By J.K. YAMAMOTO, Rafu Staff Writer
A screening of “The Crimson Kimono” (1959) at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on July 21 transported the audience to Little Tokyo as it appeared 65 years ago.
Directed by Samuel Fuller, the murder mystery stars James Shigeta as Joe Kojaku and Glenn Corbett as Charlie Bancroft — LAPD detectives and best friends who fall in love with the same woman, Christine Downs (Victoria Shaw), during their investigation.
Karen Ishizuka, chief curator at the Japanese American National Museum, introduced the film, which was part of the museum’s “Summer in the City: Los Angeles Block by Block” series.
One of the unique aspects of “Crimson Kimono,” she said, was that it examined race relations and depicted a romance between an Asian man and a white woman. The movie’s poster read, “Yes, this is a beautiful American girl in the arms of a Japanese boy! … What was his strange appeal for American girls?”
Shigeta was the romantic lead in other films of that era — “Walk Like a Dragon” (1960), “Bridge to the Sun” (1961) and “Flower Drum Song” (1961) — though later generations would know him for “Die Hard” (1988) and “Mulan” (1998).
Ishizuka gave a brief history of Little Tokyo, which was established in the 1880s by single male workers and gradually grew to include not only restaurants and other businesses but also homes, schools, temples and churches. Restrictive covenants prevented Japanese immigrants and their children from living in other parts of the city.
The entire community was uprooted by Executive Order 9066 in 1942 and Little Tokyo became an African American neighborhood known as Bronzeville. Little Tokyo was re-established after World War II, but there was more upheaval in the 1960s and ’70s due to redevelopment, which evicted many residents and mom-and-pop businesses.
Ishizuka pointed out that Parker Center, the former LAPD headquarters featured prominently in the movie, displaced a quarter of Little Tokyo’s commercial area and nearly 1,000 people.
Sites in the film that still exist today include Koyasan Buddhist Temple, established in 1912. Ishizuka’s grandparents were active members before and after the war. Rev. Ryosho Sogabe of Koyasan played himself — one of many non-actors cast by Fuller.
The film’s climax takes place during the Nisei Week Parade, which was held at night in those days. The children who appear in those scenes would be in their 60s and 70s today.
Another landmark in the film is Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights, one of L.A.’s oldest cemeteries, established in the 1870s, and one of the largest. Ishizuka noted that people of color were barred from most cemeteries and Evergreen was one of the few that allowed all races.
The cemetery scene includes a memorial to the 442ndRegimental Combat Team built in 1949 and a statue of posthumous Medal of Honor recipient Sadao Munemori. The monument includes quotes praising the Nisei soldiers from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen. Mark Clark, both of which are prominently shown on screen.
Another scene was shot outside Maryknoll Catholic School, established in 1920 and known today as St. Francis Xavier Japanese Catholic Center. Ishizuka said that Maryknoll was one of the few community centers in Little Tokyo that wasn’t forced to close immediately after Pearl Harbor.
Little Tokyo, which turns 140 this year, is at another “critical juncture” after surviving the mass incarceration and urban renewal, Ishizuka said, and many legacy businesses have been forced to close or move due to gentrification. She added that Little Tokyo was recently designated one of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the country by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Ishizuka listed community organizations that are addressing this issue, including Little Tokyo Historical Society, Little Tokyo Community Council, and Sustainble Little Tokyo, and invited the audience to attend events in Little Tokyo, such as Obon and Nisei Week, and to support small businesses there.
A Family Affair
Among those attending the screening were Samantha Fuller, Samuel Fuller’s daughter; Keith Shigeta, James Shigeta’s nephew; and Ivy Okamura, granddaughter of George Okamura, who played Charlie the karate sensei in the movie. (The dojo scene also features future Rafucolumnist George Yoshinaga as Willy Hidaka.)
“We grew up watching his movies and cameos on TV,” Keith Shigeta recalled in an interview. “I wasn’t able to visit him on set but I was fortunate that he invited me to a few of his award shows. That was special to me because he was always approached by fans but he was very shy.”
Regarding “Crimson Kimono,” he said, “I enjoyed the film. Seeing him brought back many memories of when we would go to dinner or he would come over to our house. We saw him as Uncle Jimmy, not so much the actor.”
Samantha Fuller offered her thoughts on the movie: “‘The Crimson Kimono’ was filmed almost two decades before I was born but it shaped my way of multicultural thinking since discovering it at a young age. It has been interesting to perceive how the characters in the story reflected my father’s mentality, teaching me about the ill effects of prejudice and to preserve integrity no matter the obstacles.
“James Shigeta’s charm and gentle character left an everlasting impression on me and I am proud of my father’s idea to have made him the chosen one. Having seen the movie again at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures with an appreciative audience, I realize that the movie may have subconsciously influenced my first teenage crush on a Japanese boy that could have possibly been different if the film had another ending.
“My father had to make a stand for the storyline with the American studio. During the same period, ‘Hiroshima, Mon Amour’ was released and it covered a similar romance between a Caucasian and a Japanese. I wonder if Alain Resnais, the director, had to fight to convince the French film investors too.
“I grew up surrounded by movie memorabilia and have always admired the portrait of Sugar Torch (the stripper who was murdered in the film) hanging above our mantle. I love the artistic way the painting comes to life with the movie’s opening credits.”
Of her father’s other films, she said, “I enjoy rewatching his movies and spotting props that live on in our daily lives and there are many from this particular film and also from ‘The House of Bamboo,’ which was shot on location in Tokyo several years before in 1955.” (The cast included Shirley Yamaguchi and Sessue Hayakawa, an Oscar nominee for “The Bridge on the River Kwai.”)
Regarding her own work as a filmmaker, Fuller said, “Being drawn to the Japanese culture, I made ‘Harumi,’ a documentary about my lovely neighbor Harumi Taniguchi. She was a Nisei artist living in Los Angeles. She reminded me of one of Yasujirō Ozu’s modest characters. We returned to Little Tokyo and to Evergreen Cemetery to film at a couple of the exact spots that take place in ‘The Crimson Kimono.’”
For those who want to know more about Samuel Fuller: “There are plenty of entertaining stories about my father’s bold filmmaking … I suggest reading his autobiography, ‘A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Filmmaking.’ It is available in English, French and Japanese.
“There is a complementary documentary titled ‘A Fuller Life’ that I made in 2012. It is streaming on The Criterion Channel and on Apple TV.”