Dear Becky:
I am finishing a big article about sushi for VANITY FAIR magazine, and I should very much like to include your grandparents Takichi and Hana Kato in the story.
Can you please tell me where in Japan they were from?
Do you also know for sure when the opened the cafe?
I have an advertisement for Kawafuku Cafe that dates to July 30, 1932. It was then located at 201 East First Street. I also know that, after the war, it was run by Nakajima Tokijiro, and that by 1950 it was serving sashimi. It also moved at some point to South Los Angeles Street, where the New Otani Hotel came to be. A reference to "a dinner last night at the Japanese Cafe," in the Los Angeles TIMES of August 24, 1929, was likely to Kawafuku.
I have been working on this story, both here and in Japan, for a long time, and now I must finish it by the weekend. I really appreciate whatever information you can give me, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks and all best wishes,
Nick Tosches
Contributing Editor
VANITY FAIR
New York, NY
nickt@interport.net