From Los Angeles to Hawaii to train in dance On November 2, 2014, a Ryukyu dance performance titled "Nou Gukuru" was held at the Aratani Theater in Los Angeles. The organizer of this performance, Aiko Majikina, is a central figure in the performing arts department of the Okinawan Association of …
Read Part 1 >> With pride and spirit as a traditional cultural artist In 2010, Oshimoto launched the Suehiro Kimono Agency in partnership with Kentaro Terauchi to promote kimono around the world. At the time, Terauchi asked her, "What do you want to do in the future?" and she immediately …
A dynamic take on the kimono: designing costumes for Miss Universe When I was shown the photo, my eyes were glued to it. An Asian woman in a gorgeous long-sleeved kimono in orange, yellow, and blue, carrying a huge fan over her shoulder. It is clearly not a traditional Japanese …
Los Angeles' first sister city There may be quite a few Japanese people living in the US who know that Los Angeles and Nagoya are sister cities. However, it is doubtful whether Angelinos (people of Los Angeles) are aware of the sister city relationship. In other words, Los Angeles is …
Read Part 3 >> Film editor: Chisako YokoyamaPublicist: Takamichi Go “You might think of short films as some kind of amateur work, but ‘Lil Tokyo Reporter’ was different. Their camerawork was extremely professional and its high quality made me want to get involved,” said Chisako Yokoyama, a film editor, as she recalled …
Read Part 2 >> Actor: Eijiro Ozaki “Lil Tokyo Reporter” is a film led by a Chinese-American director, a third-generation Japanese-American producer and a lead actor. Since the story depicted the lives of first-generation immigrants, I was a little worried about the authenticity of the Japanese language spoken by actors, but there …
Read Part 1 >> Executive producer: Fumiko Carole FujitaDirector and scriptwriter: Jeffrey Gee ChinLeading actor: Chris Tashima Playing the lead, Sei Fujii, in “Lil Tokyo Reporter” is a third-generation Japanese-American actor and director, Chris Tashima. He found himself strongly attracted to the script. “Since it was a prewar story, I read …
Executive producer: Fumiko Carole FujitaDirector and scriptwriter: Jeffrey Gee Chin As a “new” Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrant), my life in America is all-too-peaceful, without any encounter with discrimination or inconvenience. Perhaps the only thing is my lack of English vocabulary, since English is not my native language. Aside from the …
Read part 1 >> Stood speechless at the sight of disaster areas: We will keep doing what we can Soon we will observe the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. In the faraway land of America, the Nanka (Southern California) Miyagi Kenjinkai has been engaging in charity activities with their …
“I was so touched by people’s kindness I wanted to do all that I could to help others” The Great East Japan Earthquake has become an unprecedented disaster. Nearly three years have passed since the day of March 11, 2011. There was a widespread call for support all over the world …
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