You’ve probably walked past a place like Fugetsu-Do, a small family-owned shop with a well-worn counter. At the front, near the large windows facing the street, there’s usually a glass case filled with beautiful handmade artisan crafts. A case like this can contain all kinds of trinkets: leather, metal, antique, freshly wood-worked. Other times, it’s embroidered fabric or ceramic mugs with matching saucers painted in cheery colors. Pastries show up, too, in places like these, their heavenly scent wafting up and down the boulevard like an olfactory billboard.

On a busy street in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighborhood, nestled between a ramen shop and a monster-themed toy store, Fugetsu-Do sits under its forest green awning and cherry-red Kanji lettering.

Inside, boxes of mochi and manju—soft, squishy Japanese confections in every conceivable color and design—stack neatly within glass cases, forming rows of lavender, mantis-green, and lovely pink hues. The mochi and manju here are minor miracles, crafted using a family recipe that’s traversed centuries, passed down from father to son and on. 

Fugetsu-Do’s existence is no small feat. The shop has been churning out its signature treats in Little Tokyo since 1903, making it the oldest Japanese-American business in the country. It’s the Kito family’s pride and legacy.

Today, Fugetsu-Do is a beloved neighborhood staple and pillar of Los Angeles’ Japanese American community. It is a place where lines often stretch out the door and spill into the street. Recently, Fugetsu-Do joined the lineup at one of L.A.’s biggest summer food events, taking their place among Michelin-star chefs, celebrities, and the city’s rising culinary stars. But more on that later.

All in all, it’s a big deal. But to fully appreciate its magnitude, you will need to know the stakes. To get where it is today, Fugetsu-Do and the Kito family would need to survive a World War, anti-Japanese racism, and more than a century of upheaval.

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A sweets shop with a 123-year head start 

The year was 1903, and founder Seiichi Kito had just arrived in California from Gifu, Japan. He set off to find Los Angeles’ downtown district, quickly settling into the neighborhood that would later become Little Tokyo. Japanese immigrants had lived here since the mid-1880s. Its rapidly growing population had created a bustling hub filled with churches, schools, mutual aid groups, and boarding houses that offered rooms for rent and a hot meal. In the early 1900s, it was home to the largest........

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