Roy Kuroyanagi
Owner of Japangeles
(310) 920-2383
141 Japanese Village Plaza, Los Angeles
    
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Born in Los Angeles with family based in Boyle Heights, Roy Kuroyanagi, the owner and creator of the clothing company Japangeles, remembers visiting Little Tokyo with his grandparents all the time. There used to be a market on Alameda Street where you could get tofu, fish, and fresh produce. Weekly, he and his grandparents would go to the market, grab the local newspaper, and just do errands around town.
When Roy decided to open up a business in Little Tokyo, he reminisced about chance encounters with friends and the experience of wandering throughout the neighborhood. This influenced him to stray away from an online store. Japangeles, a brick and mortar shop in the Japanese Village Plaza, is an effort to bring people out of their homes and into the neighborhood to touch the clothes, eat the ramen, and feel the vibes of this bustling community. And he's had quite a bit of luck with this mission, as Japangeles has quickly become a Little Tokyo destination. Many people associate the streetwear brand with the neighborhood as a whole.
Roy shared with us his thoughts on the Little Tokyo community, along with his favorite spots and hopes for future generations. Read on to hear this creative entrepreneur’s story.
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How did you get your start in Little Tokyo?
Roy Kuroyanagi: Ever since I was in high school, I wanted to have a clothing brand. I started two other brands before Japangeles, but those didn’t get anywhere. Around 2009, I came up with my first design. It was LA overlaid on Nihon (Japan) in Kanji (a system of Japanese writing). That led to the name Japangeles. I printed 100 shirts with a couple designs and had them sitting on the floor of my apartment. My then girlfriend’s friend, Pearl, who runs the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center said, “Why don’t you just come out and sell shirts here? We are having a cherry blossom festival.” All 100 shirts sold out.
From there I booked lots of shows and realized I was onto something. So I found a retired kiosk from a mall for $50 and asked the Japanese Village Plaza if I could open my own “pod.” I’m so glad they took a chance on me. And nearly two years ago, we were fortunate enough to open my first flagship store.
What is your most memorable experience in
Little Tokyo?
RK: Definitely Nisei Week. It consists of two weekends in the summer, around mid-August. There’s so much going on, and it's just so fun. I can’t recall a specific year, but ever since I've been here, Nissei Week has been a very memorable event in my life.
If I had one hour to do something in Little Tokyo,
what would you recommend?
RK: If I had one hour, I would definitely tell them to go to Mitsuru Cafe. It’s famous for its red bean cakes (imagawayaki), but it also sells a bunch of handheld snacks you can grab to take with you as you walk around and sightsee. Right now, well we're sitting in Cafe Dulce, and I’d also recommend that they come here. They have great coffee and really cool signature doughnuts. There’s also a lot of good museums. There's MOCA, JANM, JACCC, and Go For Broke. You could probably hit all those places in an hour if you had a guide.
What makes Little Tokyo different from other
neighborhoods?
RK: The people in this community and the local organizations. They are all so supportive of the businesses and the neighborhood. They want me and others to grow, and they want to help out. They bring so much energy and positivity to this place, and you can feel it. Anyone that visits Little Tokyo has nothing but good things to say. It's really the people, just great, supportive people who care.
What legacy do you want to leave in Little Tokyo
RK: I would love to create a playground for kids—a cultural playground. Kids could slide down a lucky cat or climb up a Japanese water tower or play on a seesaw shaped like sushi. Plaques around the playground could teach kids about Japanese culture. I’m all about educating through different channels. I also partner with the Go For Broke National Education Center on an educational streetwear brand. The mission is to teach youth through apparel. The idea is that if someone is wearing a shirt and someone asks about it, they can teach others about the Japanese American soldiers in World War II.
Overall, I want to pass on things that I’ve learned to the next generation. I’d love to influence younger kids to start their own businesses, take chances, and do the stuff they love to do. I came from parents that didn’t own a business, and I think the Japanese American or even Asian American way is to go to school and get a stable job. But life is too short, and you should do what you love. I never went to college, and I scraped by in high school. I was working for Chase as a business banker before Japangeles, but I wasn’t going anywhere. And I wasn’t happy. I know I got really lucky with my business here, and sometimes it feels like the stars just aligned. But I also think you have to go out and make your own luck.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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Meet Little Tokyo is brought to you by Go Little Tokyo:
a community led effort aimed at highlighting the unique
cultural programs, community events, and dining and
shopping experiences found in Little Tokyo. As one of
Los Angeles’ most vibrant cultural hubs, there is an
abundance of destinations and landmarks in and around
this historic walkable neighborhood, and Go Little Tokyo
will help you uncover them.
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