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Metal printing template for Uwajimaya advertisement, ca. 1970
This printing plate is from the Moriguchi family who founded Uwajimaya, a family-owned supermarket chain headquartered in Seattle's Chinatown International District with other locations in the Pacific Northwest. It was used to create newspaper advertisements for the store. Fujimatsu Moriguchi began his enterprise in 1928, selling fishcakes and other goods from his truck in Tacoma, Washington. In the mid 1940s, after Moriguchi and his family were released from the incarceration camp in Tule Lake, they opened a store in the International District. The company is named after the town of Uwajima where Moriguchi first entered into the business, and "ya" is the Japanese word for "store." Denise Moriguchi, granddaughter of Fujimatsu, continued the family tradition of serving as CEO, stepping into the role in 2017.
ID Number: 2016.Uwajimaya.4
Date: Circa 1970
Physical Description: 1 Template, Lettering; metal; 10 in.H x 11 in.W
Credit: MOHAI, 2016.Uwajimaya.4