Latest news with #Japantown
CBS News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Filmmakers, San Francisco Japantown museum reflect on 80-years since first atomic bomb
Inside a tiny museum in San Francisco's Japantown, there is a powerful message about the atrocities of the atomic bomb. "Americans see the bomb as a beautiful mushroom cloud, and the Japanese who were on the ground see it as ground zero, the devastation, the 70,000 people who lost their lives in an instant," said Rosalyn Tonai, Director of the National Japanese American Historical Society. This summer, the NJAHS resurrected an exhibit from 30 years ago to remember the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs that the United States dropped on Japan on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945. The two bombings ended World War II, with the Japanese surrendering less than a week later, on Aug. 15. The exhibit also includes a single relic that serves as a haunting reminder, a doll that was recovered from the rubble in Nagasaki. "An American family brought it in and let us know that they had kept it all these years. It was given to them by a family that survived the atomic blast," said Tonai. The survivor stories are what Tonai wants people to experience and understand. The display also features firsthand accounts from those who survived the atomic blasts, including Jack Dairiki, who still lives in San Francisco. Dairiki was a Japanese American kid visiting family in Hiroshima who became stuck in Japan because of the war. On Aug. 6, 1945, he was outside a factory on the outskirts of the city when the first bomb dropped. "We saw three aircraft coming above us," said Dairiki, during a 2015 interview with KPIX. "At that time, the bomb exploded, all the factory windows went out, it flew over my head. I weighed 100 pounds and was floating in the air." And now a new documentary titled "Atomic Echoes" by filmmakers Victoria Kelly and Karin Tanabe is shedding even more light on the devastation. "Few Americans understand what happened under the mushroom cloud, "said Tanabe. "We all see the exact same image, which really covers up the atrocities, and then we stop there in the history books." Tanabe's great-great uncle was part of the rebuilding effort in Hiroshima. Kelly's grandfather was an American medic sent to Nagasaki, who witnessed the effects of peak radiation sickness. He suffered from PTSD and died at the age of 42. The filmmakers interviewed several other American medics who were sent to Japan 45 days after the bombings. "They were really torn, they were really proud of their service, and all of them said, you know, we were there, and we can't ever have these bombs happen again because they were the worst thing we've ever seen," said Kelly. For Tonai, she believes the topic is still relevant today and still important to talk about. "We are the cusps of a nuclear buildup, and this is really a call for world peace," she said. "So, we really need to take a pause and take a look at the human cost and consequences of a possible nuclear fallout. Her hope is that the history that happened even eight decades ago will never repeat itself.
CBS News
25-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
KOHO, San Francisco Japantown co-working venue, seeks to uplift community
San Francisco's Japantown is one of the few remaining across the country. Now, community members are hoping a new co-working space will help revitalize the area while preserving its culture and creativity. Entering the KOHO creative hub in the Japan Center East on Post Street, Aaron - a music producer and artist known as "Mr. Carmack" - abides by tradition and removes his shoes before finding a space and getting to work. "I'm working on a triple album," he said. Like many creators, he's used to working from home. But with the emergence of this new co-working space in Japantown, he's eager to switch up the atmosphere. "Keeping your home space for home things and separating your work," he said. Dana Dimalanda, an architectural designer, shared the same sentiment. "A creative hub was missing from this area," she said. "It's bringing back more of the authentic community and culture to the space." When Susie Kagami, KOHO's Founding Executive Director, set out to make the space a reality, she wanted to provide a hub for creators and artists. But the mission runs much deeper than that. "This actually was envisioned by our community over 10 years ago as a community preservation strategy for Japantown," she said. "An arts and culture hub would revitalize our stories and bring people back, preserve our narratives of our past and elders, as well as give voice to a younger generation." San Francisco's Japantown is one of three left in the United States. Kagami says it has shrunk in size over the last several decades due to displacement from WWII incarceration and urban renewal. "If I can provide a nurturing space for folks to come back to, find a little bit of cultural identity, reconnect with community and families, that is my wish for this coworking space," she said. Aaron thinks it will also help bring new and old faces to Japantown, and as a result, they'll help support the neighborhood's vitality. "I think another aspect to having a coworking space is bringing people not only to work here but also to immerse themselves in the surrounding businesses," he said. A space dedicated to nurturing creativity and culture, building blocks for the future while paying homage to tradition.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
San Francisco's Soko Hardware store celebrates 100 years in Japantown
Soko Hardware is celebrating its 100th year of being open in Japantown in San Francisco. The store is located along the 1600 block of Post Street and has been a pillar in the Japanese community. "My grandparents started it in 1925," Philip Ashizawa, the third-generation owner of Soko Hardware, told CBS News Bay Area. "They unfortunately had to shut down in the early or mid-40s because of the war and were forced to go to incarceration camps. My parents and grandparents went to Topaz, Utah, and they were there for a few years." After his family survived the internment camps, they returned to San Francisco and Ashizawa's father took the helm by opening a new Soko Hardware store where it is located today. "My father was able to build this store, and we've been very lucky to have this building here," he said. "We now have a lot of Japanese imports, housewares, cultural items, cookware, things like that." Ever since Ashizawa graduated from college, he has dedicated his life to his family's business. "My parents slowly started delegating more and more responsibilities to me so by the early '90s," he said. Now, he is passing on the family legacy to his children, who have also been helping out at the hardware store. "Soko Hardware and the Ashizawa family are an institution," Steve Nikajo, a community organizer, told CBS News Bay Area. "In Japan, you have national treasures. This would be a Japantown's national treasure." "Despite segregation, prejudice and concentration camps, you have this historical community. So, that celebration should occur with that history and legacy," Nikajo added. "Soko Hardware and the Ashizawa family ought to be recognized and treasured, and hopefully, you come into the store and take a look. You got to keep this thing going as part of the tradition." Ashizawa and his wife, Eunice, are family to the Japantown community. "Being a part of the community, you get to know everyone in the area. And you walk down the street and say hi to your friends and neighbors," he said. He vows to continue sharing his heritage with visitors from all around the world. "I'm not moving, not at this point," he said, laughing.
