At Alameda’s corner of Santa Clara Avenue and Broadway and named for a city that centuries ago served as the de facto capital of Japan, Kamakura was a go-to restaurant for lovers of Japanese cuisine on the Island for more than 35 years.
Opened in November 1981, the restaurant closed permanently after a major fire on the morning of Jan. 13, 2017. Loyal customers received even sadder news when they learned that Kamakura owner Akiko Yamato — known to most as “Faith” — died Feb. 5. She was 98.
“Faith was an elegant, kind and welcoming woman,” Kathleen Woulfe wrote on the Alameda Peeps Facebook page. “She will be missed. Her beautiful spirit has been with me since the day we met.”
Born March 18, 1924, Yamato met her future husband, Tetsuo “Yama” Yamato, when the latter worked with U.S. Army Occupation Forces in Japan. Tetsuo, who was born and raised in Hawaii, went on to a 32-year career with the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command and, along with Faith, ultimately opened Kamakura. Tetsuo Yamato died in 2000 at age 74.
Using the name Kamakura — described by some sources as a “quaint fishing village” some 50 miles south of Tokyo that served as the national capital from 1185 to 1333 and remains a popular tourist attraction — the Yamatos’ restaurant developed a popular following through the years.
Lines became a common sight in front of Kamakura, which served traditional Japanese cuisine along with creative and innovative items not found in other restaurants. At the center of it all was Faith Yamato, whose kind manner and attentiveness — she knew many of her customers by name — was greatly appreciated by her clients. She became known for providing plum wine to adults and rice candies to kids (or even to grown-ups if they asked politely for them).
Yamato and her Kamakura staff won several awards, including being named Alameda’s best restaurant for sushi in 2013. She was known for having a passion for what she did, with Kamakura almost a second home to Yamato. She played an active role in the restaurant into her 90s, with her son, Wayne, joining to help run the business in her later years.
All of that ended with the 2017 blaze that firefighters said may have been caused by an electrical malfunction. The fire, which swept through the kitchen, and the restaurant’s ensuing closure left some 20 workers unemployed. Yamato and her son hoped to reopen the restaurant, but ultimately there were just too many hurdles to clear.
In an Alameda Joumal and East Bay Times story that ran in January 2018 — a year after the fire — the Journal’s late staff writer, Peter Hegarty, reported that the restaurant “may not reopen for up to six months.” At the time, the property owner had to rewire the entire building to meet codes that had been updated since the building first opened.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have good news to start out the new year,” Faith Yamato, then 93, posted on the Kamakura website. “Looks like our dear landlord will need another six months to get his permits in order from the city of Alameda. We cannot begin our work until the landlord completes his requirements, so things are out of our hands so to speak.”
Upon completion, the work still had to pass city inspection, and the Yamato family also would have had to get further work done, such as repainting. Sadly for the Yamatos and their loyal customers, the reopening never took place. Alameda’s Greer Family Mortuary handled Yamato’s funeral arrangements.
Mike McGreehan is a former sports writer for the Bay Area News Group who especially enjoys soccer and baseball.