Unyielding History and Warm Hospitality: An Encounter at Little Tokyo’s "Koban"

Unyielding History and Warm 
Hospitality: An Encounter at Little Tokyo’s "Koban"

Wanting to learn more about Little Tokyo, Nisei Week, and Japanese Americans, I was wandering around Little Tokyo when an information center named "Koban" caught my eye. 

I stepped inside and began browsing through the reference materials. Although closing time had long passed, a man was passionately talking on the phone. I decided to wait until he finished to ask my questions. 

When he finally hung up, I realized the man on the other end—and right in front of me—was "Mr. Little Tokyo" himself, Brian Kito.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Brian said with a warm smile. The Koban he leads was established in 1996 with the cooperation of local volunteer merchants, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and the City of Los Angeles, following a rise in crime and declining safety in the 1980s.

Entirely volunteer-run, it provides translation, safety advice, and tourist assistance in both English and Japanese six days a week. Thanks to the volunteer foot patrols they mobilized, the district’s crime rate plummeted by 66%—making it a dependable guardian of the neighborhood.

In fact, Brian is also the third-generation owner of Fugetsu-Do, a historic confectionery store founded in November 1903 right across from the Koban. While Little Tokyo is the spiritual and cultural home for Japanese Americans, its history has been far from smooth sailing. In 1941, during World War II, Executive Order 9066 forced all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast into incarceration camps, forcing Fugetsu-Do to temporarily close. Rebuilding their lives and business from scratch after the war without their equipment was such an uphill battle that it led Brian to remark that his family "had to live the American Dream twice".

Today, one of his great passions remains the annual Nisei Week Festival. Originally established during the Great Depression to attract visitors and boost local merchant sales, Nisei Week has evolved from a commercial initiative into the largest cultural celebration in Little Tokyo. Brian ran a highly successful snow cone business at the shop's soda fountain during the festival in his teenage years.

In August 2008, he also co-founded the Los Angeles Tanabata Festival. Following the devastating 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the festival transformed into a powerful humanitarian effort, raising relief funds and establishing a permanent bond of solidarity with the devastated Tohoku region and the City of Sendai.

"The economic survival of Little Tokyo relies on Japanese Americans taking active ownership of the area and loving their heritage and culture," Brian asserts.

There is an unyielding spirit of Japanese Americans who overcame prejudice and hardships that cannot be seen simply by visiting as a tourist. There is also the profound hospitality of the Koban that warmly welcomes every visitor. While catching a Dodgers game is undoubtedly exciting, I hope Japanese travelers visiting Los Angeles will touch this historic flame and experience a journey where they can feel the pride and warmth of the Japanese American community first-hand.