Description

Ichiro KATAOKA – Aki Hotel.

San Francisco: Aki Hotel – 東海活版所 [Tokai Letterpress Co. Ltd.], January 1, 1931.

The Aki Hotel, located at 1651 Post Street in San Francisco, was operated by Ichiro Kataoka and his wife. This establishment was more than just a typical lodging; it served as an unofficial home for the Japanese Consulate. According to our publication, the hotel offered a wide range of services, including re-entry permit applications, exit permits, tax procedures, declarations, US citizen passport applications, boarding procedures, re-entry deferral applications, landing procedures, US stay extension applications, and cash bond provision, among others.

This charming pamphlet was given to guests by the hotel on New Year’s Day 1930. It contains information about the hotel, along with a small folding map of the location and images of some of the most famous buildings in San Francisco. Additionally, there is a lengthy article titled “Regarding the Proposal for Japanese-Americans to Return to the United States,” which addresses immigration issues and was written by Hajime Kataoka from the Hiroshima Prefecture Association of Japanese-Americans. The pamphlet also includes charts to assist Japanese immigrants with currency exchange, important dates, and information on the importation of various goods.

On December 7, 1941, just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ichiro Kataoka became the first Japanese man in San Francisco to be arrested and interrogated. Eventually, his entire family was sent to the Topaz War Relocation Camp in Utah. In 2021, their story was commemorated in the documentary “First to Go: The Story of the Kataoka Family.”

The Aki Hotel was demolished in 1959 and was replaced by the Miyako Hotel, which still stands today.