a mixed plate of Japanese American news and culture
As soon as he landed in San Francisco some three years ago, Consul General of Japan Yasumasa Nagamine hit the ground running, participating in a string of community events starting with the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco-Osaka sister city relationship. From then, in a seemingly record pace, he attended a flurry of community events. [...]
Every so often, a Hollywood movie studio makes plans to bring a popular property — be it a comic book, toy or TV series — to the big screen. Fans then fervently follow news of project developments, eager to learn the names of the screenwriter, director, and actors, or to glean script details. When Paramount Pictures [...]
Yes, I’m aware that I’m mixing cultures with that title but that’s exactly what I had, a little bit of red wine. And since it was vino rosso that means it was a little bit of Italian red wine. There were quite a few bottles poured but we all received just a taster’s portion — [...]
四 (yon or shi) means the number four in English, which comes from the shape of four fingers. 心 (Kokoro) means heart, which comes from the shape of a human heart. 虫 (Mushi) means worm, which comes from the shape of a worm. A few years ago, my family went to pick fruits in Brentwood, Calif. We picked [...]
The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) has planned a community celebration on Angel Island on Saturday, July 31. Entitled “Reflections/Renewal: A Tribute to Angel Island Immigrants,” the program will take place from 11 a.m. to noon and focus on the experiences of diverse immigrants who came through the Immigration Station. AIISF also will use [...]
Yanaba, Ichiji, was born on December 17, 1919 and entered into rest July 20, 2010 in Mountain View, Calif. at the age of 90. He was preceded in death by his wife Fumiko Yanaba, daughter June Noriko Yanaba, and son Gerald Kaz Yanaba. He is survived by his daughter Kathy Mieko (Ken) Nakano and sons [...]
Sato, Shizuko, passed away peacefully on July 4, 2010. Shizuko was born on July 30, 1912 in Berkeley, Calif., and was the eldest of seven children to Kurasaburo and Kikuyo Fujii, who had emigrated from Fukuoka, Japan. Shizuko and sister Yuriko were educated in Japan until their return to the U.S. in 1929. After internment during WWII [...]
MARTINEZ, Calif. (Bay City News Service) — Steven Hayashi, a 52-year-old Concord, Calif. man arrested July 22 after three of his pit bulls attacked and killed his 2-year-old step-grandson, said in an emotional jailhouse interview in Martinez July 23 that one of the dogs had shown previous signs of aggression. The attack happened at the [...]
As the much anticipated NBA draft ended roughly a month ago with big names like John Wall and Evan Turner being picked at the top of their draft class, Jeremy Lin went unnoticed and undrafted. Despite having solid stats at the college level and being selected to the All-Conference first team, few thought he would [...]
For a more queer-friendly Japanese America
This past May, a friend who volunteers for a Japanese-language bilingual program at a San Francisco public school faced harassment by another Japanese language teacher in the faculty lounge for being a lesbian. My friend Keiko had a rainbow pin on her backpack signifying lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride and a Japanese co-worker of [...]