culture en ja

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Longing

This month, we feature poetry in Nihongo (with English translation) from Tomiko Matsumoto and Gennosuke Matsumoto, who were both originally from Chiba and eventually married ...

community en ja es pt

Oshogatsu and New Year’s Celebration in Nikkei Communities in Los Angeles

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!” It’s a new year. For Americans, it’s their last holiday ...

identity en

Interview with Masako Kanazawa

As a journalist—a journalism student, I should say—I interview people almost every day. My job is to tell stories, about the places I ...

food en

As You Like It

Chapter Three—The Perfect Cut

My feet are swollen and sore, and it’s all because of pork belly. In Japan we had a special distributor which brought our okonomiyaki ...

community en

Scholars Showcase Future of Diverse Nikkei Community

During my involvement in Japanese American studies, from 1972 to the present, I have been struck by two simultaneous developments. The first is a growing ...

community en

As You Like It

Chapter Two—Trade Secrets

A-ra, I think, struggling to turn off the hot water shower faucet. My uncle. The last person in the whole wide world that I want ...

community en

As You Like It

Chapter One—Throwaway Girls

“I guess we are throwaway girls,” Risa says, helping me to unpack one of my boxes. I do not know why it is taking her ...

identity en

Canadian Nikkei Series

Ijusha Yosh Inouye on Becoming Canadian Nikkei - Part 2

Read Part 1 >> Can you talk a bit about your families here? I married three times and broke up three times. I have six sons ...

identity en

Canadian Nikkei Series

Ijusha Yosh Inouye on Becoming Canadian Nikkei - Part 1

Torontonian Yosh Inouye, a retired 70-something photography teacher, was the one of the first to teach me about the paradox of what it means to ...

community en ja

Voices of the Volunteers: The Building Blocks of the Japanese American National Museum

Yasuyuki Suzuki

“Working as a volunteer guide at the Japanese American National Museum is such an interesting experience. I’ve taken a class about the history of ...