History
In the early 1946 Tsutomu Maehara returned from being incarcerated during World War II at Tule Lake to open Anzen Hardware on First Street in Little Tokyo. The hardware store supplied many local SRO (single room occupancy) hotels with basic necessary items such as toilet paper, cleaning supplies, paints, etc. Seventy-five years later, Anzen continues to service Little Tokyo one block down from its original location.
Current owner Nori Takatani has been part of the Anzen family since 1954.