When the Morimura Brothers established operations in New York City in 1876, their influence rippled beyond trade: their firm became one of the earliest anchors for Japanese immigrants, students, and professionals in the United States. More than just exporters and importers, Morimura Brothers & Co. played a central role in forging community ties, offering guidance, identity, and visibility to a fledgling Japanese presence in the city.
One of the earliest documented moments of Japanese arrival to New York was in 1876, when six young men traveling on the ship Oceanic, including Toyo Morimura, first set foot in the city after departing Yokohama. These Japanese businessmen arriving on the Oceanic were commercial trainees recruited by Momotaro Sato. Their journey (see Japanese Businessmen Arrive on the Oceanic) marks the start of formal Japanese commercial activity in New York, and with it, the beginnings of a community whose connections would rely in part on the Morimura enterprise.
Inside New York, the Morimura Brothers office became not only a site of commerce but also a gathering place. Japanese artists, students, merchants and others arriving from Japan often sought Morimura Brothers for support making cultural and professional transitions. For example, Kotato Gado, a painter born in Tochigi Prefecture in 1880, moved to the U.S. in 1906, and eventually worked in the design department of Morimura Brothers, where he painted ceramics and practiced his art. His career illustrates how Morimura Brothers provided employment and artistic opportunity to Japanese immigrants navigating life in New York (see Kotato Gado).
Morimura Brothers also contributed to strengthening communal identity. For Japanese residents—many isolated by language, culture, or distance—the firm’s success offered a source of shared pride. Products from Japan, especially ceramics, were not just items for sale but symbols of national legacy. Participation in exhibitions, or visibility in storefronts and catalogs, meant Japanese craftsmanship and aesthetics were recognized, appreciated, and associated with Japanese people living in the city.
Further, the Morimura network enabled mentorship, employment, and social ties. Young arrivals could find work at Morimura, receive introductions to American business practices, or gain references that opened doors in arts, retail, and beyond. The firm’s offices acted as informal community centers, where Japanese newcomers could consult with more established figures for advice on housing, travel, or language.
By the early twentieth century, the Japanese community in New York had begun to coalesce—forming cultural societies, clubs, and business associations. Morimura Brothers’ early leadership and infrastructure laid groundwork for that growth. Their influence lives on not only in the legacy of Noritake porcelain but in the stories of those who found in New York a place of both challenge and belonging.
References
Japanese Businessmen Arrive on the Oceanic. Digital Museum of the History of Japanese in NY. historyofjapaneseinny.org
Kotato Gado. Digital Museum of the History of Japanese in NY. historyofjapaneseinny.org
Morimura, Ichizaemon. Morimura Ichizaemon den 森村市左衛門伝. Tokyo: Morimura Shōten, 1923.
Satō, Akira. Kindai Nihon no Bōeki to Morimura Gumi 近代日本の貿易と森村組. Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Hyōronsha, 1982.
Noritake Company. One Hundred Years of Noritake China. Nagoya: Noritake, 2004.
