Leslie Yamaguchi
@lyamaguchiLeslie Yamaguchi is a High School English teacher in Southern California. She is a volunteer for the Japanese American National Museum where she writes articles for the Museum Store Online and helps out with book sales at public programs.
Updated November 2007
Stories from This Author
Beverly Patt interview “Best Friends Forever: A World War II Scrapbook”
Sept. 16, 2010 • Leslie Yamaguchi
In her book, Best Friends Forever: A World War II Scrapbook, writer Beverly Patt uses a unique format—a scrapbook—to tell the story of the friendship between two young girls separated during World War II. After her Japanese American friend, Dottie Masuoka, and her family have been sent to “Camp Harmony” following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, fourteen-year-old Louise Krueger dedicates herself to keeping a journal that she will be able to share with her best friend when she returns. The …
Reclaiming Untold Stories from the Camps: Karen Ishizuka’s “Lost & Found”
Aug. 31, 2010 • Leslie Yamaguchi
In addition to her credits as an award-winning producer and writer, Karen L. Ishizuka is respected for her work as the curator of the Japanese American National Museum’s critically acclaimed 1994 exhibition, America’s Concentration Camps: Remembering the Japanese American Experience. In an interview with the Japanese American National Museum for this article, Ishizuka recalled her work with the National Museum. “When I was asked to curate America’s Concentration Camps, I had already done a lot of work on the camps, …
Furusato: The Lost Village of Terminal Island
Aug. 19, 2010 • Leslie Yamaguchi
When asked about their memories of Terminal Island, many Japanese Americans who spent their childhood there think “furusato,” home sweet home. In the early 1900s, many Japanese immigrants from Wakayama Prefecture settled there, making a living as fishermen. The community thrived and grew into a place where families knew one another, a place with little or no crime, a place of no worries. Having cherished childhood memories may not seem unusual, but given the devastating history of this area, now …
Nisei Voices: The Journey
July 19, 2010 • Leslie Yamaguchi
In the 1930s Paul T. Hirohata gathered copies of speeches given by forty-nine Nisei valedictorians and published them in a collection called Orations and Essays. Seventy years later, his granddaughter, Joyce Hirohata reviewed the book, this time from an adult perspective, and it “took over her imagination.” By her calculations, Ms. Hirohata realized that many of the students would have been part of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and many, although elderly, would still be alive. …
Margaret Kasahara
Sept. 24, 2009 • Leslie Yamaguchi
Kokeshi dolls, believed to have originated in the Tohoku region of Japan, are viewed as one of the country’s most treasured folk arts. The dolls are simple in construction—wooden, cylindrical bodies with round heads—yet the Japanese American National Museum’s exhibition, Kokeshi: From Folk Art to Art Toy, showcases the true artistry and creativity embodied in these dolls. The exhibition consists of three sections that showcase the history and tradition of the kokeshi doll, as well as its influence on contemporary …
Only the Brave: Lane Nishikawa honors Japanese American Veterans
Nov. 8, 2007 • Leslie Yamaguchi
In all of his pursuits as an actor, writer, and director, Lane Nishikawa has “continually broken ground in examining the human condition of the Asian American experience.” In Only The Brave, Lane Nishikawa gives viewers a unique perspective into a piece of World War II history that is little known to the American public. Only The Brave celebrates “the unparalleled courage of the Nisei soldiers who voluntarily fought in World War II while many of their families were imprisoned in …
Sakura: Beautiful Flowering Trees of Japan
April 20, 2007 • Leslie Yamaguchi , Vicky K. Murakami-Tsuda
The cherry blossom, known as sakura, is the national flower of Japan. Different from the fruit-bearing trees found in other countries, these flowering trees are enjoyed mostly for their beautiful blossoms and the beauty of the falling snow-like petals. Because the blossoms only last for a few days in the spring, many travel to common viewing sites where a festive atmosphere is enjoyed by all; friends and families gather, bringing picnic baskets and sake to be shared with music and …
Pure Beauty: Rebecca King-O’Riain’s Look at Japanese American Beauty Pageants
March 30, 2007 • Leslie Yamaguchi
Rebecca Chiyoko King-O’Riain has written a fascinating book, Pure Beauty, about Japanese American community beauty pageants, exploring how race, ethnicity, culture, and gender are linked in social practice. As revealed in her research, these beauty pageants reflect important conflicts within the Japanese American community over national citizenship, gender, and race and raise questions about the struggle to maintain racial and ethnic lines within the community. Dr. King-O’Riain has always felt a strong bond to her Japanese ancestry. Because her grandfather, …
