Holly Yasui

Holly Yasui is a freelance writer, editor, and translator (Spanish to English—tried to study Japanese at the university but couldn’t get the hang of it!) living in Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico. She was born in Denver, Colorado, received a bachelors degree in fine arts from the University of Colorado and a masters degree in communication arts  from the University of Wisconsin; and lived and worked in Seattle, Washington, before moving to Mexico. She is currently working on a tribute to Min Yasui to take place in 2016, the centennial of her father’s birth. She would greatly appreciate help from any readers who have materials, especially recordings (audio or film/video) of Minoru Yasui that they might be willing to loan for this project. Please contact her through Discover Nikkei at Editor@DiscoverNikkei.org.

Updated January 2014

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Never Give Up! Minoru Yasui and the Fight for Justice

  • Por Holly Yasui
  • 30 Oct 2015

“We need more people like Min Yasui in the world—who are willing to stand up for what is right, for whom principles of justice are more important than personal comfort. I’m honored to be able to work on this film, about a man whose story needs to be heard by a wider audience.”

—Will Doolittle, co-director, Never Give Up!

November 2 is Day of the Dead in Mexico, and I live in the very fiesta-prone town of San Miguel de Allende. It is not a sad day but a colorful and joyous holiday. Families and institutions build beautiful ...

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Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, Dignity

A Daughter’s View of Minoru Yasui, “Civil Rights Hero”

  • Por Holly Yasui
  • 8 Ene 2014

My dad Minoru Yasui was always, or almost always my hero. But of course that was not true for everyone, nor at all times.

When he initiated his test case in 1942, he was not considered a hero. The press labeled him a treacherous Jap spy, and the National Secretary of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) called him “a self-serving martyr … seeking headlines.” In 1944, when he visited the Heart Mountain draft resisters to try to persuade them to withdraw their cases, they felt betrayed by the man who purposely defied the military curfew, but opposed their way of ...

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