Discover Nikkei

Episode 17: Nen-neh A semi-monthly comic that explores the experiences of contemporary Japanese immigrants in the U.S. This week, Yoko is shocked by Japanese American Japanese... “Nen-neh.” Check back twice a month for subsequent entries. Click to enlarge---Image text transcription---SHIN ISSEI JOURNEYZZZ....ONLINE CHATTING DURING STAY-AT-HOME ORDER.KEN'S MOTHER   3SEI, (3RD GENERATION)   KNOWS A LITTLE BIT OF JAPANESE—CHATTER—CHATTERYOKO: OH, IT'S LATE …

In this week's "Shin Issei Journey" by Arisa Nakamura, Yoko is shocked by Japanese American Japanese... “Nen-neh.”
discovernikkei.org/e...
#comic #cartoon

Journal Entry # Coined in 1908: "My Spirit Animal Ran Away..." A weekly visual journal/cartoon about an easily-annoyed fourth generation American of Japanese descent. This week, “Animal Symbology - The Bluebird of happiness and his lesser-known companions.” Check back every weekend for subsequent entries. (Click to enlarge)----Image text transcription---JOURNAL ENTRY # COINED IN 1908: "MY SPIRIT ANIMAL RAN AWAY..."ANIMAL SYMBOLOGY: THE BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS AND HIS …

In this week's "My Name is Neal" is... “Animal Symbology - The Bluebird of happiness and his lesser-known companions” by @Neal Yamamoto

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#comic #cartaoon

Episode 2 (Part 3): Susan Hayase and Tom Izu Read Episode 2 (Part 2) On Finding Balance Tamiko Nimura (TN): Language is important. I mean, I’m a writer, so of course I would say that, but I do think that being able to name things in ways is helpful for people. It gives them a tool. That gives me a good link to that …

Continuation of Tamiko Nimura's interview with San Jose community leaders, Susan Hayase and Tom Izu. They discuss and give tips on keeping their lives balanced with the organizing work they do, succession planning and sustainability.

Chapter 9: Shigetsuna Furuya and His Children (Part 3)—Japanese Immigrants and Brazilian Railways As mentioned in the previous article , Furuya Shigetsuna purchased land along the Juquia Railway in the southwest of São Paulo state and began operating a banana farm at the end of 1929. To get to this farm (later called Furuya Daiichi Farm), one had to board the Juquia Railway from Santos, get off at …

The long journey for Japanese immigrants heading to São Paulo didn't end at stepping off the boat. A train ride to their destination on Brazil's fledgling transit system meant seven hours of flying sparks, uncomfortable seats, and being locked in non-citizen carriages.

Crown City Delivers a History Lesson Cloaked in Mystery An opulent dinner set beneath cherry blossom trees. A racist attack in front of the exclusive Hotel Green. The theft of a painting from a Japanese artist’s studio. A deceased body discovered in The Arroyo. Turn-of-the-20th-century Pasadena, nicknamed Crown City, comes to life through the eyes of 18-year-old Ryunosuke Wada, a newly arrived immigrant from …

Two real-life people are featured in award-winning author Naomi Hirahara’s third book in her Japantown Mystery series, "Crown City." Learn the background of the novel and how they fit into the story! discovernikkei.org/e...
Naomi Hirahara will be at @jamuseum.bsky.social on Mar 21! Click for info.

Meet Nadine Sachiko Hsu: Nikkei Author and Former Professional Race Car Driver Nadine Sachiko Hsu defies categorization and the restrictions that come with it. From her time as a rebellious teenager sneaking out to watch illegal street races in the 90s to her current projects as a children’s book author, Hsu is someone who challenges stereotypes and breaks barriers. At one of these street races, Hsu recalls …

Happy Hinamatsuri! (Girls' Day) We interviewed a Nikkei woman role model who challenges stereotypes and breaks barriers: former professional race car driver and children’s book author Nadine Sachiko Hsu.

My Los Angeles: Gardena On the corner of 166th Street and Halldale Avenue there sits the Gardena Buddhist Church. With it comes a Japanese language school—a place my father, his brothers, my brother, my cousins, and myself attended from a young age, not to mention it’s where my grandmother taught for at least two decades. The occasional heritage or …

Experience Gardena through the vibrant memories of Michael Igarashi-Cardenas. From the Buddhist Church to homemade tamales, feel the Mexican and Japanese roots woven together.

Kyle’s Essay For those among you who have experienced the loss of a parent and the ritual of looking through the items accumulated over a lifetime (ranging from a beloved chair, an heirloom brooch, and papers documenting the path their lives traveled), you know how this process can be an emotional journey filled with sorrow and joy. …

When Kyle Choi found a video interview of his grandfather as a WWII MIS veteran, he learned more about him than he could have imagined. A true gift, he appreciated the man his grandfather became overcoming hardships. Read Kyle's reaction to the video from Nichi Bei News.

Journal Entry # Invented in 1880: "Important Intersetions..." A weekly visual journal/cartoon about an easily-annoyed fourth generation American of Japanese descent. This week, “Venn Diagramming My Process for Creating Cartoons” Check back every weekend for subsequent entries. (Click to enlarge)----Image text transcription---JOURNAL ENTRY #INVENTED IN 1880: "IMPORTANT INTERSECTIONS..."VENN DIAGRAMMING MY PROCESS FOR CREATING CARTOONS:Left Circle: IMMINENT DEADLINERight Circle: PENCILS FULLY SHARPENEDBottom Circle: INSOMNIAIntersections:Top …

In this week's "My Name is Neal" is... “Venn Diagramming My Process for Creating Cartoons” by Neal Yamamoto: discovernikkei.org/e...

#comic #cartoon

Episode 2 (Part 2): Susan Hayase and Tom Izu Read Episode 2 (Part 1) Highlights Tamiko Nimura (TN): Thank you. I’m so excited, I can’t wait to bring this to other people. The next question I have is about leaning into the good, because I think we need that, as well, to know that there are rewards as well as the challenges. So I …

Continuation of Tamiko Nimura's interview with San Jose community leaders, Susan Hayase and Tom Izu. They discuss the projects they have been involved with including their current projects like Sustainable Japantown.

Robert Frase: A Compassionate Administrator (Part I)—Service with the WRA The War Relocation Authority, the federal agency created to build and oversee the camps where Japanese Americans were confined during World War II, has received decidedly mixed reviews from later chroniclers. The most notable attack came in the form of Richard Drinnon’s well-researched but vengeful 1987 study Keeper of Concentration Camps, which underlined the white …

Greg Robinson highlights Robert W. Frase, the assistant chief of the War Relocation Authority's Employment Division which placed Japanese Americans in jobs outside of concentration camps during World War II.

Samuel Matsuda: symbol of an era Some deaths feel like the end of an era. People who symbolize or represent a community, a generation, are gone. A community and a generation that are impoverished by their departure, that see one of their finest sons leave forever. Samuel Matsuda Nishimura, one of the most prominent Nikkei of his generation (photo Peru Shimpo). …

Peruvian Nisei Samuel Matsuda Nishimura was many things—writer, politician, dekasegi—but above all, he was an icon of the postwar community. Honor his legacy with Enrique Higa's touching piece.

Our Chicago Adventure to Find the Wooded Island For this column’s focus on a postcard, I’m actually working backwards. With my Chicagoland guides, Bob Kumaki and Mary Collins, in August 2023, I sought to step foot on a site that changed American perceptions of Japan in the late 1800s—Jackson Park, the site of the Japanese Pavilion at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Through …

Explore the beginnings of Japanese design in America! Naomi Hirahara finds a beautiful piece of history tucked into a corner of the Chicago area since 1893.

Yosakoi Soran dance preserves traditions and imparts knowledge Created in 2007, the Saikyou Yosakoi Soran Group performs at various Japanese cultural events (photo: Danilo Yodono) Being part of a group can transform someone's life. And that's what changed the life of Milene Hikaru Morimoto, a 20-year-old Architecture and Urban Planning student. The young third-generation Japanese-Brazilian (sansei) joined the Saikyou Yosakoi Soran group on …

What takes inspiration from traditional Japanese dance, cheerleading, and talent shows? The Saikyou Yosakoi Soran integrates it all into their award-winning contemporary performances while preserving and sharing Nikkei culture in Brazil.

Episode 16: Day of Remembrance A semi-monthly comic that explores the experiences of contemporary Japanese immigrants in the US. This week, “Day of Remembrance.” Check back twice a month for subsequent entries. Click to enlarge---Image text transcription---SHIN ISSEI JOURNEY Remaining barbed wire At the MinidokaNational Historic SiteFEB. 19 IS “DAY OF REMEMBRANCE.”IT’S THE DAY WHEN EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 WAS SIGNED BY …

As Japanese American communities commemorate Day of Remembrance with events, we present the latest “Shin Issei Journey” comic on Discover Nikkei. Yoko and Ken visit the Minidoka National Historic site and learn about the WWII experiences of Japanese Americans in Seattle.

Journal Entry # Over 73,000 Species: "Plant a Tree..." A weekly visual journal/cartoon about an easily-annoyed fourth generation American of Japanese descent. This week, “Trees I Grew Up With” Check back every weekend for subsequent entries. (Click to enlarge) ----Image text transcription---JOURNAL ENTRY #OVER 73,000 SPECIES: “PLANT A TREE…” TREES I GREW UP WITH:CHARLIE BROWN’S KITE EATING TREEI always wondered if it ate birds, …

In this week's "My Name is Neal" is... “Trees I Grew Up With” by Neal Yamamoto: discovernikkei.org/e...

#comic #cartoon

Episode 2 (Part1): Susan Hayase and Tom Izu Back in 2021, I had spoken to Susan Hayase and Tom Izu about the “Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown” project. But I have remained in social media touch with them since then and have remained in awe of their community work for many years. Just to give you a sense of their vibrant and valuable …

In Tamiko Nimura's second installment of her We Who Resist series, she interviews San Jose community leaders, Susan Hayase and Tom Izu. They discuss the projects they have been involved with including their current projects.

Remembrance As we are in the midst of dozens of Day Of Remembrance programs happening all across North America, I’m excited to share a poem this month by one of our young community leaders, Matthew Weisbly. His activism as well as his dedication to family and community come through all he does, including his poetry. If …

This month’s “Nikkei Uncovered” poetry column, curated by traci kato-kiriyama, features a powerful piece from community leader, Matthew Weisbly, as Day of Remembrances are being prepared all across North America. discovernikkei.org/e...
#DayOfRemembrance #Poetry⁠

The documentary Bunka Means Culture and the stories of Nikkei cuisine Peruvian cuisine has always been characterized by its diversity, and within this melting pot of influences, one in particular caught the attention of the young Peruvian filmmaker Omar Young, who decided to make a documentary portraying how Nikkei cuisine has transcended mere fusion to become a culture in its own right. Based in the United …

Javier García Wong-Kit highlights the documentary film "Bunka Significa Cultura" (Bunka Means Culture) by Omar Young. The film on Nikkei cuisine explores how each Nikkei chef explores cuisine to express their own identity and serves it on a plate.

The Inventory of Emptiness Being Nikkei is like juggling plates. On one plate there's gaman — that Japanese habit of enduring the unbearable without uttering a peep. On the other, there's the Brazilianness of wanting to hug, cry, and have a barbecue on the rooftop. I spent forty-six years holding these plates, balancing everything on a unicycle called "Searching …

A single box from his late father forces Fabio Sakata to reflect on being an eldest son, a father himself, and being Nikkei in Brazil.

Grooves between worlds: An Interview with DJ Chihana Sakurai I got to live in Montreal, Quebec, for two months this summer. While there, I had the opportunity to expand on my curiosity about the Japanese Canadian diaspora. I got to meet and interview Chihana Sakurai, a Montreal-based DJ born in Tokyo, Japan. We met up at a café in Montreal, and I was able …

Peek into the multinational music of Montreal-based DJ Chihana Sakurai, aka Csonwax! Maya G. Fuentes asks about Sakurai's beginnings, preferences at the DJ booth, and future in Canada.

Resist: Kodomo no Tame Ni Kodomo no Tame Ni—“for the sake of our children” is a phrase often cited by Japanese Americans to describe the sacrifices our grandparents and great-grandparents made in order for us to live in America. I think of that phrase in the context of what is happening today in our country. In 1942 it was the …

Hot off the presses is Gwen Muranaka's latest comic on being Nikkei! The time for “Kodomo no Tame Ni”—“for the sake of our children,” is now.

Journal Entry # 4 Broken Chambers: "Augh! Feb. 14th!..." A weekly visual journal/cartoon about an easily-annoyed fourth generation American of Japanese descent. This week, “Map of the Human (Well, Mine) Heart” Check back every weekend for subsequent entries. Click to enlarge

In this week's "My Name is Neal" is... “Map of the Human (Well, Mine) Heart” by Neal Yamamoto: discovernikkei.org/e...

#comic #cartoon

Chapter 8: Shigetsuna Furuya and His Children (Part 2) Furuya Shigetsuna left Japan in October 1928, traveled through Europe, and arrived in Brazil in early December of the same year. The São Paulo Japanese-language newspaper, the Brazil Times, reported on December 13, 1928, that "He arrived here alone on the 3rd of last month, via Europe, and is currently staying at 23 Visconde Rio …

Sachio Negawa continues with stories from South America and Furuya Shigetsuna's life in Brazil.

Lin Yutang and Japanese Americans: A Hostile Admiration? Lin Yutang Lin Yutang had a complex relationship with Japanese Americans. As a major writer and Asian American intellectual celebrity, he was a model of achievement for members of Japanese communities during the 1930s. However, once the Japanese army occupied China in 1937, and Lin emerged as an outspoken supporter of China against the Japanese invader, …

Shushun Gao and Greg Robinson collaborate on another research project, the complex relationship between Lin Yutang and Japanese Americans in the 1930s.

Da Maui Manjookie Lady: Jannelle Fukuoka Pepetuates Culture through her Celebrated Manju + Cookie Hybrid Jannelle Fukuoka is the creator of Maui Manjookies. When I wuz talking story with self-trained baker Jannelle Fukuoka, 45, she said someting that struck me as quite profund. She wen tell, “Maui is kind of known for manju [a traditional Japanese dessert of red bean paste wrapped in a baked bun].” I had nevah really …

When Jannelle Fukuoka noticed newer generations of Hawaiian Nikkei shied away from traditional sweets, she took it as a challenge. Learn about her manju-cookie creation, the Maui Manjookie.

The importance of heritage language: learning Japanese in Brazil and Portuguese in Japan In recent years, I have researched the importance of Brazilian Portuguese as a heritage language for the second generation of Nikkei in Japan. I understand heritage language as that which is transmitted primarily within family and community settings, and which does not necessarily correspond to the dominant language of the society in which the child …

Language is often a tricky thing for Nikkei, especially for later generations. Janina Tiemi Enomoto explores the roles of Japanese and Portuguese in Brazilian Nikkei.

Episode 15: Germ A semi-monthly comic that explores the experiences of contemporary Japanese immigrants in the U.S. This week’s strip, “Germ,” was originally published in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Check back twice a month for subsequent entries. Click to enlarge  

In this week's "Shin Issei Journey" by Arisa Nakamura, Yoko makes great progress with English words... discovernikkei.org/e...
#comic #cartoon

Nikkei Skaters Kam and Howe Representing U.S. at Milan Cortina Olympics The U.S. Olympic pairs teams competing in Milan have a distinctly Nikkei vibe. As the pairs skaters take the ice at the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, two Japanese Americans—Spencer Akira Howe and ...

Cheering on Nikkei figure skaters Ellie Kam and Spencer Akira Howe, who (with their partners) are representing Team USA in the pairs in Milan!

Learn about these Japanese American skaters:
discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2...

#Olympics #Milan #figureskating #NikkeiAthletes #SpencerAkiraHowe #EmilyKam

Journal Entry # 5 POV's: "Differing Opinions..." A weekly visual journal/cartoon about an easily-annoyed fourth generation American of Japanese descent. This week, “It All Depends on Your Perspective (Five Views of Cartooning)” Check back every weekend for subsequent entries. Click to enlarge  

In this week's "My Name is Neal" is... “It All Depends on Your Perspective (Five Views of Cartooning)” by Neal Yamamoto: discovernikkei.org/e...

#comic #cartoon