COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Celebrating success with catfish and cupcakes

Southern comfort: 'Tokyo is a very lonely city, so when people come to Soul Food House, they know they can get a genuine hug and great food, because that's who we are, and that's what we wanted to share here,' says Latonya Whitaker (right), who runs Soul Food House @ 148 in Tokyo's Azabu-Juban district with her husband, David (left). | COURTESY OF THE WHITAKERS

By Baye McNeil

Dec 20, 2015

In the spirit of Kwanzaa, the weeklong celebration of black heritage that starts Saturday, this month's Black Eye looks at two power couples of African descent who have focused their skills, talents and wherewithal on introducing the unique tastes of the West to Eastern palates. Having both launched their endeavors in 2015, I'd like to take a moment to celebrate the success they have found thus far here in Japan.

The first couple are Sasha and Henry Seals, the founders and proprietors of Yumm Cupcakery, a home-based bakery in Chiba that delivers treats all over Japan. In addition to cupcakes, the company specializes in cakes and cookies.

The two of them met in Japan (he's a 41-year-old American, she a 34-year-old Jamaican). Sasha came to Japan 10 years ago as an English teacher initially but that wasn't for her so she bounced around a bit. She would work in recruitment and a number of other jobs before meeting Henry. Henry had been in Japan off and on since 1994 so he knew his way around. He's fluent in Japanese and currently works in marketing for AIG. They fell in love, got married and gave birth to their first child back in 2010. They could afford for Sasha to be a stay-at-home mom, but she was raised differently.