Orizuru: my sister and I used to fold origami cranes when we were younger. I've also folded some at work. We also folded them for both my sister's and my weddings.

ozoni: this is the traditional mochi soup that Japanese eat on New Year's Day. My mom makes it every Oshogatsu morning, and I can't really imagine not starting the new year eating it.

Hello Kitty: I grew up with Hello Kitty stuff. I remember having stationery and other items from when I was in elementary school in the 1970s and onward. Whenever we came to Little Tokyo to visit my grandmother, stopping at the Sanrio store was a must!

daruma: I've always seen them around, but I don't think I had one until after I started working at JANM. Then, I started using it as a motif in some of my artwork and craft projects.

Check Nikkei: this frame actually is based on my Kazoku painting. I've been using the 4th generation image from that painting as my profile icon for a long time, and so I thought it was the most appropriate imagery to represent me in my "self-portrait"

bowling: My parents met through bowling, and they bowled in a Nisei league with a lot of my aunts and uncles every Friday night at Holiday Bowl. I now continue that tradition by bowling in a Nisei league every week.

sakura: Ever since they planted sakura (cherry blossom) trees in Little Tokyo, it's become one of my favorite flowers. Not just because I like how they look, and the epheremal, poetic sense that embodies them, but also because of the ties to J-town and my Uncle Harry. On our first anniversary, my husband and I went to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC, and our first trip to Japan was in April so we could see the trees in bloom there.

spam musubi: I love to eat, and I love the simplicity of spam musubi. It's just rice, spam, and nori (seaweed)...comfort food that reminds me of potlucks and obons.

Namida no Request: When I was in junior high school (in the 1980s), my sister, cousin, and her best friend really got into J-pop. This was when records were still being sold on vinyl. "Namida no Request" by the Checkers was one of our favorite songs.