Tokita Tales
This series shares personal, touching stories of Shokichi “Shox” Tokita’s family, which includes their incarceration in Minidoka concentration camp, his family struggles after the War, and his mother who ran a hotel business to support her family after his father’s death.
*Stories in this series were originally published in The North American Post.
Stories from this series
A Dream Deferred, A Dream Fulfilled
Sept. 13, 2023 • Shokichi “Shox” Tokita
My mother, Haruko Ann Tokita, came to the United States from Japan when she was 12 years old and settled with her father and stepmother in Seattle. After living in various homes for a few years, the family eventually acquired the Wilson Hotel, which was located between 5th and 6th Avenues South on Dearborn, where the Uwajimaya parking lot is presently located (Read his previous story about Wilson Hotel). While growing up, much of Mom’s activities pertained to anything dealing …
Japanese Family Protocols
Aug. 29, 2023 • Shokichi “Shox” Tokita
Have you ever had a discussion about your family protocols with your father, mother, or both? In the Kamekichi and Haruko Tokita family, it was a regular topic that came up an awful lot of times. Basically, it was between my father and me. Generally, a short discussion occurred between us, followed by a prolonged litany about why from my mother. And, you know what? It was, I swear, just me–never with my seven younger brothers and sisters! Let me …
Mom Was Young Once, Too!
May 25, 2023 • Shokichi “Shox” Tokita
The North American Post Editor’s note: Tokita’s present-day recounting of Issei and Nisei life is rare today. It is possible largely because his mother arrived as a 12-year-old with her parents from Japan in 1919. Thus, while she was indeed an immigrant, she was what Korean Americans call “1.5 generation,” a person culturally halfway between adult immigrants and second-generation children born in the U.S. According to author Mary Yu Danico, writing on KA 1.5ers in Hawaii, “1.5ers have been socialized in …
Lessons Realized
March 5, 2023 • Shokichi “Shox” Tokita
Have you ever thought about the lessons you learned from your parents? When did you realize that they were lessons? At the time you were learning these lessons, did you understand and comprehend that they were, in fact, “lessons?” I don’t know about you, but I never, ever realized at the time that lessons were being taught to me, primarily by my dad. In early years, they were often accompanied by a whack on the head. In later years, there …
Only in America
Feb. 22, 2023 • Shokichi “Shox” Tokita
Mom became quite a businesswoman after Papa passed away in October 1948 after a ten-month illness caused by a severe case of diabetes. It took her a while to adjust and come to the realization that at age 41, she was more than just the mother of eight children, ages 2 to 14. Once she recognized that she was fully in charge, she gradually changed from being wife and mother to head of the family with total responsibility for raising …
Parental Responsibilities
Jan. 10, 2023 • Shokichi “Shox” Tokita
The phrase “parental responsibilities,” as stated, is quite obvious and doesn’t need much of an explanation. It simply states that Mom and Dad are responsible for the well-being of their children, right? Yup. Agreed. So why the discussion? Well, when I was in my pre-driving teens, I learned about another aspect of that statement that a lot of young people don’t realize. Let me explain what I learned. When we lived in Chinatown in the late 1940s, I used to …
