Nikkei View
This series presents selections from Gil Asakawa’s “Nikkei View: The Asian American Blog,” which presents a Japanese American perspective on pop culture, media, and politics.
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Stories from this series
Peachy: Changing Season Captures the Passing of a Family Farm from One Generation to the Next
May 18, 2016 • Gil Asakawa
You’d think after a lifetime of growing and harvesting peaches, you’d get sick of eating them. But the Masumoto family still loves peaches and serves them up every way imaginable. David “Mas” Masumoto, 62, the farmer who has nurtured his parents’ peach groves, says “Actually no. I love peaches, almost literally in my blood.” Nikiko Masumoto, his daughter, adds, “We have 10 varieties and each has a window of ripeness for two weeks. So it’s like getting to see your …
Cross-cultured leader keeps Asahi Foods’ promise of perfect sushi fish
May 5, 2016 • Gil Asakawa
It’s cold outside, but it’s colder in Asahi Foods’ refrigerated cutting room, where stacks of cardboard and styrofoam boxes filled with giant fish await. The fish cutter is in early on a Saturday, wearing a white lab coat and heavy rubber gloves, various razor-sharp knives at the ready. Charlene Thai, a tiny woman in a similar lab coat, hovers nearby, watching over the daily cutting ritual that begins the flow of fresh-cut fish for sushi and sashimi to 200 restaurants …
Building bridges with the Muslim community
Feb. 17, 2016 • Gil Asakawa
Late last year, Erin and I were lucky enough to travel to New York City to see the Broadway musical Allegiance starring George Takei. It’s a story about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and it vividly and powerfully brings to life the emotional toll of the experience on JAs for generations since then. I wrote about the play and interviewed Takei and others for AARP’s AAPI Community. Two nights after attending the show and while we …
George Takei’s Allegiance Is A Timely Historical Musical For Today - Part 2
Dec. 24, 2015 • Gil Asakawa
Read Part 1 >> After interviewing Takei and thoroughly researching the WWII incarceration, Kuo, Thione, and Marc Acito wrote the book and Kuo composed the music and wrote the lyrics for Allegiance, which debuted in San Diego in 2012. The current Broadway version has evolved since then, with fewer principal roles, different songs, and changes in the script. “We had to tell the story of not just one camp, but of 10 camps,” said Jay Kuo in an interview. “Not …
George Takei’s Allegiance Is a Timely Historical Musical For Today - Part 1
Dec. 23, 2015 • Gil Asakawa
After a November performance at the Longacre Theatre in New York’s fabled Broadway district, AARP members were invited for a “talkback” with George Takei and other cast members answering questions about their powerful musical, Allegiance. (NOTE: This post was originally uploaded to the AARP AAPI Community Facebook page.) “I remember we started the school day, each day, with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. I could see the barbed wire fence and the sentry tower right outside my school …
RIP George “Joe” Sakato
Dec. 15, 2015 • Gil Asakawa
I was saddened to hear of the passing of George “Joe” Sakato, a Denver resident who was a World War II hero, a veteran of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Battalion that fought in Europe during World War II. He was 94 years old. Adele Arakawa of 9News broadcast a moving tribute to Joe that’s worth viewing. “We were fighting prejudice in the States…and fighting the Germans in Europe,” he told Arakawa in 2013. The last time I saw …
