Matsuda's history

Five months after the attack, on May 16, 1942, the Matsuda family and the other Japanese-American families on Vashon Island were forced to evacuate Vashon Island, and moved into the "protective custody" of inland internment camps for three years, along with almost 120,000 others of Japanese descent.

Graffiti on Japanese American home, Seattle, 1945

Hank Jones presenting Larry Matsuda with Most Inspirational Award, Nisei Veterans Committee Fighting Irish Football Dinner, Seattle, October 26, 1957

Matsuda returned to Tokyo in 1967 and created Nicole Co., introducing designs known for intricately detailed, yet surprisingly restrained interpretations of classic style.

Matsuda was born in the Japanese internment camp Minidoka after his parents were forced to the Idaho site during World War II, and grew up in Seattle, where in 1970 he worked on a Japanese American Citizens' League exhibit at the Museum of History and Industry.

Years of success with his clothing label led to the launch of his first Japanese eyewear collection in 1989.

Together, they created Goldin Meets Yukio Kobayashi, which won an award in 1996 from the Art Directors Club of New York.

Though Mitsuhiro Matsuda died in 2008, his passion for developing stylish eyewear by drawing from a diversity of cultural inspiration continues to live on through his influential brand.

A Cold Wind From Idaho (Black Lawrence Press, 2010) by Lawrence Matsuda

After leaving the market for a few years, Matsuda eyewear was reintroduced in 2012 by CEO James Kisgen, who was previously the director of sales at Cartier.

Doctor Lawrence Matsuda portrait, 2015, Painting by Alfredo M. Arreguin

In 2017, Matsuda won a regional Emmy for a visual adaptation of his graphic novel Fighting for America: Nesei Soldiers.

Doctor Lawrence Matsuda with his book, My Name is Not Viola (Endicott & Hugh Books, 2019)