Oral Interview with Joan Takayama Ogawa

              History of Asians in the San Gabriel Valley
Interview by Susie Ling
Joan Takayama-Ogawa
25 July 2012 in Pasadena, California.
My grandfather Shichitaro, father Hideo, and uncle Shigeo were all photography buffs. In fact, Shig flies to Japan just to get the first Nikon 35 mm camera when it came out. He may also be trying to get a bride in 1959. And they owned a big, two-story house on 310 Green Street in Pasadena during World War II. Two African American families took care of that property during the war years. One was the Robinson family (Jackie and Mac Robinson’s family) and the other was an African American couple who had no kids and I do not remember their names. So that’s why I still have so many photographs. I have multiple copies of some photographs!
Another legacy of our African American neighbors is that Dad cooked Louisiana-style greens and pork rinds. They also liked “gasper goo fish” and catfish.
My grandfather, Shiichitaro Takayama, was illiterate and his name is spelled many different ways. Shichitaro means “7th brother.” He was born in 16 October 1883 in Takahama, Aichi-ken. He emigrated to Mexico when he was about 24 years old in 1907. He crosses the border and sees a mountain in what we assume is El Centro. He works for many years repairing the railroads and laying the tracks for the Red Car. When the Red Car comes to Pasadena, he stays. He hooks up with pioneers, Nitsuke Miyamoto and Uchida. They are some of the earliest Japanese Americans in Pasadena, along with the Kawais. In fact, the men share Mitsumori’s suit jacket to wear while taking photographs to acquire picture brides. They got the photographs from T. K. Akashi’s studio on 233 ½ First Street in Little Tokyo.
Nitsuke Mitsumori becomes an attorney. He attends Southwest Law School. His son, James Mitsumori, is in the same profession and inherited his father’s business in Little Tokyo.
Grandfather did some strawberry farming in Pasadena. Then he and four other Issei partners open Meiji Laundry on 244 West Colorado Boulevard. The partners may be Fukutaki, Yamaoka, Ozawa, and Suzuki. They bought it from some Chinese who returned to Toisan. Many Japanese Americans are hired by the laundry and even some non-Japanese. I remember Mrs. Gomez and her son, Tony. Meiji served an exclusive clientele mostly in the Orange Grove Boulevard vicinity. Everyone worked. The Issei women would do ironing at home. In fact, my father and his brother also did ironing. The laundry was quite successful and they sponsor many dinners, picnics, trips to Mt. Wilson and the beach, events, and even gimmicks.
My grandmother, Cho Ito, came as a picture bride in 1912. She is from Tokoname, Aichi-ken. Her family were originally Korean potters who were forcibly brought to Japan in the 15th century. Tokoname is known for redware teapots. She was a school teacher in Japan. When she comes to Pasadena, she gave cooking lessons to the other Japanese women. She dies young from tuberculosis. She is buried at Mountain View Cemetery, along with the rest of the Takayama family.