Yokohama, California1949

Yokohama, California, originally released in 1949, is the first published collection of short stories by a Japanese American. These linked stories are alive with the people, gossip, humor, and legends of Japanese America in the 1930s and 1940s. 22 stories present subtle glimpses into the lives of Japanese-Americans in their neighborhood in Oakland, California, aka “Yokohama.” Mori has a delicate touch, and the stories have more than a passing resemblance to Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio (1919); in fact, that book is specifically referenced in “Akira Yano,” a poignant tale about a man whose family wants him to train as an engineer though his dream is to become a writer. Unfailingly optimistic, Yano winds up paying $300 to have his book published, all the while expecting glowing...