American Artistic Handcrafts Inc.
American Artistic Handcrafts Inc. is the Montgomery Street shop owned and operated by Robert Childan, a white American dealer in historic American artifacts in the Pacific States of America. The store is central to the novel's exploration of historicity, cultural hierarchy, and the commodification of the past under Japanese occupation. It is where Childan's anxieties about place and identity are most acutely felt, and where the authenticity of his merchandise—and by extension, the value of American culture—is called into question.
Setting and Daily Life
The store is presented as a meticulously maintained space, with a cash register full of change, a fresh vase of marigolds, and background music playing from a radio. Childan opens it each morning, sweeping the front and preparing for customers. The shop's location on Montgomery Street places it among the city's business district, where Japanese officials and wealthy collectors are frequent patrons. The store's atmosphere is one of strained politeness, as Childan navigates the complex social codes of the occupation, bowing to Japanese customers while managing his own resentment and fear.
The Business of Historicity
American Artistic Handcrafts Inc. specializes in pre-war American artifacts, from Civil War recruiting posters to Mickey Mouse wristwatches. Childan's livelihood depends on the Japanese fascination with these objects, which he sells at high prices. The store becomes a stage for the novel's central debate about historicity: whether an object's value lies in its genuine history or in the perception of it. This is dramatized when a customer, posing as Admiral Harusha's gentleman, exposes a Colt .44 revolver as a fake, leading Childan to question the authenticity of his entire stock. The incident shakes his confidence and forces him to confront the possibility that his trade is built on illusion.
Encounters and Social Dynamics
The store is the site of several pivotal encounters. It is where Childan first meets the young Japanese couple, Paul and Betty Kasoura, who later invite him to dinner, leading to a humiliating evening that exposes the cultural chasm between them. It is also where Ed McCarthy, representing Edfrank Custom Jewelry, attempts to sell Childan contemporary handmade pieces. Childan initially dismisses the jewelry but later takes it on consignment, recognizing its potential as a new kind of American art—one without historicity but with what Paul Kasoura calls "wu." This decision marks a turning point for Childan, as he begins to see the store as a place for new, authentic American creativity rather than just relics of the past.
The Store's Role in the Plot
American Artistic Handcrafts Inc. is also indirectly connected to Frank Frink's arrest. After the fake admiral incident, Childan reports the encounter to the Kempeitai, leading to Frink's arrest on charges of bunco. The store thus becomes a nexus of the novel's intersecting plotlines, linking Childan's personal anxieties to the broader political machinations of the occupation. Later, Mr. Tagomi visits the store to trade in his Colt .44, but Childan refuses, and instead shows him the Edfrank jewelry. Tagomi, in a moment of despair, buys a silver triangle, which he carries with him as a talisman, hoping to find meaning in it. This scene underscores the store's role as a place where characters seek—and sometimes fail to find—authenticity and connection.
Significance and Transformation
By the end of the novel, American Artistic Handcrafts Inc. has evolved from a purveyor of dubious antiques into a potential showcase for new American art. Childan's embrace of the Edfrank jewelry represents a shift away from the obsession with historicity toward a more hopeful, forward-looking vision. The store, once a symbol of cultural subjugation, becomes a site of tentative renewal, reflecting the novel's ambiguous but persistent hope for a way out of the cycle of domination and imitation.
