Frances Hashimoto

Frances Kazuko Hashimoto(August 26, 1943 – November 4, 2012) was an American businesswoman, schoolteacher, and social activist. She was a key figure and proponent ofLos Angeles'Little Tokyoneighborhood.She was the head ofMikawayaconfectionery company  since 1970, where Hashimoto, theinventorofmochi ice cream, also introduced thedessertto American consumers.
Hashimoto's parents, Koroku and Haru Hashimoto, owned the family-ownedMikawayawagashi, a traditional Japaneseconfectionerywhich opened in 1910 in Los Angeles.They were forced to shutter their business with the outbreak of World War II.Koroku and Haru wereinternedwith thousands of otherJapanese Americansduring World War II due toExecutive Order 9066. They were sent to thePoston War Relocation CenterinPoston, Arizona. Frances Hashimoto was born in the Poston War Relocation Center on August 26, 1943.The family returned to Los Angeles after the war and their release frominternment. Hashimoto's parents reopened Mikawaya at 244 E. First Street in the city's Little Tokyo on December 23, 1945.
Hashimoto was raised inBoyle Heights, Los Angeles.She attendedHollenbeck Junior High School, where her classmates includedEllen Endo, the formereditorofRafu Shimpo, andTheodore Roosevelt High Schoolin Boyle Heights.Hashimoto received abachelor's degreefrom theUniversity of Southern California(USC) in 1966and became anelementary schoolteacher.
She taught third grade for four years until her mother, who had beenwidowed, asked her to join the family business full-time in 1970.Hashimoto mulled over her decision for six months before ultimately deciding to leave teaching.She became thechief executive officerof Mikawaya in 1970, when she was twenty-seven years old.
Though she faced some instances of gender bias, Hashimoto quickly sought to expand the family's business from one location in Little Tokyo to a multi-store enterprise.In 1974, she opened a second bakery location on Fourth Street in Los Angeles.Under Hashimoto, who served as CEO and president, Mikawaya expanded to include additional locations in Little Tokyo,Torrance, California,Gardena, California, andHonolulu, Hawaii.The company'sflagship storeis located at the Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo.
Frances Hashimoto is credited as creator of the popularmochi ice cream.She also spearheaded the line's introduction to the American market.Hashimoto's husband, Joel Friedman, initially conceived the idea of wrapping small orbs of ice cream with a coating ofmochi, a sweet Japanese rice cake, during the early 1990s.Hashimoto expanded on the idea, offering seven flavors of mochi ice cream made by Mikawaya.The mochi ice cream line proved a hit with consumers, expanding Mikawaya from more traditional Japanese pastries like chestnut buns or rice cakes.Mikawaya now sells its mochi ice cream inWhole Foods,Albertsons,Trader Joe's,Ralphs, andSafeway.Mochi ice cream now accounts for the majority of Mikawaya's sales.
Hashimoto worked for the preservation of Little Tokyo, with challenges ranging from changingdemographicsand economic downturns.
In 1982, Hashimoto became the first woman to chair theNisei Week Japanese Festival.She organized fundraising for Nisei Week and remained a strong proponent of the festival in the face of declining attendance in recent years, arguing that younger Japanese Americans needed to remain aware of their cultural heritage.She arranged for the festival's annually crowned Nisei Week queen and princesses to attend an exchange inNagoya, asister cityof Los Angeles.Hashimoto also pushed for stronger ties between Little Tokyo and Minami Otsu Dori Shotengai, a section of Nagoya.
Hashimoto served as the President of Little Tokyo Business Association (LTBA) from 1994 to 2008.She actively sought to preserve the character of Little Tokyo and oversaw the redevelopment of the neighborhood, includingsignage, housing, and security.Los Angeles City CouncilwomanJan Perrylater noted that, "She worked very hard to protect the history, integrity and identity of Little Tokyo as the largestJapantowninCalifornia."She was also a member of the boards of several Japanese American organizations, including the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California.Hashimoto also served as the vice president of the Little Tokyo Community Council.
In the spring of 2012, the government of Japan awarded Hashimoto theOrder of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, for her contributions toJapan–United States relations.
On September 19, 2012, theLos Angeles City Councilunanimously voted to rename theintersectionof Azusa and Second Streets "Frances Hashimoto Plaza" in recognition of her cultural contributions to the city. The motion was jointly sponsored by city council membersJosé Huizar, who represents Boyle Heights, andJan Perry, who representsDowntown Los Angeles, including Little Tokyo.The new name for the plaza was formally unveiled at a ceremony held on November 15, 2012.
The Nisei Week Foundation's annually awarded community service award is now named in her honor.
Hashimoto died at her home inPasadena, California, fromlung canceron Sunday, November 4, 2012, at the age of 69.She was survived by her husband, Joel Friedman, their sons, Bryan Koji and Ryan Koroku Hashimoto-Friedman, and her sister, Sachiko June Osugi.