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
If You Have These Things You Must Be JA
Dec. 10, 2014 • Gil Asakawa
All the Japanese Americans I know have all sorts of ways to show their cultural roots. It may not be evident when you meet them, but the signs are there, in their homes. When I was a kid living in Japan, it never occurred to me that the stuff in our house was…well, Japanese. And when we moved to the U.S., we took a lot of our stuff with us—folding screens, small artworks, dolls, dishware, pottery, chopsticks, and cooking utensils, …
Growing Up with Stinky, Slimy, Altogether Wonderful Japanese Food
July 9, 2014 • Gil Asakawa
I’m a foodie. Everyone knows this. I write about food, I take photos of food everywhere I dine, I love to cook, and I love food from everywhere. One of my personal rules has always been if someone, somewhere in the world eats it, I’m willing to try it…at least once. So I’ve had chocolate covered ants. Fried grubs. The meat of some strange animals that you wouldn’t think humans ought to eat, like rattlesnake brats. In a way, I …
Godzilla, the world’s most famous Japanese American
June 13, 2014 • Gil Asakawa
Although Hollywood has been making monster movies since the original 1933 King Kong, the monster with the most staying power and screen incarnations didn’t come out of California, but from Tokyo. Godzilla is back with another cinematic reboot produced by Hollywood featuring the usual array of mega-special effects, including a digitized monster instead of a man in a monster suit. Whether costumed or computer-generated, Godzilla is the most famous Japanese American in the world. He’s starred in 28 movies, stomping …
Why Asian Americans hate hearing “Where are you from?”
April 11, 2014 • Gil Asakawa
This has been a good week for sometimes contentious but bracing conversations on Facebook. The latest one started when I posted a link to an excellent Forbes article by Ruchika Tulshyan titled “‘Where Are You From?’ And Other Big Networking Racial Faux Pas” The article raises the oft-aired complaint by Asian Americans that asking “Where are you from?” (sometimes linked to the even more irritating “You speak English so well…”) is a social, racial no-no. I certainly can’t argue with …
When JAs say “camp” they’re not talking about summer camp
March 17, 2014 • Gil Asakawa
It’s a rite of greeting among older Japanese Americans. I’ve seen it happen over and over—one JA is introduced to another, and if they’re old enough, the first question they ask of each other is, “what camp were you at?” We all know that “camp” in the context of Japanese Americans has nothing to do with summer camp. These people are not being nostalgic about singing “Kumbaya” around the campfire, hopping along in potato sack races (maybe it would be …
Seeing “Snow Falling on Cedars” on Pearl Harbor Day underscored its message
Feb. 19, 2014 • Gil Asakawa
Many Japanese Americans who’ve grown up since World War II—myself included—dreaded December 7 every year. As kids (and sometimes as adults) we’ve been taunted with hateful calls to “Go home, Jap!,” “Go back where you came from!,” and the classic, “Remember Pearl Harbor!” As if we could forget. The war happened decades ago, and as Japanese Americans we had nothing to do with the attack on the U.S. military on Hawaii that sparked America’s entry into WWII. Hell, today, most …
