Turning 90 for Hiroshi Kashiwagi simply marks his refinement as a writer/performer as he draws laughter; pauses for deep, knowing sighs; and coaxes tears from his audience when reading from his book, Starting From Loomis and Other Stories. Join Kashiwagi on March 15 at JAMsj as he recounts the arc of his life in his latest memoir of short stories and reflects on the moments, people, forces, mysteries, and choices that have made him who he is.

Central to this collection are his experiences as a Japanese American during World War II, including his imprisonment at Tule Lake, which led to the lifelong stigma of being labeled a "No-No Boy" after his years of incarceration. His nonlinear, multifaceted writing not only reflects the fragmentation of memory induced by the multiple traumas of racism, forced removal, and incarceration, but it also can be read as a bold personal response to the impossible conditions he and other Nisei faced throughout their lifetimes.

 "It is in fact everything that Kashiwagi doesn't say, everything between the lines of his pen, everything hovering so delicately above the narrative, that is so heartbreaking and painful . . . These stories recuperate from erasure the history of Japanese American immigration and wartime detention, especially that of the Tule Lake incarceration, and the sensibilities and trauma of a Nisei whose long life, creative talents, and desire to write have allowed him to reflect on this past."-Karen Tei Yamashita, University of California, Santa Cruz

Recent Article:  "Author Hiroshi Kshiwagi:  From Togan Soup to Plums Can Wait and Beyond, the Life of an American" by Edward Yoshida, January 13, 2014, Discover Nikkei.

Hiroshi Kashiwagi is a Nisei writer, playwright, and actor, as well as the winner of the American Book Award in 2005 for Swimming in the American: A Memoir and Selected Writings.

Cost: Free with admission to the museum (nonmembers, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free). 
Contact PublicPrograms@jamsj.org or call (408) 294-3138 to reserve a spot.