Rafu Nenkan / The Year Book and Directory, 1937-1938

Los Angeles, California: The Rafu Shimpo / L.A. Japanese Daily News, 1937. [appx 90], 485 pp. Limp cloth. With illustrations in color and black and white. Near Fine condition with some light wear to covers.. A very scarce directory of the Japanese-American community, with a focus on Los Angeles, but also covering other areas of California including Terminal Island and San Pedro and San Francisco, and other states such as Utah and Washington, published by the Rafu Shimpo. The directory lists the physical addresses and phone numbers of the residents. The first ninety or so unpaginated pages show photographs of prominent businesses and residents, and also include advertisements for Japanese-American businesses. Togo Tanaka, an editor at the paper, lobbied unsuccessfully for the paper’s continuation in the event of a war with Japan. He was eventually sent to Manzanar and the paper ceased publication in 1942. It would resume operations in 1946 due to the efforts of Akira Komai, the son of owner Toyosaku Komai, who stealthily hid the Japanese type under the floorboards of the office and paid the rent for the duration of the conflict. The directory continued until 1941. This issue, presumably published in 1937, was the first in the series.

Yokoi, Iris (September 19, 1993), "LITTLE TOKYO - Extra! Extra! Rafu Shimpo Is 90", The Los Angeles Times.