Jeri Okamoto Tanaka

Jeri Okamoto Tanaka is a third-generation Japanese American whose parents were born and raised in rural Wyoming. Her writing is inspired by family history, her childhood in Colorado, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, and California, and her experiences as an adoptive mother and community volunteer. She serves on the Little Tokyo Service Center board and is the Advisor & Parent Coordinator for the China Care Bruins Youth Mentorship Program at UCLA. She resides in Los Angeles. Her writing has appeared in Adoptive Families magazine, Guidepost's Joys of Christmas, The Sun, Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, Journal of Families with Children from China, OCA Image, UCLA Chinese Cultural Dance Dragonfly Quarterly, China Care Foundation's Care Package, and the book Kicking in the Wall: A Year of Writing Exercises, Prompts & Quotes to Help You Break Through Your Blocks and Reach Your Writing Goals.

Updated September 2015

identity en ja es pt

Nikkei Chronicles #4 — Nikkei Family: Memories, Traditions, and Values

Walk It Off: True Grit & Gaman

By Jeri Okamoto Tanaka
9 Oct 2015

“Walk it off.” When I was growing up, that was my father’s solution for almost every problem: A fight with my younger brother? Go outside. Walk it off. Got a headache or a stomach ache? Walk it off. Nervous about starting a new school? Can’t figure out your homework? Walk it off. Although I didn’t understand it then, this mantra had propelled my father through life and would one day save him and become a life lesson for me.

My Japanese American father, who once stood tall at a stocky 5'8" with broad shoulders and thick ...

food en ja es pt

Nikkei Chronicles #2 — Nikkei+ ~ Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race ~

Gohan & Good Fortune -- Adopting a New Year and New Traditions

By Jeri Okamoto Tanaka
26 Nov 2013

Akemashita Omedetou.
Xin Nian Kuai Le.
Happy New Year & Auld Lang Syne.

This is how we welcome the new year in our Japanese, Chinese, and Irish American family. I am a third-generation Japanese American Sansei with roots in the Rocky Mountains. My husband’s Irish American forebears journeyed to the Pacific Northwest across the Oregon Trail and he grew up in the Los Angeles San Fernando Valley. Our two daughters are first generation Chinese Americans, who joined our family through international adoption, traveling from China to Southern California cradled in our arms. Over the years, we’ve personalized our Nikkei-plus ...

food en

Nikkei Chronicles #1 — ITADAKIMASU! A Taste of Nikkei Culture

Grandpa Tanaka's Pilgrim Stuffing

By Jeri Okamoto Tanaka
22 Nov 2012

Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday, but, as a young Sansei, I didn’t believe there was any connection between my Japanese family and the Mayflower pilgrims who colonized New England.

I grew up in the West in the 1960s and ’70s, often in towns without much diversity, where I didn’t feel very pilgrim-like or “American,” that is, Caucasian. I secretly longed to wear the pilgrim’s black dress and white apron with ringlets under my bonnet. Instead, looking more like Squanto and Pocahontas, I was cast as the noble “Indian” in school pageants—wearing my long hair in ...

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Discover Nikkei

Japanese migrants and their descendants

Jeri Okamoto Tanaka

Nikkei Chronicles #4 — Nikkei Family: Memories, Traditions, and Values

Nikkei Chronicles #2 — Nikkei+ ~ Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race ~

Nikkei Chronicles #1 — ITADAKIMASU! A Taste of Nikkei Culture

Series this author contributes to

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Longing

A Japanese Canadian Child-Exile: The Life History of Basil Izumi

Part 1: Historical Overview of the Japanese Canadian Anglicans to the End of World War 2

Nikkei Chronicles #7 — Nikkei Roots: Digging into Our Cultural Heritage

Crossing the World

Japanese Peanuts, a Legacy of the Nakatani Family

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #About 3 Pounds of Dumb: "Homo Stultus..."

Wakako Yamauchi - Japanese American Soul

Part 6: The Final Years

Drumming for History: The Annual Minidoka Pilgrimage Day of Remembrance Taiko Fundraiser

In Company with the Happy Old Age

Author Andrea Tsurumi on kindness and the role of uncertainty in art and cultural identity - Part 2

「ちからもち」、再建への道：和菓子職人の技、兄から妹へ － その２

「ちからもち」、再建への道：和菓子職人の技、兄から妹へ － その１

サンバの国でキバランバ！ ～ブラジル奄美移民100年の軌跡～

第２回 60歳超えて踊りの「先生」 ～ 島田シズエさん（宇検村出身）

孤独な望郷 ～ フロリダ日系移民森上助次の手紙から

第２回 大寒波と交通事故

120 años de inmigración japonesa al Perú: recuerdos contra el olvido

Take the Global Nikkei Survey! Deadline: February 28

Nikkei Roots: Digging into Our Cultural Heritage

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My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #About 3 Pounds of Dumb: "Homo Stultus..."

Wakako Yamauchi - Japanese American Soul

Part 6: The Final Years

Drumming for History: The Annual Minidoka Pilgrimage Day of Remembrance Taiko Fundraiser

In Company with the Happy Old Age

Author Andrea Tsurumi on kindness and the role of uncertainty in art and cultural identity - Part 2

Author Andrea Tsurumi on kindness and the role of uncertainty in art and cultural identity - Part 1

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #11 Grams of Sugar Per Cup: "Gr-r-r-reat!..."

Wakako Yamauchi - Japanese American Soul

Part 5: A Personal Portrait

The Lost Highways: BC JC Heritage Sign Project Ends, Ontario’s Begins - Part 2

The Lost Highways: BC JC Heritage Sign Project Ends, Ontario’s Begins - Part 1

Search World Story

The Undiscovered History of Japanese Americans and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Part 2

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #3 Michelin Stars: "Good (Expensive) Eats..."

Journey Sparked By A Photograph

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Japanese American Women Speak

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #From the 1950's TV Show: "Super-fluous..."

More Power to Nikkei Communities in Brazil - Part 1

Finding His Identity: Mark Nagata on Being a Sansei and Kaiju vs Heroes

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #1/1/2019: "Paring it Down to the Basics..."

The Life History of a Japanese Canadian Child Exile: Mikio Ibuki

Part 5: Early Childhood in Canada and Deportation to Japan

Nunc Pro Tunc: The Story Behind a Phrase

MAINICHI GAMAN: Broom, Mop, and Apron

Killer Roll

Chapter Five — Murder Menu

The Undiscovered History of Japanese Americans and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Part 1

Wakako Yamauchi - Japanese American Soul

Part 3: And the Soul Shall Dance

No-No Boy Author John Okada, Rediscovered

Tennis Star Recalls Groundbreaking Career

Wakako Yamauchi - Japanese American Soul

Part 1: Childhood and the War Years

The Life History of a Japanese Canadian Child Exile: Mikio Ibuki

Part 7: Career and Adult Life in Japan

Bob Hoichi Kubo, Recipient of DSC, Profile of a Hero

A Grass Roots Effort: Saving a Cultural Icon in Rural Maui

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #3 Large Sides: "Hot, Hot Mashed Potatoes For Me..."

「ちからもち」、再建への道：和菓子職人の技、兄から妹へ－その２

「ちからもち」、再建への道：和菓子職人の技、兄から妹へ－その１

サンバの国でキバランバ！～ブラジル奄美移民100年の軌跡～

第２回 60歳超えて踊りの「先生」～島田シズエさん（宇検村出身）

孤独な望郷～フロリダ日系移民森上助次の手紙から

第２回大寒波と交通事故

Take the Global Nikkei Survey!
Deadline: February 28