The Uwajimaya Story
Uwajimaya is a food supermarket based in Seattle, Washington, USA, and is known to everyone. It started as a small family-run store in 1928 (Showa 3), and will celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2018. While many Japanese stores that once stood there have disappeared over the years, we explore the history and secrets of how the Moriguchi family has continued to grow and thrive.
Stories from this series
Part 3: Various Japanese supermarkets
Jan. 12, 2018 • Ryusuke Kawai
Uwajimaya, which has stores mainly in Seattle, is the largest chain store in the Pacific Northwest that handles Asian food, including Japanese food. Currently, in addition to Seattle, it has stores in Bellevue and Renton, both suburbs of Seattle, and Beaverton, a suburb of Portland, Oregon. There are several other Japanese supermarket chains operating in the same way. All of them are based in California, and they sell a wide range of products from groceries to everyday items, and some …
2nd Experience "Japan"
Dec. 22, 2017 • Ryusuke Kawai
There is no Japanese or Japanese-American living in Seattle who doesn't know the name "Uwajimaya." Even among non-Japanese Americans, the store is well-known in Seattle, where many different races live. Since the 1970s, tofu has become popular in the United States due to the health boom, and at the same time interest in Japanese food, including sushi, has gradually increased. As a result, basic foods such as rice and soy sauce are now available at many supermarkets. However, when it …
Part 1: An oasis for the Japanese
Dec. 8, 2017 • Ryusuke Kawai
"I miss the accent of my hometown. I go to the train station to listen to it in the crowd." This famous song by Ishikawa Takuboku expresses the loneliness he felt when he came to Tokyo in 1908 and went to Ueno Station, where people from Tohoku were gathering, to hear the nostalgic language of his hometown. I once heard that in the 1980s, Japanese people living in New York would often say, "The Empire State Building brings back memories …
