{"id":6979,"date":"2026-03-24T05:07:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/?p=6979"},"modified":"2026-03-24T05:07:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:07:00","slug":"naomi-hirahara-crown-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/naomi-hirahara-crown-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Naomi Hirahara: Crown City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japantown #3<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019ve enjoyed all the books in this series, but in some ways I would say Naomi Hirahara is almost more of an historian than a mystery writer, evidenced by this latest installment of this extremely enjoyable series. There is in fact a mystery in Crown City<\/em>, but the time period and setting are the real stars of the show. Another attraction is main character, Ryui Wada, an accomplished carpenter who emigrated to America from Yokohama in 1903 after the death of his father.\u00a0 Although he has a job waiting for him, he\u2019s just 18, speaks little English, and has a lot to learn, something that\u2019s brought home when he discovers Pasadena, the \u201cCrown City,\u201d a place that astonishes, fascinates and horrifies.<\/p>\n

Quickly given the name \u201cLouie\u201d by those who can\u2019t pronounce the real one, he\u2019s lodged in a rooming house with an assortment of other workers, some Japanese, some not. His work is the only place where he feels comfortable \u2013 the wood joints he assembles join together seamlessly, but he has trouble connecting with the strange food and the rude familiarity of his Western cohorts.<\/p>\n

His roommate is a Japanese photographer, Jack, whose previous roommate, Eddie, has vanished, an absence that hangs over the narrative.\u00a0 Quickly assigned to work a fancy party, called the \u201cCherry Blossom Party\u201d as it celebrates all things Japanese, he accepts, despite being puzzled by the theme. As he\u2019s taking out the kitchen trash at the end of the day he\u2019s assaulted by a bicyclist wearing a mask who knocks him over and leaves a note saying \u201cDie Jap.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s so unsettled he hurries home, forgoing his pay, and never telling anyone.<\/p>\n

The artist who hosted the party, Toshio Aoki, approaches him a few days later, telling him that he wants Jack and Louie to try and find a stolen painting of his.\u00a0 The two anoint themselves detectives and set out to crack the case, as well as attempting to discover the whereabouts of the missing Eddie.\u00a0 Their earnest efforts land them in some very unsavory spots and perilous situations, evidenced by Eddie\u2019s body turning up mid-investigation.<\/p>\n

One of their housemates is arrested for shooting an arrow at someone during an archery competition (it only takes out the man\u2019s hat), but because the competitors are wealthy, the police arrest a likely and convenient suspect and toss him in jail.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of an outdoor hut, and Louise takes to visiting his incarcerated neighbor and sharing his food.\u00a0\u00a0 He also has an altercation with Jack, leaves the rooming house and taking up residence on a sofa in Aoki\u2019s studio.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just the main plot.\u00a0 What can\u2019t be conveyed in a short review is the depth of Hirahara\u2019s depiction of 1903 Pasadena, of how the Japanese workers fit into the city, and the irony of their culture being celebrated while they themselves suffer hateful prejudice.\u00a0 She also sketches in different cultural touchstones and future icons, such as a certain Mr. Vroman (founder of the famous Vroman\u2019s Bookstore), a collector of netsuke.\u00a0 I kept my phone out to look up the landmarks Hirahara describes and the influence of Japanese culture on the architecture of the West was easy to see.<\/p>\n

I also grew fond of Ryui, who comes to life on the page as not just a poor immigrant with no family or connections, but also as a skilled carpenter, a man looking for love, trying to figure out how western relationships function, and simply looking for a path forward.\u00a0 This is certainly an identity story, not just Ryui\u2019s but of early Pasadena as well. A deft storyteller, Hirahara frames her narrative with letters between Ryui\u2019s children written after the events of the book.\u00a0 She creates a narrative that\u2019s both a bittersweet race through Ryui\u2019s life and a loving look at the early years of the city of Pasadena.\u00a0 —\u00a0Robin Agnew<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japantown #3 I\u2019ve enjoyed all the books in this series, but in some ways I would say Naomi Hirahara is almost more of an historian than a mystery writer, evidenced by this latest installment of this extremely enjoyable series. There is in fact a mystery in Crown City, but the time period and setting are … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2453,2452,10,2454,2455,1288,637,1276,664],"class_list":["post-6979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-1903-pasadena","tag-crown-city","tag-historical","tag-immigrant-life","tag-japanese-culture","tag-japantown","tag-naomi-hirahara","tag-robin-agnew","tag-soho-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6981,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6979\/revisions\/6981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}