Goodbye, Joseph’s
By JOYCE TSE
RAFU STAFF WRITER
Monday, April 9, 2007

Men’s wear store specializing in short and extra short sizes closes its doors after 61 years in Little Tokyo.

MARIO G. REYES/Rafu Shimpo
Kenzo Okubo, 64, owner of Joseph’s Men’s Wear stands outside his shop on First Street in Little Tokyo on Thursday.

Okubo, who lives with his sons James and Matt, 31, and his wife, Takako or “Tachi,” 62, as she is known, came to Joseph’s in 1974 to manage the shop for the store’s founder, Joseph Ito. Ito opened Joseph’s in 1946 because he felt there was a need in the com­munity for a clothier who carried sizes to fit the shorter stature of many Japanese Americans.

It was at buying shows (for men’s clothing) that Okubo and Ito met and became friends.

“I used to work for Sears and was in charge of the men’s wear depart­ment,” said Okubo. “I would see him (Ito) at all the buying shows and he would say, ‘Hey! C’mon over and help me out with my store. I need to retire one day.’ And after a while, I got tired of working for a large company and decided I would like to have a little home where I could just know all my customers and take care of them like Joe did. I came on board and have been happy ever since.”

In 1982, Okubo bought out the store from Ito, who retired. Since then, every day that Joseph’s has been open, Okubo has been there. Initially the store was open seven days a week, but gradually decreased to six days and then five days a week because of Okubo’s diabetes. On days where he was busy and couldn’t eat until well past noon, Okubo al­most fainted. And recently, he started losing his eyesight, making it too dangerous to drive in the dark.

“I also can’t do (tailoring any­more). The tailor that’s here now, Misao Yamamoto, has been here for 20 years. I couldn’t have done it without her,” said Okubo.

Joseph’s officially closes on Sat­urday, April 28. For those hoping to make last-minute purchases and have items tailored on site, the last day to do so will be this Saturday, April 7. All sales after this weekend will be on a “take-with” basis because Okubo says there is already a lengthy list of alterations to complete within the next four weeks.

Members of the Little Tokyo com­munity have reacted with disappoint­ment upon hearing about the closing of Joseph’s. Many have shopped there and know Okubo well.

“It’s sad to see all the original businesses closing,” said Tim Yuji Yamamoto, an 18-year employee of Kimura Photomart, another fixture in the Little Tokyo community. “I used to buy things from Joseph’s back in the ’80s because it used to be you would buy a coat somewhere, but the length would be too long. (At Joseph’s) they got the proportions right.”

Already, some 40 percent of Okubo’s inventory is gone, as are many of his biggest art pieces that have decorated the store for decades. Aloha shirts from Hawaii, his single biggest selling item (he has sold at least a 100 every month), are $35; sport coats run $225 to $325; and suits are $500 to $750. All of these will be sold at discounted prices.

“We deal only in better-made, American-made garments,” said Okubo, who has had customers come in wearing suits purchased at Joseph’s more than 20 years ago. “They say, ‘I just can’t wear it out,’ and that makes us feel good because we know we’ve sold them something of value. That was a lesson I learned from Joe: Give the customer an honest value and they’ll keep coming back. That’s the philosophy I’ve carried through all my years here.”

Anything not sold will be given away to retirement homes or places they can use the size, Okubo said.

When asked whether he ever thought about moving Joseph’s down to the South Bay or his family up to Los Angeles, Okubo explained that neither was a good option.

“Our business is a destination business. Regardless where you are at, people are going to come to you because you’re the only place they can come to get your sizes,” he said. But the fact that Joseph’s is already “pretty centrally located” in Little Tokyo was a motivation for keeping the shop there.

“Our regular clientele drives from areas as far away as San Diego, Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino and Riverside,” said Okubo.

Tsutomu Maehara, 87, of Anzen Hardware, which has been in Little Tokyo for 61 years, said that even his friends from Oregon, who vacation in Los Angeles every year, use the time to shop at Joseph’s because “they need the special size.”

As for moving the family, Okubo said, “I’ve lived in the South Bay for 40 years and my wife is from Harbor City.”

Standing behind his store’s display cases, which are now also topped with African statuettes purchased at church fundraisers, wooden carvings of animals and many other odds and ends, Okubo looks at home. He has already given away many of his special knick-knacks to long-time customers.

“It’s sad,” Okubo said wistfully. “Customers that I’ve known for 40 years have come by just to chitchat. Some of them wanted something to remember Joseph’s by.”

Even the 3-foot bronze tanuki (raccoon) from Japan that stood in the storefront for more than 60 years will soon be gone. Okubo plans to donate it to the Japanese American National Museum.

While Okubo’s semi-retirement plans aren’t definite, he said he hopes to continue taking Sunday drives with Tachi, find a part-time job closer to home and do some volunteer work.

“I’d like to, if I could, volunteer within our community. JCI (Japanese Cultural Institute), South Bay Keiro or maybe Go For Broke Foundation—some place like that. I’ll be around,” said Okubo.

And as for his decision to close Joseph’s rather than sell it, Okubo said, “I decided to do a closing because I’ve seen too many stores taken over by big businesses not doing justice to the store or the customers. I have too much sentimentality for Joseph’s to let that happen to the store or the customers. I’d rather be able to say that we tried our best, and this is it.”
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Joseph’s Men’s Wear is located
at 238 E. First Street in L.A.’s Little
Tokyo. Open Tuesday through
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (213)