Ryusuke Kawai
@ryusukekawaiJournalist and non-fiction writer. Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. Graduated from the Faculty of Law at Keio University, he worked as a reporter for the Mainichi Shimbun before going independent. His books include "Yamato Colony: The Men Who Left Japan in Florida" (Shunpousha). He translated the monumental work of Japanese American literature, "No-No Boy" (Shunpousha). The English version of "Yamato Colony," won the 2021 Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Award for the best book on ethnic groups or social issues from the Florida Historical Society.
(Updated November 2021)
Stories from This Author
Episode 30: "Setsuko's Secret" - Memories of Internment
June 9, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
Another book has been published in Japan that conveys the gravity of the fact that Japanese Americans were segregated for national security reasons during the US-Japan war. Many books about the forced internment, or segregation, have been published in both Japan and the US, but the recently published Japanese translation, "Setsuko's Secret: Heart Mountain and the Legacy of Japanese American Internment" (Shirley Ann Higuchi, translated by Iwata Nakahiro, Ecompress), is a well-written book that tells the history and feelings of …
No. 29 Rakugo in Three Languages ~ Japanese-American Female Rakugo Artist Ramuone
May 26, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
Vibrant Although there are not many attempts to perform rakugo in English, it seems to have become established by Japanese and foreigners alike. However, Ramune (29) is probably the only female rakugo performer who can perform rakugo in Japanese, English and Portuguese. Ramune, a Japanese-Brazilian rakugo performer who has recently been featured frequently in the media, has a second-generation Japanese-Brazilian father and a third-generation Japanese-Brazilian mother. Ramune, whose Japanese name is Mogi Ayane and Brazilian name is Bruna, has been …
No. 28: The Identity of Japanese Nationality
May 12, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
Japanese people remaining in the Philippines file lawsuit What is the definition of "Japanese-American"? According to the dictionary (Daijirin), it is "something that has Japanese descent or a person." Similarly, the definition of "Japanese-American" can be thought of as someone who has Japanese descent (bloodline, blood ties). According to this, Japanese people would also be considered Nikkei-jin, but this is not generally the case. This is because they have no other bloodline. In general, when we say Nikkei-jin, we are …
No. 27: Remaining Japanese and Japanese Americans
April 28, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
Traces of the war still remain Last January, a book titled "Portraits of the Remaining Soldiers: Their Postwar Lives and the Gaze of Their Homeland" (by Eiichi Hayashi, Shinyosha) was published. Hayashi, whose previous works include "The Truth about the Remaining Japanese Soldiers" (Sakuhinsha), is a highly regarded scholar who has studied the social history of the remaining Japanese soldiers in Indonesia. The term "remaining soldiers" refers to Japanese soldiers who, for one reason or another, did not return to …
Part 26: Interview with Tsuneo Enari, author of "The Bride of America"
April 14, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
As the hidden history of postwar Japan Photographer Tsuneo Enari, who has captured things that postwar Japan has forgotten, published "Brides of America" in 1981, a collection of portraits and interviews depicting the candid lives of women who had married American soldiers and gone to America. This book caused a stir, bringing to light an era and people that had previously been overlooked by the media. Enari has faced the postwar lives of people who in some way bore the …
#25 Recollections of Toru Suwa, a photojournalist living in America with a camera
March 10, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
Inspired by Kenichi Horie and Minoru Oda Kenichi Horie (84), an ocean adventurer, was recently awarded the Blue Water Medal, the highest honor given by the Cruising Club of America (CCA), in recognition of his achievements in ocean adventure. Last year, Horie became the oldest person in the world to successfully cross the Pacific Ocean solo without stopping in a yacht, and has taken on many ocean adventures to date. Horie attracted the world's attention when, in 1962, he achieved …
No. 24 Japanese Canadian Pioneers - From "The Story of Manzo in Canada"
Feb. 24, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
The life of Nagano Manzo, the first Japanese immigrant to Canada, who was introduced in the previous column, is summarized in "The First Immigrant to Canada" (Osuzuyama Shobo), published in 1977. This year marked the 100th anniversary of Manzo's arrival in Canada, and in addition to "The Story of Manzo," the book also contains a 98-page section titled "The True Faces of Pioneers: Commemorating 100 Years of Japanese-Canadian Relations," which, as the title suggests, introduces Japanese people (Japanese-Canadians) who were …
No. 23 Manzo Nagano, a pioneer of Canadian immigration — Discover his footsteps in Kuchinotsu, Nagasaki Prefecture
Feb. 10, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
Since the summer before last, I have been traveling by car intermittently along the coastline of Japan, starting from Hokkaido and Tohoku, and last year driving around Hokuriku, Sanin, and Kyushu. In the past, Japan, an island nation, had no choice but to rely on sea routes to travel to other countries. Conversely, the same was true for travel from other countries to Japan, and in that sense, there are many vestiges of exchange with the outside world, including ports, …
![Thumbnail for No. 22: War and Japanese Women Who Crossed the Sea - Reading "American Brides [Complete Edition]"](https://devmedia.discovernikkei.org/cache/3f/9d/3f9d0ea8ea3baa3218e9d0e346b3e00e.jpg)
No. 22: War and Japanese Women Who Crossed the Sea - Reading "American Brides [Complete Edition]"
Jan. 27, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
War brides after the war After Japan lost the war in 1945, many American soldiers and civilian employees were stationed in Japan as the occupying forces. It was only natural that young men and Japanese women would fall in love with each other. The women who married them and went to America were called "War Brides." It is easy to imagine how the general public viewed these women and how their parents responded to them marrying men from a country …
Part 21: Interview with Yukio Negawa, author of "The Oriental Town of Sao Paulo, a Town Built by Immigrants"
Jan. 13, 2023 • Ryusuke Kawai
We spoke to Negawa Yukio, a special research fellow at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies and author of São Paulo Oriental Town: A Town Built by Immigrants: Modern Japan on the Other Side of the Earth (University of Tokyo Press, 2020), a book that focuses on the Japanese neighborhoods of São Paulo, Brazil , which make up the world's largest Japanese community. He talks about his research on immigration and the background to the creation of this book. …
