Little Tokyo kicks off Nisei Week festival

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Festivities for the longest running ethnic festival in the country, called Nisei Week, kicked off in downtown Los Angeles Saturday morning.

Former Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Terry Hara is president of Nisei Week and has been a supporter of the tradition for years.

The festival celebrates 75 years this month. Historic photos show the first Nisei Week Queen standing with then Los Angeles Mayor Frank Shaw on the steps of City Hall.

The photos were captured by legendary photographer Toyo Miyatake, who famously built an illegal homemade camera while he was incarcerated at Manzanar Internment Camp. He documented life behind bars.

In 1923, he ran his own photography studio in Little Tokyo. Now his grandson, Alan Miyatake, is in charge of the studio. Miyatake shared the photos of the early Nisei Week celebrations with Eyewitness News anchor David Ono.

The festival ends on Aug. 23.