Alexander Kaplan-Reyes
@Alexander_Kaplan_ReyesAlexander Kaplan-Reyes is a sophomore at Occidental College majoring in Asian Studies with a Japan emphasis and minoring in Politics. He is also a member of the Occidental College Glee Club and an avid consumer of Japanese popular culture.
Updated May 2009
Stories from This Author
A Pillar of Little Tokyo: Uyeda Department Store
May 12, 2009 • Alexander Kaplan-Reyes
Little Tokyo is a community in constant flux, as Korean merchants move into the area and as new projects, like metro rails, cut through it. One of its constants, however, is the Uyeda Department Store, a small store that sells Japanese ethnic goods like kimonos, paper umbrellas, paper fans, and geta. It is located at 230 East 1st Street in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Founded in 1945 by the father of its current owner, the store, otherwise known as S.K. …