The Nishita Building

Constructed in the 1920s and known as Nishita Tailor Shop, this building was first designed as a plantation home, then the workshop for an upholstery shop run by Mr. Kataoka, who also built furniture. Mrs. Kataoka made and sold tofu and the couple resided there as well.

In 1930, the building’s namesake and newlywed, Masato Nishita, moved in with his wife Tokie Aoki of Honolulu. They worked for more than forty years in their tailoring establishment. Although the town also supported a Korean and a Filipino tailor, the Nishita Tailor Shop was favored for its formal suits and during World War II, its military uniforms. They were able to offer the latest woolen and gabardine material. While they both worked in the front of the shop, which was filled with equipment, they lived in the back area, raising a daughter and two sons. During this time the town was very busy and the Nishitas hired extra help from women who sewed out of their homes. The family enjoyed what they considered a quiet, healthy, country life.