Gil Asakawa
@gilasakawaGil Asakawa escribe sobre la cultura pop y la política en su blog desde una perspectiva asiático-americana y japonés-americana, www.nikkeiview.com. Él y su pareja también cofundaron www.visualizAsian.com, en donde realizan entrevistas en vivo con asiático-americanos e isleños del Pacífico notables. Es el autor de Being Japanese American (Stone Bridge Press, 2004) y fue presidente de la junta editorial del Pacific Citizen por siete años como miembro de la junta nacional JACL.
Última actualización en noviembre de 2009
Historias de Este Autor
Los estudiantes que protestan por su plan de estudios de historia en la escuela secundaria también luchan por los JA
22 de diciembre de 2014 • Gil Asakawa
Crecí como parte de una generación que encontró nuestra voz colectiva en la protesta, por los derechos civiles de los afroamericanos, contra la guerra de Vietnam y para defender los derechos de las mujeres y LGBT y los estudios asiático-americanos. Los estudiantes universitarios han estado a la vanguardia de muchos de estos movimientos sociales. El Comité Coordinador Estudiantil No Violento fue una piedra angular del movimiento de derechos civiles. Los estudiantes universitarios lideraron el movimiento por la libertad de expresión …
Si tienes estas cosas, debes ser JA
10 de diciembre de 2014 • Gil Asakawa
Todos los japoneses americanos que conozco tienen todo tipo de formas de mostrar sus raíces culturales. Puede que no sea evidente cuando los conozcas, pero las señales están ahí, en sus hogares. Cuando era niño y vivía en Japón, nunca se me ocurrió que las cosas que había en nuestra casa eran... bueno, japonesas. Y cuando nos mudamos a los EE. UU., nos llevamos muchas de nuestras cosas: biombos, pequeñas obras de arte, muñecas, vajillas, cerámica, palillos y utensilios de …
Growing Up with Stinky, Slimy, Altogether Wonderful Japanese Food
9 de julio de 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
13 de junio de 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?”
11 de abril de 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
17 de marzo de 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
19 de febrero de 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 …
Nagomi Visit introduces Japanese culture to visitors through home-cooked meals
29 de enero de 2014 • Gil Asakawa
There’s no getting around it: one of the most reliable ways to generate international friendship and cultural understanding is through the stomach. Diversity in dining is a reflection of an evolving society. Just think of a typical American culinary palette of the 1950s: Pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, spinach boiled to drab green mush, creamed corn. Your plate was all white and tan, with maybe a green highlight or two (it helped if you had an iceberg lettuce salad on …
The Ai Kuwabara Trio Project brought a delicious taste of Japanese jazz to Denver
6 de enero de 2014 • Gil Asakawa
We recently were privileged to enjoy a concert of contemporary jazz by a vibrant young group from Japan, the Ai Kuwabara Trio Project. Simply put, the combo rocked the joint at the King Center for the Performing Arts at the Auraria campus. The auditorium was full for the free performance, and I bet everyone there were blown away. Pianist Kuwabara is impossibly young for such an astonishingly assured and accomplished musician and composer. She’s a mere 23 years old, but …
“Hawaii Five-0” airs powerful episode about Pearl Harbor & imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WWII
13 de diciembre de 2013 • Gil Asakawa
We’re fans of the CBS series “Hawaii Five-0” for lots of reasons, including the fact that it’s a showcase for Asian and Pacific Islander actors such as Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, and the entertaining “bromance” relationship between Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) and Danny “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan). I always loved the original series that ran from 1968-1980, and think it’s great that this reboot uses pretty much the same arrangement for the theme song, and even uses quick-cut …
