Little Tokyo: Shoshi Watanabe Creates Very Singular Art
For our final episode of the Little Tokyo series, of Season 1 and of 2019, we spoke with the immaculately metered ceramicist Shoshi Watanabe. Get ready to not be stressed about anything.
Even-keeled assessments of Russia seem to be in short order these day. Shoshi might not have any of those but he certainly has some insights into life in the USSR, where he grew up. From there, he moved to Japan before finally landing America. It’s a winding path that led to a diverse professional life that includes teaching, ceramics and shakuhachi (which we learn is good for meditation specifically because it’s difficult to play). There’s only one place to discover the intersection of all these places and professions and that’s right here on The Hollywood Fishbowl. As always, thanks for listening!
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 36
Little Tokyo: Shoshi Watanabe Creates Very Singular Art
Recorded on November 16, 2018
Released on December 27, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:28:03
Shoshi Watanabe can be found on Instagram @flappingdeer and on the web at www.shoshiwatanabe.com.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: Darin Maki Has Studied Divergent Timelines
Darin and Jesse have one thing in common - a deep,undying love of Back To The Future 2: The New Batch. From there, it’s all basketball, brand management and clothing manufacturing, all topics on which Darin is an expert and Jesse is not.
Darin just wanted to be good at basketball and here he is with his own clothing line. It wasn’t a straight line that got him from those early days of practice (and subsequent ability to dunk on some fools) to his pop-up shop in Little Tokyo. There were some detours to Asia, parties at Feria, a stint with an airline and, through it all, a fascination with paper cranes. What does this all have to do with Back To The Future 2: The New Batch? Listen and find out for yourself!
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 35
Little Tokyo: Darin Maki Has Studied Divergent Timelines
Recorded on November 13, 2018
Released on December 25, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:14:19
CRFT By Maki can be found on Twitter @crftbymaki, Instagram @crftbymaki and on the web at https://crftbymaki.com/.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: Scott Oshima Is Looking For A Bookstore And Pizza
We’ve covered the history of Little Tokyo. We’ve spoken with those making tracks today in Little Tokyo. Now, it’s time to get the perspective of the community organizers, starting with Scott Oshima.
Scott’s job title is a monster; He’s the Lead Community Organizer and Project Manager Of Sustainable Little Tokyo at the Japanese-American Cultural Community Center. While we’re not exactly sure what that job title means, we know what Scott does. He works to keep the public and community spaces in Little Tokyo public and communal. This involves working with businesses, politicians, and the residents to ensure that Little Tokyo doesn’t lose itself to gentrification. Basically, if Scott could get transported into any 80’s Slobs Vs Snobs movie, the slobs would have a reasonable chance of protecting their community from the heartless developers. When we turn to The Fishbowl, we get a string of sexy questions before debating the best highway in LA and ultimately talk Advice Advice Advice. Thanks for listening!
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 33
Little Tokyo: Scott Oshima Is Looking For A Bookstore And Pizza
Recorded on November 14, 2018
Released on December 18, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:09:05
Sustainable Little Tokyo can be found at www.sustainablelittletokyo.org and @sustainablelittletokyo
Japanese-American Cultural Community Center can be found at www.jaccc.org and @jaccc_la
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: James Choi Succeeded A Bit Later Than Planned
As the owner and operator of Cafe Dulce, James Choi is the perfect guest to talk about business building in Little Tokyo. Funny story - more interesting than the successes are the challenges faced along the way and the businesses that didn’t make it.
Cafe Dulce can be found in the heart of Little Tokyo. And also down at 777 Alameda. And at any of the mobile or pop-up cafe experiences that they do from time to time. With so much happening in his business, it’s a real stroke of luck that we could pin down owner and operator James Choi to talk about his experiences growing the business. More revealing still are the stories of the businesses he operated leading up to Cafe Dulce, the ones that worked and the ones that didn’t. Listen along and see if you’re not inspired to run a few failed businesses yourself, all in the pursuit of the one that succeeds and succeeds repeatedly.
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 32
Little Tokyo: Little Tokyo: James Choi Succeeded A Bit Later Than Planned
Recorded on November 12, 2018
Released on December 14, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:12:11
Cafe Dulce can be found on Twitter @cafedulcela, Instagram @cafedulcela and on the web at www.http://cafedulce.co.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: Kayoko Suzuki-Lange Has All The Breathing Room She Needs
With one foot in the past, one in the present and one in the future, Kayoko has a lot of feet. In this episode, we learn about the journey that led her to creating The DTLA Book, a multi-volume collection of interviews, profiles and photographs of the people, places and business that make Downtown LA so vibrant.
It wasn’t a straight shot from Osaka to Los Angeles for Kayoko. In fact, there were many pit-stops around Japan and the US, all of them contributing to her newest project, The DTLA Book. @DTLABook is a real-time, history-as-it’s-happening profile of Downtown Los Angeles, with profiles, interviews, photos and more of local people, places and businesses. With volume 3 coming soon, Kayoko not only talks about the genesis of The DTLA Book but also how it’s growing, changing and evolving. Most relevant to this conversation is the addition of a profile of Bronzeville, a singular slice of Little Tokyo history. When we turn to The Fishbowl, we pull Fantasy Animals and Reasons For Living, topics as different in tone and timbre as possible and yet perfectly congruent with the tone and timbre of this episode. Thanks for listening!
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 31
Little Tokyo: Kayoko Suzuki-Lange Has All The Breathing Room She Needs
Recorded on November 16, 2018
Released on December 11, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:15:17
Kayoko Suzuki-Lange can be found on Twitter and Instagram @DTLAbook and on the web at www.district8media.com.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: Carol Tanita Was Involved In A Classic Sci-Fi Film
Week 1 - The Historical Perspective with Carol Tanita
Before Rafu Bussan was a shop in Little Tokyo, it was a cart. That was right after the war when Japanese families were starting over from after the camps. In those days, Rafu Bussan was supplying families with essentials like rice, flatware and utensils. Now, as a brick and mortar under the watchful eye of Carol Tanita, Rafu Bussan is a one-stop shop for gifts, artwork, cooking-ware and Chinese imports.
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 30
Little Tokyo: Carol Tanita Was Involved In A Classic Sci-Fi Film
Recorded on November 14, 2018
Released on December 7, 2018
Episode Duration: 00:58:43
Rafu Bussan can be found on the web http://rafubussaninc.com/.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.
Little Tokyo: Mike Murase Is An Active Activist
Week 1 - The Historical Perspective with Mike Murase
Talking to Mike Murase, it feels like he’s been a part of Little Tokyo as long as Little Tokyo has been a part of LA. While linear time makes that impossible, his insight into how Little Tokyo has evolved over the decades is still the perfect way to kick off this 8-part Mad-Macro-Series.
NOTES
Season 01 Episode 29
Little Tokyo: Mike Murase Is An Active Activist
Recorded on November 16, 2018
Released on December 4, 2018
Episode Duration: 01:07:35
Gidra can be found on the web at http://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-297/.
Hollywood Fishbowl can be found on Instagram and Twitter @HWFishbowl and at www.hollywoodfishbowl.com.