Nippon Kan Hall, Seattle Japantown. Built in 1909, the building was a vibrant community center filled with theatrical performances, sumo wrestlers, and opera singers imported from Japan. Louis's father (second row, second from right) was an enthusiastic volunteer. After WWII, the building was restored by the architect Edward M. Burke and his wife Betty and was the home of the Northwest Asian American Theatre, where Louis wrote and performed her first play, Breaking the Silence. Courtesy of Nikki Nojima Louis.