The Chinese call us "white devils," lo fan or fan guey, and their word for wolf is chai long. Their favorite drinks are mui kai low and ng ga pai. Don't try either unless you possess a strong stomach.
Before the war, there were few Japanese in New York. Most of them were treaty merchants, technicians or students, who evaporated with Pearl Harbor.
But then came the influx of Japs from the West Coast states. As many as 10,000 are reported to have moved here after being released from relocation centers, while countless thousands more came East before the final deadline to vacate Pacific areas. There was no Jap-baiting here. Many have since gone home.
There had been no "Little Tokyo" here. Now there are at least three small ones in Manhattan, alone.
The most concentrated one is in 65th Street, near Broadway, in the heart of the Filipino colony. Another, but sporadic, Jap settlement runs from 18th to 23rd Streets, near Ninth Avenue. A third group lives on the upper West Side, from Columbia University southward into the 90's and 80's where there are several Japanese churches, Christian, Shinto and Buddhist, and northward into Washington Heights.
Since the war, the Japs have taken an even less active place in the community than do the Chinese. Few are merchants or storekeepers. They, however, mix more freely with whites. The girls, especially, are found working in American offices, hospitals, hotels and even in show business, where many of the "Chinese" acts really are Japanese.
There are three Nipponese restaurants in New York, specializing in such concoctions as suki yaki, the national dish, and saki, the national knockout. These operated unhindered all during the war and were patronized by Americans and Chinese as well as Japs.
Miyako's in 56th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue, is internationally famous.