Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Henry meets Marty and Samantha for tea in a café by the Panama Hotel. Marty is surprised that Henry has chosen this place; he tells Samantha that his father has always avoided this side of town. In fact, Marty used to joke that his father was afraid of everything Japanese, the result of his grandfather, a “Chinese Farrakhan.” Henry defends his father by explaining the situation for Chinese Americans, who were discriminated against by the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and then displaced in their jobs by Japanese workers. After the Japanese were evacuated to relocation centers, Henry explains, Japantown became home to people of all different nationalities, but he didn’t want to return when it had become so different. Marty is surprised to find that his father did not share in his grandfather’s ideologies.

At the Panama Hotel, Henry leads Marty and Samantha to the basement and explains how all the belongings came to be stored there. Marty, not yet understanding, wonders if they are in the basement to search for an Oscar Holden album.