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Patricia Wakida

Patricia Wakida

Patricia Miye Wakida is a fourth-generation Japanese American artist, writer and community historian. For the past fifteen years, she has done editorial, curatorial, or development work with numerous cultural institutions such as the Japanese American National Museum, the Oakland Museum of California, Topaz Museum, Densho Project, Heyday Books and has served on numerous non-profit boards. She studied as as an apprentice papermaker in Gifu, Japan and as an apprentice printer and hand bookbinder in Berkeley, California; to this day, she still maintains her own linoleum block and letterpress business, handcarving and cranking out prints on 100-year-old equipment. She lives in the heart of the Fruitvale district of Oakland, California, with her husband and son.

Patricia Wakida
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A black and white photo of George Izumi holding a cake decorated to look like a house covered in snow and topped with a reindeer and sleigh cake topper. Isumi is wearing a hat that says, "Grace Pastries," and is standing in front of a rack full of decorated sheet cakes.
Over 70 Years Later, Grace Pastries’ Sweet Memories Linger On
At Grace Pastries, the cake was king; a symbolic reward that came as a result of the Japanese American communities' hard-earned post-war successes. Within a decade of its opening, Grace Pastries had the highest name recognition of any bakery in Los Angeles and continues to leave a lasting impression.
A black and white image of a Japanese American man named Kazuo Inouye.
How a Japanese American-Owned Real Estate Firm Broke up Racist Covenants in Southern California
Kazuo K. Inouye of Kashu Realty was a second-generation Japanese American who made it his business to populate racially restricted Los Angeles neighborhoods with Angelenos of color, thus shaping the culture of the city block by block, for generations to come.
A before photo of the Tsurutani family at Manzanar by Ansel Adams and an after photo of Bruce, now 76, by Paul Kitakagi Jr.
Photographer Traces the Stories of Incarcerees Post-WWII
Paul Kitagaki, Jr. excavates the almost-forgotten stories of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II. His photographs and oral histories are an attempt to keep the painful, but important memories of that troubled past alive.
Nebuta float during Nisei week Festival | Christopher Lance/Flickr/Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Where to Enjoy Japanese American Culture in L.A.
Japanese Americans have a deep history in Los Angeles. Here are some places and experiences where you can witness the impact the Japanese American community has had on Los Angeles, where both traditions and contemporary cultural experiments thrive.
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