With the publication of Crown City, acclaimed author Naomi Hirahara returns to her series of Japantown mysteries, this time jumping even farther back in time to the turn of the 19th/20th centuries. For Nikkei readers like me, this jump means that she transports us back to the time of our elders (grandparents, or great-grandparents): the Issei generation. And for those of us who have longed to know what the transition from Japan to America might have been like, or what the culture shock might have felt like, Hirahara’s novel satisfies that longing, and more.
Readers of Clark and Division and Evergreen (the previous books in the Japantown mysteries) may have expected a sequel in Crown City. Instead, Hirahara links this third book in the series through the members of the Wada family, who were side characters in these previous books: Crown City’s opening and closing letters are between the Issei and Nisei Wadas who were incarcerated during World War II. The heart of Crown City, however, belongs to the young Issei Ryunosuke “Ryui” Wada, who narrates his journey from growing up in Yokohama, Japan through settling in Pasadena, California (also known as “Crown City”). Ryui comes from a woodworking (imperial carpentry) family in Japan and immigrates to the United States after the unfortunate and unexpected death of his parents. In Pasadena, Ryui finds a new line of work, a few countrymen, and even his first crush—though few relationships turn out to be what he had hoped for or expected. After a racially motivated attack, an art theft, and eventually a murder, Ryui must find new reserves of strength and cunning to make his new life in America, joining forces with his photographer roommate Torajiro “Jack” Baba to find out more about these seemingly unconnected incidents. Ryui is the newest of Hirahara’s unwitting “civilian” detectives, but the pursuit of his own sense of self and identity is one of the most compelling aspects of the book.
Hirahara’s skill in bringing research-based insights to her characters’ emotional makeup is on full display in Crown City. Growing up in a woodworking family, a knot of wood becomes Ryui’s talisman and reminder of home—he names it “Tama-chan”—taking on more and more importance as the novel progresses. Throughout the book, Ryui frequently compares the customs and landscapes of his homeland with those of his adopted one. There are many concrete details about what he misses from home and what he does not expect from his new one. We are privy to his thoughts and comparisons from issues as small as the size of oranges (e.g., mikan at home versus navel oranges in Southern California) to larger ones (e.g., strict versus looser attention to social status). Ryui’s first meals, first attempts at bowling, and his reactions to his living situation all read as emotionally genuine and detailed while remaining relevant for the story. It’s also exciting to see Ryu’s puzzlement about the exoticization and commodification of Japanese culture in early 20th century California at a time of anti-Asian sentiment—and indeed, this is a question that Hirahara cites in her Author’s Note at the end of the book.
Though I was not familiar with many of the “real life” characters that Hirahara portrays in her book alongside her fictional characters, a few stood out: Tsuru Aoki, the Japanese silent film actress who eventually married Sessue Hayakawa, and Adam Clark (“A.C.”) Vroman who founded Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena.
The book also delves into the art world of this time and place: artists, art collectors, and import dealers, including real-life art collectors and Australian brothers Victor and George Turner “GT” Marsh. Chinese immigrants, Native Americans, and even “mixed-blood” African Americans characters also make cameo appearances. (The Author’s Note also cites a brief conversation with Seattle local Mayumi Tsutakawa which provided some insight into the early Arts and Crafts movement and artists in the Pacific Northwest.)
Hirahara also makes use of real-life incidents, such as the “cherry blossom dinner” that artist Toshio Aoki held in his art studio: a gathering for wealthy art collectors that capitalized on the interest in Japanese culture and customs. The photograph and account that Hirahara cites in the back of the book shows that there were Japanese (or at least Asian) attendants at the dinner, and it was a delight to read about the dinner from Ryui’s fictional perspective as one of those attendants.
Overall, Crown City is a welcome addition to the series of “Japantown Mysteries” that Hirahara is building, and I hope she continues to bring her research and insights to other neglected and richly fascinating aspects of Japanese American history.
Author Naomi Hirahara discusses her novel ‘Crown City’ with Mayumi Tsutakawa on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle at 7pm. 1521 – 10th Avenue.206-624-6600 or elliottbaybook.com. She discusses her book again with Tamiko Nimura on Friday, March 6, 2026 at King’s Books in Tacoma at 218 St. Helens Avenue. Time to be Announced. 253-272-8801 or kingsbookstore.com.
