On "Shima Restaurant," Where Jack Shirai and Ayako Ishigaki Are Said to Have Worked (English Edition)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: On “Shima Restaurant,” Where Jack Shirai and Ayako Ishigaki Are Said to Have Worked This is a historical study of the New York years of Jack Shirai, the Japanese volunteer who participated in the Spanish Civil War and was killed in 1937. “Shima Restaurant,” where Jack Shirai and Ayako Ishigaki are said to have worked and which is believed to have been in Greenwich Village, appears in memoirs and related research. Its formal English name at the time and its precise location, however, remained unclear for many years. Through his investigation of a 1930s New York City directory and a Japanese American newspaper from 1945, independent historian Takashi Shibata discovered that an establishment called Shima’s Tea Shop existed in Greenwich Village. First evidence: the 1933–1934 New York City directory R. L. Polk & Co.’s Polk’s (Trow’s) New York City Directory, 1933/1934, held by the New York Public Library, contains the following entry: Shima’s Tea Shop (Mr Shima) 31 W 8th This contemporary entry directly records the shop’s name and address, together with the parenthetical identification “Mr Shima.” It provides an important clue to the establishment behind “Shima Restaurant,” whose existence and location had previously been unclear. In effect, it appears highly likely that this Shima’s Tea Shop was “Shima Restaurant.” Second evidence: the same name and address in a 1945 newspaper The “NEW YORK CALLING” column in the Manzanar Free Press, volume 6, number 81, dated 31 March 1945, page 2, introduces Shima’s Tea Shop at the same address, 31 West Eighth Street. According to the article, the shop had operated at that address for approximately twelve years and employed twenty people. The approximately twelve-year period of operation is consistent with its listing in the 1933–1934 directory. The scale of the business, with twenty employees, is particularly noteworthy. Despite trading under a “Tea Shop” name, it appears to have been a substantial dining establishment employing a sizeable staff. The newspaper also introduces it as a restaurant, making it natural to conclude that it operated as a restaurant in practice. The appearance of the same business name and address in two independent historical sources—the 1933–1934 directory and the 1945 newspaper—is the central finding of this study. Third evidence: proximity to Koichi Shirai’s residence The New York City marriage record of 17 January 1936, examined by Takashi Shibata in a separate research paper, records Koichi Shirai’s residence as 152 Thompson Street. An earlier route calculation using present-day streets and paths through Washington Square Park places this residence approximately 800–850 meters from Shima’s Tea Shop at 31 West 8th Street, a walk of approximately twelve to fifteen minutes, allowing for possible delays such as traffic signals. The calculation uses present-day streets and park paths. Washington Square Park has undergone changes since 1936, so this is not a reconstruction of an actual 1936 commute. The proximity of the two addresses nevertheless makes daily travel on foot entirely plausible. The two locations lay within a very close neighborhood area. If Koichi Shirai worked at the shop, the distance would have been a natural one to cover on foot as a daily commute. The relationship between “Shima Restaurant” and Shima’s Tea Shop Considering the shared name “Shima,” the Greenwich Village location, the long period of operation, and the character of a substantial restaurant with twenty employees, the author assesses the likelihood as extremely high that Shima’s Tea Shop was the establishment traditionally referred to as “Shima Restaurant.” The hypothesis that Koichi Shirai and Jack Shirai were the same person also requires further verification through primary sources. This is an unreviewed working paper that distinguishes these questions. Position of the research and future work As the result of Takashi Shibata’s independent archival research, this paper brings together different sources—a city directory, a newspaper article, and a marriage record—to present a testable hypothesis about the location and identity of “Shima Restaurant.” The author continues his research into the relationship between Koichi Shirai and Jack Shirai, their personal history, and the actual circumstances of their life and employment. Author: Takashi Shibata / Independent Historian Principal sources - R. L. Polk & Co., Polk’s (Trow’s) New York City Directory, 1933/1934, p. 3034. New York Public Library Digital Collections.- Manzanar Free Press, vol. 6, no. 81, 31 March 1945, p. 2, “NEW YORK CALLING.” Densho Digital Repository, ddr-densho-125-325.- Takashi Shibata, The Strong Case That Koichi Shirai Was Jack Shirai, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23429595.- Takashi Shibata, related research report in Japanese, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23415330.
Author: Shibata, Takashi
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225348300