An endless amount of trinkets in just every size, shape and color line the walls and shelves of Little Tokyo’s Blooming Art.
In a back desk tucked away behind traditional Japanese artifacts can one find the shop owner- Naoko Nikki Ikeda.
Naoko Nikki Ikeda moved to the United States in the mid 1990’s from her hometown of Tokyo, Japan in start of a new life.
“It wasn’t hard for me to adjust to America because I started out working for an international airline and met people of all kinds that way,” she said.
The airline she worked for was based in Japan but would travel all around the world.
She travels home to Japan every 3 months to visit family and friends, and to collect one-of-a-kind items for her store.
Her store is positioned in the center of the Japanese Village Plaza, and it attracts both locals and visitors alike.
Ikeda takes pride in selling symbolic items with a spiritual base, which tie to Japanese culture and tradition. .
“Ask me about any item in this store, and I can tell you about it,” she said.
Ikeda enjoys sharing the origin, background and meaning of each item to customers who ask. .
“I’m introducing real Japanese culture,” she said.
“These days, many people living in Little Tokyo do not know the difference between what’s Japanese, Chinese or South Asian.” .
Since Ikeda was born in Tokyo, she feels a need to educate others about what Japanese culture actually consists of and fears that it will be forgotten as Little Tokyo becomes more gentrified.
“Little Tokyo is changing a lot, there used to be more Japanese immigrants from Japan who owned businesses here,” she said.
More businesses are arising in the area that she said aren’t authentically Japanese. Ikeda said that there are gift ships in the village plaza owned and operated by people from other countries.
"Most of the new owners have never even been to Japan and can't explain our culture to visitors," she said.
Ikeda fears that if people come to Little Tokyo to learn about Japan, they may be misguided and won’t know the truth about the culture.
People from out of state and all over the world are coming to Little Tokyo to open up shops or eateries with little knowledge of the Japanese way of life.
Ikeda also mentioned the recent surge in popularity for Japanese food and culture all over the world. She’s seen sushi, tempura, anime and the Japanese way of living become a popular mainstay outside of Japan.
Little Tokyo is the biggest Japanese community in the world, so it’s easy to see why Ikeda is so passionate about preserving it’s history and culture.
“The way of life in Japan is different than in America, much more compact,” Ikeda said.
Japan is a small country with little space to hold it’s large and growing population.
She notices a difference in mannerisms and values when comparing life in America to life in Japan as well. Ikeda says that no one will have more than a two room house in Japan so everything is tight-knit.
Ikeda emphasizes that in Japan, parents tell their children to care for others over themselves. She can never bring herself to say no to people even when she is busy either because it’s a priority to help others.
“I like to do things for others because it makes me happy,” she said.
"It's the Japanese way of life."