Day 278: Mugi’s, East Hollywood, California
📌APIA Every Day (278) - Opened in December 1978 by Yoshi Sasaki in East Hollywood, Mugi’s was originally a Japanese restaurant featuring a counter bar at 5221 Hollywood Blvd. The restaurant quickly became popular among gay Asian men looking for a night out given its proximity to West Hollywood. The area gained a reputation as the gay mecca of Southern California, and throughout the U.S. as the wider gay rights movement grew more visibility and political power. In the mid-20th century, gay businesses such as hotels and bars opened up in West Hollywood that eventually became institutionalized social spaces for Los Angeles’ gay communities. Hollywood was a popular destination for gay entrepreneurship because it was an area where the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had no jurisdiction and would be less likely to surveil gay lives. However, West Hollywood was not always a welcoming space for gay men of color, who oftentimes came from working-class or immigrant backgrounds.
The owner, affectionately known as “Mama-Yoshi”, fostered an intimate, community-driven atmosphere at Mugi’s, where gay Asian men could find a refuge from the predominantly white social dynamics of West Hollywood. Over time, the bar evolved into a gathering space where the gay Asian community could convene, organize, and foster enduring friendships that extended beyond social nightlife. It became a space for gay Asian men to initially create community organizations such as Asian/Pacific Gays and Friends LA which advocated for the needs of gay Asians and worked toward greater political visibility within both the Asian American and LGBTQ+ rights movements. The bar also hosted fundraising events, including benefit drag shows, further solidifying its importance as a space for activism and cultural expression.
Mugi’s closed sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s, possibly due to the bar’s developed reputation as a “rice bar,” meaning it attracted older white men who fetishized gay Asian men. Although Mugi’s no longer exists, the bar remains, but other iterations do not market itself as a gay bar. Nonetheless, the history of Mugi’s must be preserved. As a starting point for the creation of a strong gay Asian community throughout Los Angeles, the friendships and organizations that are still present today provide insights into this life-changing institution that once existed and thrived. Given the relatively recent history, we reflect on how historic preservation practices can be inclusive of spaces and geographies that were integral to the livelihoods of gay, lesbian, and overall queer Americans that have courageously and tirelessly fought for their visibility and civil rights.
Written by Billy Zeng
LEARN MORE:
Asian/Pacific Gays and Friends - Los Angeles
Mapping the Gay Guides: Beyond the “Rice Bar:” A History of Mugi’s
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