Tamiko Nimura
@tnimuraTamiko Nimura is an Asian American writer living in Tacoma, Washington. Her training in literature and American ethnic studies (MA, PhD, University of Washington) prepared her to research, document, and tell the stories of people of color. She has been writing for Discover Nikkei since 2008.
Tamiko just published her first book, Rosa Franklin: A Life in Health Care, Public Service, and Social Justice (Washington State Legislature Oral History Program, 2020). Her second book is a co-written graphic novel, titled We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration (Chin Music Press/Wing Luke Asian Museum). She is working on a memoir called PILGRIMAGE.
Updated November 2020
Stories from This Author
Pictures at an Asian American Exhibition: Roger Shimomura, “American Matsuri” at the Tacoma Art Museum
Aug. 13, 2015 • Tamiko Nimura
Prelude I am thinking about what it means to be seen. Entrance Every October, the foyer and the main entrance to the Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) are a riot of color, excitement, noise. There’s a sand painting just inside the main door. In the theater space a mariachi band is playing. Upstairs and around the museum, there are dozens of community altars with flowers, pictures and jewel-tone creations. Inside the craft rooms, my kids are painting sugar skulls; many of …
“Just Good Theater”: An Interview with Aya Hashiguchi Clark, Tacoma Actress and Producer
June 30, 2015 • Tamiko Nimura
Aya Hashiguchi Clark is a Nikkei actress and producer who lives in my hometown of Tacoma, Washington. She and her husband recently founded Dukesbay Productions, a theater company devoted to “[presenting] theatrical works that reflect and celebrate our diverse society in the Pacific Northwest,” as well as showcase “local actors who represent a diversity of ethnicity, age, religious background, training/experience, and acting type.” I’m grateful that Aya was able to spend some time talking to me about her theater experience …
A Lesson in Taiko—And Parenting
June 2, 2015 • Tamiko Nimura
“Don doro don don, Don doro don don, Don doro don don, Don doro don don….” Nine of us are onstage at the Tacoma Buddhist Temple, a bachi in each hand, each one with our taiko drum and stand. Our group is having a taiko demonstration and class from Wendy Hamai, one of the founding members of the Tacoma Fuji Taiko. The class had been arranged for my daughter and her Girl Scout troop, but Wendy asked us if we—the mothers—would …
To “Stand On Both Feet”: Cathy Tashiro and The Dimensions of Mixed Race Identity
April 28, 2015 • Tamiko Nimura
Here is another story about being mixed: My friend Cathy and I were chatting a bit after yoga class. A classmate came up to us: “Your name, Tamiko—hmm, that sounds Japanese.” “I am half Japanese, actually,” I said. Cathy and I looked at each other. “Actually, we’re both part Japanese,” Cathy told him. He looked at me, puzzled. “I don’t see any Japanese in you…” He studied Cathy again: “But you look Japanese.” Cathy and I looked at each other …
From Barbed Wire to Cherry Blossoms: Day of Remembrance 2015 in Washington State
March 24, 2015 • Tamiko Nimura
This year’s Day of Remembrance began early for me, and—of all places—on social media. I read Densho’s request to change my Facebook profile picture to Frank Fujii’s logo “Ichi-Ni-San,” which was used for the 1978 Day of Remembrance in Seattle 1978, and changed mine on February 15th. It was heartening to see the profile pictures of a few other Japanese Americans that I know on social media; it was a gift of solidarity. However, I also changed my cover photo—the larger image …
A Tour of Japanese and Japanese “Fusion” Bakeries in Seattle
Feb. 13, 2015 • Tamiko Nimura
There’s something about pastries, the ephemeral pleasure of appreciating something small and sweet, or savory and crunchy. For immigrants, expatriates, and travelers, it can be a bittersweet pleasure to find a taste that evokes the memory of a place; it’s like a taste of both transience and home. Small wonder that longtime Seattle locals still remember Sagamiya, the Japanese confectionery based in the ID, some thirty years after its closure in the 1970s. “In the day there were only three …
A Tribute to My Oldest Nisei Auntie
Jan. 6, 2015 • Tamiko Nimura
If you knew my Auntie Nesan, you knew her laugh. My cousins and I called her “Nesan” (older sister) because of family tradition; as the oldest of six siblings, all of our parents called her “Nesan,” so we did too. Her real name was Hisa. Since my name ends with “ko,” or “child” in Japanese, I asked her once if her name was actually “Hisako” when she was younger. She shook her head, emphatically. “No,” she said. “I don’t like that …
At 85, Tacoma Sumi Artist Fumiko Kimura Continues To Explore Artmaking Process
Dec. 11, 2014 • Tamiko Nimura
How would you prepare for a showing of your own artwork—one that spans a career of more than six decades? “Do come to my place,” offers Fumiko Kimura over e-mail, cheerfully. “Just to let you know, my place now looks like I could be evicted.” The Nisei artist, now 85 years old, is currently storing most of her paintings at her home in order to select and mount them for a retrospective show at Tacoma Community College in November. “Fumiko …
Uncovering Tacoma's Nikkei Past: The Japanese Language School Memorial
Dec. 2, 2014 • Tamiko Nimura
The taiko players are warming up, their arms circling up in the air and back towards the drums. I’m standing on a gravel path, near a Japanese maple tree. There are metal lines running along the ground, which seems strange until I remember that I’m standing at the Prairie Line Trail, a converted railroad track that the University is transforming into a public park, similar to the High Line Park in New York City. I’m happy to see a familiar …
It’s Not Just About History: Visiting the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
Nov. 1, 2014 • Tamiko Nimura
It’s hard to describe the shock of recognition when sepia history meets full-color present, when they can align so precisely. That’s one of the many gifts that the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial gives to its visitors. We’re standing under a large vertically hung banner, a sepia photographic replica of people walking down a ferry dock. It’s a picture we know well, as a famous historic photo of the first wartime forced removal of Japanese Americans. Our tour guide, …
