Japanese American Culture in Oregon, Pt. 1
Explore 140 years of Oregon’s Japanese American history through food
Community Picnic Gathering (circa. 1952) by Frank C. HiraharaJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Food is often a way for people to connect with their culture, traditions, and community.
Get a glimpse of our permanent exhibition with this food-focused tour that shows the ways that connection through food was built, broken, and then reclaimed over time within the Japanese American communities of Oregon.
Nihonmachi
Portland's vibrant Japantown was at the center of a thriving network of Japanese American communities across Oregon. With more than 100 Japanese-run businesses, surrounding communities came to Japantown for supplies, as well as social activities, cultural events, and news.
Permanent Exhibition - S. Ban Storefront Replica (2021) by Japanese American Museum of OregonJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Dry goods stores in Nihonmachi supplied Issei (first generation immigrants from Japan) with what they needed to start their new lives in America.
Labor contractors and businessmen like Shinsaburo Ban, who owned the S. Ban Company, provided both.
He sold the clothes and tools the Issei needed, as well as familiar Japanese staples like rice, soy sauce, and saké.
Teikoku Interior (1929) by Susai ItoJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Established in 1905, Teikoku Company was the longest-running family-operated Japanese market in Portland.
Boy in front of Teikoku Market (1900/1940) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
In 1905, Mosaburo Matsushima opened a dry goods store on NW Third and Davis in Portland. The store was named Teikoku, which means “Imperial.”
Merchant Hotel (1905/1942) by Saito Photo Studio and Mizuno Photo StudioJapanese American Museum of Oregon
The store was located on the ground floor of the Merchant Hotel, the heart of Japantown, where new arrivals could find a place to stay, do their laundry, take a bath, and visit a doctor.
Stores like these sold food and other imported goods that Japanese Americans wouldn’t be able to find in a typical American grocery store.
Umata Matsushima at Anzen (1945/1947) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
After World War II, the Matsushima family borrowed $500 to re-open the store under a new name, Anzen, which means “safe.”
Anzen Patch (1945/1975) by UnknownJapanese American Museum of Oregon
Anzen remained a community anchor and an important source of Asian food and cooking supplies in Portland until it closed for good in 2014.
