By Jim Tabuchi
SACRAMENTO, CA – Step into Osaka-Ya Confectionary shop and peer into the windowed showcase and see the wide variety of colors and flavors of mochi and manju. There are traditional flavors of white and pink Fukashi and Sakura mochi. There are new flavors of mochi filled with chocolate or peanut butter for the new generation of mochi lovers. One bite and you will be transported back in time over 100 years. That is how long this specialty Japanese-American confectionary has existed. But will this business become extinct like so many other JA family businesses? Good news, the next generation will continue the business into the future!
Osaka-Ya is a Japanese-American cultural icon and is one of a handful of remaining mochi and manju shops remaining in the United States. Some believe that the store began as early as 1903 when it was located on 3rd Street in Sacramento Japantown or “Sakuramento”. It was operated by the Yasujiro Wakashino Family and then later by the Shizuma Shikasho Family. Like all Japanese-American owned businesses Osaka-Ya had to quickly close up when the all Japanese-Americans were forcibly removed and incarcerated in the Walerga Assembly Center and then to the Tule Lake concentration camp. After the war the shop reopened and resumed serving the loyal Issei and Nisei customers. But the shop was forced to move again as Sacramento demolished Sacramento Japantown in the name of redevelopment.
In the 1960’s Shikasho sold the business to Kenji and Asako Nakatani becoming the third family to own the Osaka-Ya business. Wife Asako passed away at an early age and their daughter Linda had to step forward and help her father. She grew up in the shop, watching her mother and father work hard every day. Over time she learned how to make the Japanese pancakes from her mother and mastered how to make the mochi and Fukashi from her father.
Each piece of mochi and manju is made the same way they have been for over 100 years – by hand. Stepping back to the kitchen you can see Linda standing over a table, tearing off a small ball of mochi. Each ball is dentical to the next, calibrated by her expertise in making thousands and thousands of these pieces over the years. She opens up a pocket in the mochi ball and using a small spatula, spreads the filling, in this case creamy peanut butter. She then closes it up and shapes it in a perfect round shape to be packaged for sale. On to the next piece.
In total the business has survived the depression, two World Wars, redevelopment, five locations and three families. It is a testament to the hard work and perseverance of each generation of owners. It also makes a statement for how much the local community appreciates their specialty goods. It is one of the only remaining businesses from the original Sacramento Japantown and was recently honored with the Burnett Award by the Sacramento
History Museum as one of the most prominent iconic businesses in Sacramento.
So, what is next? Succession in family-owned businesses is difficult. Studies have shown that only 30% of businesses pass down from the first to the second generation and the odds are even worse from the second to the third generation. In the case of Osaka-Ya, Linda Nakatani has two sons David (age 24) and Yoshi (age 22) Murakami who are ready to step in and continue the business into the next generation.
This, however, was not their original plan. The boys were not interested in following in their family footsteps. During their teen years one day Linda found her son David sitting in the walk-in refrigerator. When she asked him what he was doing he told her that making mochi was too hot and too much work and told her he was out of there. Her son Yoshi had his eyes set on becoming an accountant. But then the boys started to realize how special their family business was and their interest grew. The boys now work long hours and receive daily on the job training from their mother. They are quickly learning how to run the business and most of all how to continue the tradition of making the delicious variety of mochi and manju.
Pay a visit to Osaka-Ya when you are in Sacramento and experience this Japanese-American treasure. Sample the mochi, manju, onigiri and especially the shave ice on a hot summer day. The shop is open daily at 2215 10th Street in Sacramento. You may even see Linda, David or Yoshi in the back making the fresh mochi and manju, piece by piece.
