Takahashi Trading Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail, Wholesale |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Founder | Henri Takahashi, Tomoye Takahashi |
| Defunct | 2019 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
| Products | Japanese-imported home goods (folk art, origami supplies, tea ceremony implements, baskets, musical instruments) |
Takahashi Trading Company was a U.S.-based retailer and wholesaler specializing in Japanese-imported home goods, with its main office located in a 1912-built warehouse at 200 Rhode Island Street, Potrero Hill, San Francisco. Established by the Japanese-American couple Henri and Tomoye "Tami" Takahashi, the enterprise operated from 1945 through 2019, maintaining several retail outlets across the country.[1][2]
In 2022, this warehouse was officially recognized as a San Francisco Designated Landmark.[3]
Architecture of 200 Rhode Island Street
The five-story brick warehouse, designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh in 1912 for H. Levi & Co., exhibits a trapezoidal layout tailored to fit its triangular parcel.[4] Originally, the building was adjacent to a Western Pacific Railroad line.[4] It became the corporate headquarters of Takahashi Trading Company in 1965.[4]
History of the Takahashi Trading Company
Henri (1915–2002) and Tomoye Takahashi (1915–2016) were interned at the Topaz War Relocation Center during World War II.[4][5][6] While confined, they conceived the idea of starting an import business focused on home goods.
In 1945, they launched Takahashi Trading Company as a dry goods retailer and wholesaler on Post Street within San Francisco's Japantown.[6] The firm specialized in premium Japanese imports such as folk art pieces, origami supplies, tea ceremony implements, baskets, and traditional musical instruments.[6] Demonstrating community commitment, they obtained an export license to send care packages and medicines to Japan during the post-war recovery period for ten years.[6]
The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency acquired their Post Street location in 1959 to develop the Japan Center mall (constructed between 1962 and 1968).[1] Consequently, the company moved its warehouse operations to 200 Rhode Island Street in 1965.[4] At its height, Takahashi Trading maintained retail outlets nationwide, including stores on New York City's 57th Street; Bridgeway in Sausalito; Grant Avenue and Geary Boulevard; as well as Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco.[6] Tomoye’s sister, Masako Martha Suzuki, joined the enterprise to help manage its operations.[3][6] The business continued functioning from the Rhode Island Street location until shortly after Tomoye's death in 2019.[3]
Between 1985 and 2016, Henri and Tomoye Takahashi operated the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, which provided support to nonprofit organizations dedicated to promoting Japanese culture and arts within the United States.[6]
See also
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedOda - ↑ "Philanthropist Tomoye Takahashi Dies at 100". The Rafu Shimpo. June 10, 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Takahashi Trading Co. Building Approved for Landmark Work Program". San Francisco Heritage. 2021-09-01.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Cite error: Invalid
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- 1945 establishments in California
- 2019 disestablishments in California
- Japanese-American culture in San Francisco
- Potrero Hill, San Francisco
- Retail companies disestablished in 2019
- Retail companies established in the 1940s
- Retail company headquarters in the United States
- San Francisco Designated Landmarks
- Companies based in San Francisco
- Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area