Naomi Hirahara
@gasagasagirlNaomi Hirahara is the author of the Edgar Award-winning Mas Arai mystery series, which features a Kibei Nisei gardener and atomic-bomb survivor who solves crimes, Officer Ellie Rush series, and now the new Leilani Santiago mysteries. A former editor of The Rafu Shimpo, she has written a number of nonfiction books on the Japanese American experience and several 12-part serials for Discover Nikkei.
Updated October 2019
Stories from This Author
Chapter Nine—Up in Space
May 8, 2009 • Naomi Hirahara
>> Chapter eightI don’t know why I set up my ex-boyfriend with the absolutely best catch in my fledgling dating service. As my best friend Ginny Lee always reminds me, I despise Rick; I have the deleted digital images in my trash folder to prove it (I know, they should be completely off of my computer after seven years). Meanwhile, Michele Sakanashi is gorgeous, has a high-paying job, and even her own duplex. She’s a kind of girl that women …
Chapter Eight—Match Game
April 10, 2009 • Naomi Hirahara
>> Chapter seven“So who’s going to be matched with who?” Ginnie asks as she licks some green tea/blood orange yogurt from her lips. We are sitting in a corner table at Céfiore yogurt shop in Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo. I’ve spread the profiles and photos of the 15 women who have applied to my matchmaking service, Baishakunin, Inc. I know that working on a plastic table in a frozen yogurt shop is not that professional, but I had …
Chapter Seven—Who’s Ex?
March 13, 2009 • Naomi Hirahara
>> Chapter six“That guy is my best friend’s ex.” The lie about Laker2009, otherwise known as Rick Sleazeball Saiki, my former boyfriend, comes out so easily. He has just been in the office of my fledgling business, Baishakunin, Inc., a matchmaking service that is somehow supposed to keep my condo payments afloat. Only problem is, Rick is my first and only customer. Besides he has signed a contract in the presence of my public face, the elderly Oizumi-san, and my …
Chapter Six—Behind the Shoji Screen
Feb. 14, 2009 • Naomi Hirahara
>> Chapter fiveI pull Jake, my landlord, behind the Japanese folded screen in the back of the offices of Baishakunin, Inc. “Ah, ah—” No words emerge as I gesture towards the voices in the reception area. What do you say when your ex-boyfriend is looking for love at your fledgling dating service?“Are you choking on something?” Jake asks and I quickly put my hand on his mouth to muzzle him. His full lips feel pretty soft, but that’s not the …
Chapter Five—Full House
Jan. 9, 2009 • Naomi Hirahara
>> Chapter four“Cool. This going to be a soft-porn gig?” I look incredulously at Kyle Honda. If it weren’t for the tattoos and the two hoop earrings in his ear, he would look like a fresh-faced baby boy. Kyle is getting his bachelor’s degree in filmmaking in USC and is desperate to work for close to nothing to get any kind of credits on his resume. So, in other words, a perfect fit for my new company, Baishakunin, Incorporated. “What …
Chapter Four—Finding Mrs. Butterworth
Dec. 12, 2008 • Naomi Hirahara
>> Chapter threeIt’s been a week and I’ve gone to at least ten garage sales, two 99-cents outlets, and five thrift stores to make the headquarters of my new matchmaking service, Baishakunin, Inc., halfway presentable. My best friend Ginne Lee did her part by lending me all this Japanese stuff she had in storage—shoji screens and Japanese bowls—to make everything look authentic. The only thing missing is a face—the face of my company. I need a Japanese Mrs. Butterworth, a …
Chapter Three—Let’s Make a Deal
Nov. 14, 2008 • Naomi Hirahara
>> Chapter twoEver since I turned 35 (two years ago), everyone has treated me differently. During every holiday dinner, my parents and my younger brother with his wife and two kids look at me pitifully, as if my expiration date has long passed. I’m no longer part of the cool 21-34 crowd on surveys and marathon categories, I’m now part of the 35-44-year-old crowd. Even bag boys call me ma’am and offer to carry my groceries to my car—what are …
Chapter Two—Eat Your Brussel Sprouts
Oct. 10, 2008 • Naomi Hirahara
>> Chapter one“You actually don’t look too bad, considering,” says Ginnie as we are seated at La Grande Orange Café, the new restaurant on the bottom floor of the Pasadena condo unit I live in. Now remember—Ginnie Lee is my best friend and about the nicest person I know in the planet, so for her to say not “too bad” actually meant I was wretched-looking. I finally took a shower this afternoon, after not taking one for three days. I …
Chapter One—The Games People Play
Sept. 12, 2008 • Naomi Hirahara
Jamie Kaneko carefully counts out fifteen sheets of toilet paper on her roll, tears on the perforated line, and hands the loose end to me with a smile. “Here you go—now don’t start until I tell you to.” A couple of young teenagers, holding their toilet paper tails with the tips of their fingers, giggle, while the grandmothers on the couch look a bit confused. The rest of us—veteranos—sit politely, but inside I feel like screaming—like, for once, can’t someone …
1001 Cranes: Excerpt from a new novel for young readers
Aug. 20, 2008 • Naomi Hirahara
The following is an excerpt from Naomi Hirahara’s middle-grade novel, 1001 Cranes, which tells the story of Angela Michiko Kato, a 12-year-old girl who has to spend a summer with her grandparents in Gardena, CA while her parents are going through marital problems. Chapter Ten The Great Gambaru That night I go to bed early. Early, early at eight o’clock. I am sticky and my eyes are swollen, but I don’t bother to take a bath, wash my face, or …
