In 1905, a labor contractor named Mosaburo Matsushima opened up the Teikoku Co. mercantile on the ground floor of the Merchant Hotel on what is now Northwest Davis and 2nd Avenue. It was located in the 10 or so blocks of downtown beginning to go by Japantown, or “Nihonmachi,” at the time. Hundreds of young Japanese immigrants were arriving in Oregon to work on the railroads, lumber mills, and fish canneries, and Matsushima was keenly aware of their need for a place to find Japanese ingredients and household goods for their growing families. Even more so, their need for a hub to build a community around, and the Teikoku
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