Maneki is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

restaurant in the

Japantown is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little To ...

area of the International District in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

that opened in 1904 as the first sushi bar in the city. Some claim it is the oldest Asian restaurant on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

, and it is recognized as one of the oldest sushi restaurants in the United States.

History

The restaurant is named after the

Maneki-neko The ''maneki-neko'' (招き猫, ) is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bob ...

. When the restaurant first opened in 1904, it was shaped like a

Japanese castle are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such ...

and employees wore

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

. The space could seat up to five hundred customers. Tokuji Sato purchased the restaurant in 1923. After the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

during World War II, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

signed

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...

, which resulted in the

internment of Japanese Americans Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. Since each family was only allowed to take one suitcase of belongings, much of the restaurant was moved to storage during this time. The original, castle-like building was

looted Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

and vandalized during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. After returning from the internment camps, the Sato family reopened the restaurant in its current location, which was the storage unit for the original restaurant during the war. In the early 1960s, Sato handed ownership over to his daughter, "Shi-chan" Virginia Ichikawa, and her husband Joe. In 1960, Fusae Yokohama began working at the restaurant as a bartender. Over the years, Yokohama became known as "Mom" by employees and regular customers. In 1978, the Nakayama family purchased the restaurant. In 1998, owner Kozo Nakayama died and left the restaurant to his wife, Jean Nakayama. Jean Nakayama began eating at the restaurant with her family when she was eight years old. Officially, the restaurant is now owned by InterIm CDA, an organization dedicated to the preservation of Seattle's International District. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Maneki saw a 70 to 80 percent reduction in business and stopped serving raw fish. The restaurant relied primarily on

takeout A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

and started its first website. When the restaurant was struggling to stay open, patrons donated funds through a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

page to keep the restaurant open. In 2021, the restaurant was chosen to receive a $45,000 make-over from

Puget Sound Energy Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is an energy utility company based in the U.S. state of Washington that provides electrical power and natural gas to the Puget Sound region. The utility serves electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in Island, Ki ...

to improve the restaurant's energy efficiency. The restaurant also received a grant from the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

Reception

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

, 2008

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in Seattle 1904 establishments in Washington (state) American companies established in 1904 Chinatown–International District, Seattle Japanese restaurants in Seattle Restaurants established in 1904 Sushi restaurants in the United States America's Classics winners

History

Reception

See also

References

External links