block of North Clark Street.

• Going to eat at Willie, Byron & David Toguri's home, upstairs of Diamond Trading Company.

• How big of a deal it was to walk around the block ourselves, it made us feel like the big boys.

• Toguri Mercantile and Grandpa Toguri and Auntie Iva. They were always kind to me, but I was a little scared of them because I was young and I only knew Willie, Byron, David and their parents well.

• The ice man carrying a huge block of ice up to our apartment and putting it into the icebox.

• Our first RCA, black & white TV, very small screen.

• Playing outside without worrying about anything.

• The old man who walked his cocker spaniel dog dressed in a special outfit.

• Walking to Oak Street Beach with my family.

• Amazed that Willie Toguri could carry a 100 lb. sack of rice upstairs to customers.

• Going to Elm LaSalle Bible Church a few blocks away, because a man from the church, driving an old station wagon, would pick us up for Sunday School. My parents, Sadako and Kameichi Harada, did not drive, so they sent us to a Christian Church instead of a Buddhist Church.

• Later taking the bus/street car to Midwest Buddhist Church with my sisters, because mom would go later to the Japanese service. Seeing a nicely dressed woman at the front of the bus with one nylon stocking rolled down to her ankle.

• Going to Japanese School with my sisters at Midwest Buddhist Church.

• My old barber, chewing on a cigar stub. The shop was a front for card gambling and betting in the back room.

• The steep steps to our apartment at 1128 North Clark Street.

• The man with a monkey walking along the street.

• Going to Yahiro's grocery for popsicles.

• My older sister having to take me with her when she visited her girlfriend on Elm Street.

* * * * *

Louise Hisayo Harada Kasanuki

Our Parents, Sadako and Kameichi Harada, moved to Chicago after they left Gila River Internment Camp in Arizona in 1945. I was born in Chicago in March 1947, at Mother Cabrini Hospital, delivered by Dr. Abe, a Japanese American doctor. We lived at 1128 North Clark Street in an old two story apartment building, with very steep steps from the second floor. My brother actually rolled down these steps one day!

I often went to Toguri Mercantile Shop. I enjoyed going there because they had Japanese kids’ books and origami paper. We went grocery shopping at Toguri’s grocery store, Kaneko’s food market and Yahiro’s. I loved their Daifuku Mochi!

Being the third child, I was the only one with an English first name and a Japanese middle name. My sister, six years older, and my brother, two years older, only had Japanese names. Later, my brother officially added an English first name.

Original to the Clark and Division resettlement community, by the 1960s Matsuya, Ten Katsu, and Nisei Tavern (renamed Nisei Lounge) were among those businesses that migrated three miles North on Clark Street into Lakeview, which would become Chicago’s last unofficial Japantown neighborhood until the 1990s. As of 2019, Matsuya and Nisei Lounge are still in business. (Courtesy of the author)

We lived with our parents and grandfather on Clark Street. My grandfather didn’t speak any English. My parents’ first language was Japanese,since they were “Kibei Nisei” – born in the US, educated in Japan until the sixth grade, and returned to the States. We were very lucky, as we could understand and speak Japanese quite well. In fact, being the first child in our family, my sister only spoke Japanese when she started kindergarten.

My sister had to babysit me all the time, so I was always a “tag-along.”   I remember her going to Mark Twain Beauty Shop, owned by a Japanese American lady. My sister used to “gag” when she got a perm because the smell was so bad in those days.

Every year, our mother used to take us on the subway from our Clark Street apartment to Downtown Chicago, during the cold Christmas holidays. We saw the holiday window decorations at the main department stores, like Marshall Fields. But my favorite was at Goldblatt’s Department Store. They had a monorail on the ceiling and you could see all of Toyland from there. It meant a lot to me as a child. 

I remember the old Ogden School having wooden floors and desks. For Halloween, several times my mother dressed me in a yukata/summer kimono and geta/wooden slippers. My friends thought my Japanese clothes were very pretty. I thought it was wonderful when we moved to a brand new school.

Cheryl Kaneko and I went to Ogden School together from kindergarten through eighth grade, and graduated from Ogden.

When my parents and grandfather first moved to Chicago, after the war and their internment, they said there was a lot of prejudice against Japanese Americans. For instance, my grandfather worked as a dishwasher at the nearby Imperial Hotel and could only enter from the back delivery door because he was Japanese. It was hard to find jobs and housing, so people in the Japanese American community helped each other in the Clark & Division area, worked very hard, and became successful citizens.

Growing up in Chicago for 24 years as a Sansei, a third generation Japanese American, I never felt like we were discriminated against at school, at work, or at other places.

 


AUTHOR’S NOTE: Because this was a neighborhood of great transition (there was no Nikkei presence prior to 1942) not ALL of the listed businesses are Japanese or Japanese American owned or operated, but are still notable pieces of the Near North Side Nikkei community’s history, such as the famous Ting-a-Ling, a Caucasian-owned candy shop and Nisei hang-out; Fred Klaner Funeral Home, which serviced the early resettlers; The Hawaiian Club, a Korean American-owned pool hall and purported gambling den; and any number of Chop Suey houses.

  1. 1250 N. Clark
    • York Super Food Market (Tom Hayashi, Tom Fukuda)
            - Moved to 3240 N. Clark
    • Kato Apartments (Kiyo Kato)
    • Taniguchi Hotel (Thomas M. Taniguchi)
    • Chicago Nichiren Buddhist Church (Rev. Yohaku Arakawa)
            - Moved to 1620 N. LaSalle
  2. 1012 N. Clark
    • Diamond Trading Company (Jun Toguri)
            - Moved to 913 W. Belmont
  3. 1120 N. Clark
    • Sun Grocery (John M. Yahiro)
    • Tsukahara Rooming House (Fusakichi Tsukahara)
  4. 149 W. Division
    • Asato Soybean Shop (Tokujin Asato)
  5. 1154 N. Clark
    • Ding Hoe Chop Suey (Philip & John Moy, Ming Moy)
  6. 1126 N. Clark
    • Aloha Inn (J.I. Suzuki)
    • Liberty Inn (Kusuhei Yamamoto)
    • J. Toguri Mercantile Interior Decorative Goods (Jun Toguri)
  7. 749 N. Wells
    • Ken Restaurant (Ken Nagano)
    • Round Plate Restaurant (Mary Shigetomi)
  8. 1016 N. Clark
    • Gila River Restaurant (Kusuhei Yamamoto)
    • Hinode Chop Suey
  9. 816 N. Clark
    • Ave & Gahan Restaurant (Y. Maruyama)
  10. 1248 N. Clark
    • Sanitary Restaurant (E. Kakita)
    • New Service Grill (Noboru Taniguchi)
    • Hinode Shokudo
    • Tokyo Sukiyaki
    • Futaba Shokudo
  11. 1416 N. Clark
    • Hoe Lee Yun Restaurant (K.K. Wong, Frank Dor, Asako Takano)
    • Ten Kin Chop Suey (Giichiro Tanaka)
    • Sugano Apartments (Leo Sugano)
    • Kitaoka Apartments
  12. 1132 N. Clark
    • Ten Gen Restaurant (M. Kimura)
    • Denya Restaurant
    • Kin Mon Low Restaurant (S. Yokota)
  13. 1030 N. Clark
    • Ted’s Café (T. Yamamoto)
  14. 1151 N. Clark
    • Tenkatsu Restaurant (T. Miyaki)
            - Moved to 3365 N. Clark
    • Ginza Restaurant
    • Kanaya Apartments
    • Kitagawa Apartments (Koichi Kitagawa)
  15. 851 N. Clark>
    • Clark Restaurant (Hiroshi Nukuto, Jisei Fukuda, Chester Joichi)
  16. 1222 N. Clark
    • Wah Mai Lo Restaurant (Foon Der)
  17. 1122 N. Clark
    • Surugaya Café (Yuzo Sakurada)
    • Matsuya Restaurant (Takara Inouye)
            - Moved to 3469 N. Clark
  18. 1153 N. Clark
    • Excel Food Mart (Roy Kaneko)
  19. 218 W. North
    • Rainbow Food Market (Tom Fukuda, George Takaki)
  20. 1358 N. Clark
    • Ichifuku Restaurant
    • Johnny’s 3-Decker Sandwich Shop (John Ishida)
            - Moved to 3152 N. Broadway
    • Hawaiian Club Recreation Center, 2nd Floor (John Lee)
    • Asia Post Recreation Center, 2nd Floor
  21. 1130 N. Clark
    • Rainbow Inn (Kay Yoshikawa)
  22. 813 N. Clark
    • Washington Food Mart (Joe S. Wakamatsu)
  23. 815 N. Clark
    • Golden Star Restaurant (L. Leong)
    • Chi-Lark Apartment & Hotel (Tahei Matsunaga, Matsuji Matsushita)
  24. 1152 N. Wells
    • Division-Wells Cafeteria (Tokujin Asato)
  25. 1150 N. Wells
    • Division-Wells Food Mart (Tokujin Asato)
  26. 1219 N. Clark
    • Asato Tofu Mfg. Co. (Tokujin Asato)
    • Windsor Hotel (Shikuma Mori, Shotaro Yamamoto)
  27. 1244 N. Clark
    • New Delaware Gardens Restaurant (Kay Nozawa)
    • North Clark Laundromat (Hirabayashi, Terusaki)
  28. 1152 N. Clark
    • Miyako Restaurant
            - Moved to 3242 N. Clark
  29. 161 W. Oak
    • Kimura Delicatessen (James Kimura)
  30. 228 W. North
    • Kushida Restaurant
  31. 156 W. Division
    • Tokyo Restaurant (Noboru Okayama)
    • Wakayama Kenjinkai
  32. 42 W. Division
    • Ting-A-Ling Candy Shop (John & Angelina Zaffer)
  33. 1219 N. LaSalle
    • Midwest Buddhist Church, 1st Location (Rev. Gyodo Kono)
            - Moved to 1441 N. Cleveland (Olivet Institute)
  34. 152 W. Division
    • Midwest Buddhist Church Office
  35. 126 E. Chestnut
    • Japanese Church of Christ of Chicago, 1st Location (Rev. Kohei Takeda, Rev. Sumio Koga, Rev. Yoshimatsu Oyama)
            - Moved to 1136 N. LaSalle
  36. 1136 N. LaSalle
    • Japanese Church of Christ of Chicago, 2nd Location
            - Moved from 126 E. Chestnut
            - Moved to 1343 N. Wells
    • Subway Billiards (Joe Zipp)
  37. 1343 N. Wells
    • Japanese Church of Christ of Chicago, 3rd Location
            - Moved from 1136 N. LaSalle
  38. 879 N. State
    • Chicago Zen Buddhist Church, 1st Location (Rev. Soyu Matsuoka)
  39. 1316 N. Clark
    • Chicago Zen Buddhist Church, 3rd Location
  40. 62 W. Elm
    • Chicago Zen Buddhist Church, 4th Location
    • Richmond Apartments (James K. Hamano)
    • Kawada Radio Service (Koo Kawada)
  41. 1620 N. LaSalle
    • Chicago Nichiren Buddhist Church (2nd Location)
  42. 1635 N. Clark
    • The Japanese Christian Church (Rev. Sadaichi Kuzuhara, Rev. Akira Kuroda, Rev. H.Y. Hashimoto)
  43. 30 W. Chicago
    • Japanese Congregational Church (Rev. Kiyoshi Ishikawa)
    • Lawson YMCA Judo (Hank Okamura)
  44. 73 W. Delaware
    • Imamura Apartment (Thomas Imamura)
    • Shingon Buddhist Church
  45. 11 E. Delaware
    • Nozawa Apartment (Kay Nozawa)
  46. 746 N. LaSalle
    • Home-Like Boarding House & Hotel (T.H. Tanabe, Sakaye Takahashi)
  47. 1124 N. Clark
    • Hanaki Apts. & Rooms (Eizo Hanaki)
    • Yamanashi Kenjinkai
    • J. Toguri Mercantile Co. Retail Dept. (Jun Toguri)
  48. 1128 N. Clark
    • Harada Apartments (Kameichi Harada)
    • Kashu Mainichi, Los Angeles Japanese News Chicago Office
    • Japanese American Business Association of Chicago
    • Marusho Shoyu
    • J. Toguri Mercantile Co. Wholesale & Book Dept.
  49. 159 W. Goethe
    • Goethe Apt. Hotel (Mikitaro Sato)
  50. 1428 N. Clark
    • Ito’s Apartments (Fred Ito)
    • Shibata Apartment (Harold S. Shibata)
  51. 1337 N. LaSalle
    • Kayahara Apartments
    • Fred Hikida Apartments
  52. 1341 N. Clark
    • Kawazoe Rooming House (Yae Kawazoe)
  53. 229 W. Scott
    • Kiyohara Apartment
  54. 1039 N. LaSalle
    • LaSalle Mansion & Annex (Yagoro & Hiroshi Kaneko, Tanaka, Tom & Mitsuji Oishi)
    • Mutual Business Agency (Thomas S. Tomihiro)
  55. 1231 N. LaSalle
    • Kochiyama Apartments (Frank Kochiyama)
    • Motomura Apartment (Fujiyuki Motomura)
  56. 1300 N. LaSalle
    • Masunaka Apartments (Hikobei Nakata)
    • Takahashi Apartment (Yuichi Takahashi)
    • Century Metal Craft Corporation (Koichi Masunaka)
  57. 1349 N. LaSalle
    • Morishita Rooming House (Ryokichi & Mary Morishita)
  58. 1152 N. LaSalle
    • Nukuto Apartment (Hiroshi Nukuto)
  59. 1345 N. LaSalle
    • Omori Apartment (Kimiye Omori)
  60. 1330 N. LaSalle
    • Sam’s Boarding House (Sam Hikawa)
  61. 56 W. Elm
    • Richmond Apartments (Tom Okuhara)
  62. 1332 N. LaSalle
    • Satow Apartments
    • Iwasaki Apartment (Frank Iwasaki)
  63. 837 N. LaSalle
    • Sugano Apartments (George & Tom T. Sugano)
    • Empire Art Products (A.R. Katsuno)
    • Tomio Sugano Travel
    • Chicago English & Japanese Language School - Oriental Photo Studio (Bill T. Yamamoto)
            - Became LaSalle Photo Service
      - National Chick Sexing Association (Ken Yoshihara, George Sugano)
    • Fusataro Nakaya, M.D.
  64. 1421 N. Clark
    • Takeuchi Apartment (L. Takeuchi)
    • Sakamoto Apartments
  65. 1333 N. LaSalle
    • Tsukuno Apartment
    • Fujimoto Apartments
  66. 1246 N. Clark
    • Virginia Apartments (Tahei Matsunaga) - Electric Sales & Service (Teruo Joe Nihei)
  67. 342 W. Chicago
    • Willimac Hotel (Kawamura)
  68. 1216 N. Clark
    • Yamasaki Rooming House
  69. 1016 N. Clark
    • Gila River Rooming House (Yamamoto)
  70. 870 N. State
    • Gold Hotel (T. Sasaki)
  71. 1238 N. Clark
    • Pullman Apartment (Tom Okuhara, Sam Koizumi)
    • Okuhara Hotel & Apts. (Tadaichi Okuhara)
    • Veterans Cab (Don Noro)
    • Nisei Tavern (Hiroto “Kaunch” Hirabayashi, Kazuo “Zoke” Hirabayashi)
            - Became Nisei Lounge
            - Moved to 3439 N. Sheffield
  72. 58 W. Elm
    • Hinsdale Apartment (Kentaro Tanabe)
    • Mutual Business Agency, 3rd Location (Thomas Tomihiro)
  73. 1540 N. LaSalle
    • Wakatani Rooming House
  74. 1302 N. LaSalle
    • Sakuma Apartments (Yunosuke Sakuma)
  75. 866 N. LaSalle
    • Yamada Hotel (Richard Yamada)
  76. 1157 N. Clark
    • Empire Apt. Hotel (Iseichi Hayashikawa)
  77. 7 W. Pearson
    • Candee Apartments (Yoshito Sera)
  78. 1240 N. LaSalle
    • Shizume Apartments (Henry Shizume)
    • Sugano Apartments (Leo Sugano)
  79. 64 W. Elm
    • Tsuchiya Apartments (Andrew K. Tsuchiya)
    • Tanabe Apartment (Kentaro Tanabe)
    • Mutual Business Agency, 2nd Location (Thomas Tomihiro)
  80. 1531 N. LaSalle
    • Harry Hikida Apartments
    • Oda Apartment (Frank T. Oda)
  81. 1206 N. LaSalle
    • Kato Apartment (Kiyo Kato)
  82. 63 W. Chestnut
    • Egawa Apartment (Sakauchi Egawa)
    • International Sewing Machine Repair (H. Nitta)
  83. 159 W. Oak
    • Egawa Apartment (Sakauchi Egawa)
  84. 1108 N. Clark
    • Crystal Hotel (Ishi Suzuki, Shigeichi Yamate)
    • Diamond Trading Co. (Toguri Grocery), 2nd Location (Jun Toguri)
            - Moved to 913 W. Belmont
  85. 1150 N. LaSalle
    • LaSalle Studio Apts. & Hotel (Tom Toru Sato)
  86. 1540 N. Clark
    • Deguchi Apartment (Takeo Deguchi)
  87. 1220 N. Clark
    • Katayama Hotel
  88. 821 N. LaSalle
    • Sugano Apartments (George Sugano)
    • National Chick Sexing Association
            - Moved from 837 N. LaSalle
  89. 1244 N. LaSalle
    • Koizumi Apartments (Sam Koizumi)
    • Seiichi Koizumi Carpentry
  90. 55 E. Delaware
    • Hirabayashi Apartment (Motoyoshi Hirabayashi)
  91. 1020 N. Clark
    • Kaneko Apartment (Hiroshi Kaneko)
    • Anchor Club Tavern (James Ishibashi)
  92. 1138 N. Clark
    • Konishi Apartment (George Konishi)
  93. 1252 N. Clark
    • Takahashi Apartment (Taisuke Takahashi)
    • Takahashi & Co. Clothing
  94. 1547 N. Sedgwick
    • Yagi Apartment (Genji Yagi)
  95. 157 W. Oak
    • Katsuda Apartment (George Katsuda)
  96. 104 W. Oak
    • Nishimura Apartment (Tadao Nishimura)
    • Japanese American Employment Agency (George T. Nishimura)
            - Moved from 1148 N. Clark
  97. 1426 N. LaSalle
    • Tanabe Apartment (Yoshio Tanabe)
  98. 1253 N. Clark
    • Fred Klaner Funeral Home (Serving the Japanese American community)
  99. 857 N. Clark
    • Nisei Cleaners (Ken Kunimatsu)
  100. 114 W. Division
    • Division Cleaners (Torao Hidaka)
  101. 1118 N. Clark
    • Nisei Barber Shop (Masu & Eitaro Sakurada, Taigo Miyahara)
    • Sakurada Carpentry
    • Miyamoto Jewelry
    • Eagle Barber Shop (George Inouye, F. Matsumoto)
  102. 1210 N. Clark
    • The Powder Box Beauty Salon (Tsuyako Suzuki, Virginia Hara)
    • Junji Hasegawa, M.D.
    • Susumu Hasegawa, M.D.
  103. 111 W. Division
    • Mark Twain Beauty Box (Kazu Kuwahara)
  104. 417 W. North
    • Harry T. Kajita Watchmaker & Jeweler
  105. 133 W. Chicago
    • Ogata Photography Studio (James Ogata)
          - Moved to 1533 N. Clark
  106. 1533 N. Clark
    • Ogata Photography Studio (James Ogata)
            - Moved from 133 W. Chicago
            - Became Triangle Camera
            - Moved to 3445 N. Clark
  107. 1200 N. Clark
    • The Speed-O-Sex Chick Sexing Institute (Jiro Yamaguchi)
    • Oda Tailors (Munesue Oda)
    • Harry Sabusawa Real Estate & Insurance
    • Chicago Japanese American Civic Association Credit Union
            - Moved to 1011 W. Belmont
    • Japanese American Citizens League
            - Moved to 21 W. Elm
    • Thomas H. Hiura, D.D.S.
    • Ben T. Chikaraishi, O.D.
            - Moved to 1011 W. Belmont
    • Hiura & Hiura, O.D.
  108. 1034 N. LaSalle
    • LaSalle Photo Studio (Bill T. Yamamoto)
    • Chicago Japanese American Civic Association Credit Union
            - Moved from 837 N. LaSalle
    • Chicago Japanese American Civic Association Credit Union
            - Formerly Oriental Photo Studio
    • Chicago Japanese American Civic Association Credit Union
            - Moved to 1700 W. Diversey
  109. 835 N. LaSalle
    • Avon Cosmetics (Mrs. Yo Fujita)
  110. 1162 N. Clark
    • Frank’s Watch Repair (Frank Noda)
            - Moved to 1168 N. LaSalle
    • Sugano Travel Service
            - Moved from 825 N. LaSalle
    • Japanese American Association of Chicago
  111. 1168 N. LaSalle
    • Frank’s Watch Repair (Frank Noda)
            - Moved from 1162 N. Clark
           - Moved to 3174 N. Broadway
  112. 810 N. Clark
    • Ken Yoshihara Insurance
    • Yoshihara Bookkeeping (Teruo Yoshihara)
    • Yamada Insurance (Richard Yamada)
    • Richard Hikawa, Attorney-At-Law
    • Cosmopolitan Travel Service (Richard Yamada)
    • Chicago Japanese American Hotel & Apartment Association
    • Nisei Veterans Club
  113. 1449 N. Clark
    • California Daily News (Shigenaga Kawada, Rep.)
  114. 1116 N. Clark
    • Yamasaki Apartment (Tokusaburo Yamasaki)
    • Rafu Shimpo, Los Angeles Japanese Daily News (Koichi Masunaka, Rep.)
  115. 1401 N. Sedgwick
    • Sun Cleaners (Torao Hidaka)
  116. 1148 N. Clark
    • Japanese American Employment Agency (George T. Nishimura)
            - Moved to 104 W. Oak
    • Hiroshima Kenjinkai
  117. 1134 N. Clark
    • Li’l Tokyo Barber Shop (Tom Koyanagi)
  118. 821 N. Clark
    • Sugano Bros. & Co. Bookkeeping
  119. 1035 N. Clark
    • T.R. Cleaners (Anthony T. Muranaka)
    • Jan’s Cleaners (Seiichi Kayahara)
  120. 140 W. North
    • Tom’s Standard Service (Tom Fukuda)
            - Moved to 2936 N. Halsted
  121. 1258 N. Clark
    • Mid-City Cleaners (Hisatsune Nakaya)
  122. 800 N. Clark
    • United Asia Trading (Hori Bros.)
    • Arrow Pest Control (James Hamano)
    • James Ogisaka, Attorney-At-Law
    • Joe Y. Shibata, Attorney-At-Law
  123. 1310 N. Wells
    • Chicago Shimpo Japanese American News (Ryoichi Fujii)
            - Moved from 1325 E. 47th Street
            - Moved to 3744 N. Clark
  124. 825 N. LaSalle
    • Sugano Travel Service (Leo Sugano)
            - Moved to 1162 N. LaSalle
  125. 33 E. Oak
    • Ginza Gifts
  126. 1164 N. Clark
    • Nichibei Mainichi, Los Angeles Japanese News
    • Nisei Optical Center
    • Minoru Amimoto, O.D.
  127. 227 W. Chicago
    • S.O.S. Electronics (John Uehara)
  128. 147 W. Division
    • Electric Shoe Repair (Masakiyo Arakawa)
  129. 1240 N. Clark
    • North Clark Laundromat (Hirabayashi, Terusaki)
  130. 734 N. LaSalle
    • Chicago Resettler’s Committee (Corky Kawasaki, Masaji Morita)
            - Moved to 1110 N. LaSalle
  131. 1110 N. LaSalle
    • Chicago Resettler’s Committee
            - Moved from 734 N. LaSalle
            - Became Japanese American Service Committee
            - Moved to 3257 N. Sheffield
    • Nisei Veterans of WWII (Mas Imon, Mike Hagiwara, Haruo Fujimoto, Shiro Kashino)
    • Japanese American Council
    • Hawaiian Club
    • Cosmo Club (War Brides)
    • CYO Nisei Center
    • Chicago Nisei Sports Association (Bill Adachi)
    • Midwest Golf Association (George Hiura)
    • Bridge Club & Goh Tournaments
    • Girls Club Council (Sorelles, Mam’selles, Debonnaires, Estelles, Jolenes, Chatelaines, Cidy’s, Yukiyes, Velvettes, Silhouettes, Maya’Devi, Serenes, Philos, Ting-A-Lings)
  132. 21 W. Elm
    • Japanese American Citizens League
            - Moved from 1200 N. Clark
            - Moved to 5415 N. Clark
  133. 1364 N. Clark
    • Chicago Mutual Aid Association
            - Moved from 716 N. Clark
  134. 1158 N. Clark
    • Playtime Tavern (Harry Nakamura)
  135. 1213 N. Clark
    • Gold Coast Nisei Bowlers League
  136. 1149 N. Clark
    • Sea Isle Hawaiian Nitery (“Pappy Lee”)
  137. 1050 N. LaSalle
    • Sato Apartments (Mary Sato)

 

© 2019 Erik Matsunaga

1940s 1950s 1960s Chicago Clark Street communities Illinois Lakeview United States
About the Author

Erik Matsunaga’s investigations into the history of Chicago’s Japanese American community have been featured by the Japanese American National Museum, Alphawood Gallery, WBEZ Radio, and the Newberry Library. Born in Chicago, a descendant of WWII-era Nikkei resettlers from California, he curates @windycitynikkei—“Bite-sized Glimpses of Japanese American Chicago”—on Instagram.

Updated November 2020

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