The Latest from NichiBei.org
More than miso soup
JAPANESE SOUPS: 66 NOURISHING BROTHS, STEWS AND HOTPOTS By Keiko Iwasaki (North Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing, 2021, 128 pp., $16.99, hard cover) When asked to name or identify a Japanese soup, you’ll… [more ... ]
10-year-old Japanese golfer closing in on 12th sponsor
EL CAJON, Calif. — Miroku Suto of Japan looks like a professional golfer with logos of 11 sponsors splashed across her polo shirt, cap, bag and even her belt. Her parents say the deals are worth in the mid-six… [more ... ]
Topaz survivors, descendants rankled by Topaz Museum Board’s outreach efforts
While the Topaz Museum board and its supporters would love nothing more than to move forward after a haphazard excavation of what some consider one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in… [more ... ]
‘Brilliant’ work relies on oral histories of JA hibakusha
AMERICAN SURVIVORS: TRANS-PACIFIC MEMORIES OF HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI By Naoko Wake (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021, 408 pp., $29.95, hard cover) In 1974, Betty Mitson and I co-edited a modest… [more ... ]
‘Remembrance for Peace’ commemorates atomic bombings
According to an excerpt from her essay, “In Hiroshima, Japan, a Teenager Finds an Unexpected Home,” Daisy Okazaki went “to the Peace Park for the memorial of the 74th anniversary of the bombing” Aug. 6,… [more ... ]
An extensive and accessible approach to Japanese food
Japan: The Cookbook By Nancy Singleton Hachisu (London and New York: Phaidon, 2019, 464 pp., $49.95, hard cover) The first thing you will note about this cookbook is its sheer size. The recipes Nancy Singleton… [more ... ]
Documenting activism as ‘a form of radical care and love’
CONTEMPORARY ASIAN AMERICAN ACTIVISM: BUILDING MOVEMENTS FOR LIBERATION Edited by Diane C. Fujino and Robyn Magalit Rodriguez (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2022, 336 pp., $30, paperback) “Contemporary… [more ... ]
Facing eviction, community rallies around S.F. Taiko Dojo
An iconic Japanese American institution that has inspired the proliferation of the art of Japanese drumming in America is facing eviction due to rising rents, and the potential of losing the beloved taiko group… [more ... ]
Honey Sesame Shirataki Noodles
Shirataki Noodles with Honey Sesame Dressing is a cold and refreshing dish. Top the noodles with shredded egg crepe chicken and cucumber. It’s a perfect guilt-free summer noodle that is low in calories. It’s… [more ... ]
From the Nichi Bei Weekly
Asian American Studies Center to create free resource for high school teachers
August 18, 2022 By Melany De La Cruz-Viesca, UCLA Newsroom
$10 million from Calif. budget will fund efforts to bring experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders into classrooms Key takeaways: • Fills a need. Fifty-eight percent of Americans were unable to name a prominent Asian American. • Customizable lessons. Chapters will be designed for a single class period or a week-long series. • Project […]
Cops: Suspects in attack on elderly woman are ages 11 to 18
August 18, 2022 By AP
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —Three children ages 11, 13, and 14 and an 18-year-old beat and robbed a 70-year-old Asian woman last month inside her San Francisco apartment building and two of them have been arrested, police said Aug. 15. The woman was outside her Chinatown building when the suspects approached her on July 31 and […]
S.F. Supervisor names man suspected of assaulting immigrant rights commissioner Gregory Chew
August 18, 2022 By Tony Hicks, Bay City News Foundation
San Francisco Police arrested a man they believe attacked former city film, arts, and immigrant rights commissioner Gregory Chew, who was assaulted the evening of Aug. 2 near 3rd and Folsom streets. According to the office of Supervisor Matt Dorsey — in whose District 6 Chew resides — police arrested 34-year-old Derrick Yearby of San […]
California chief justice won’t seek a second 12-year term
August 4, 2022 By AP
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Supreme Court’s chief justice said July 27 that she will not seek a second 12-year term in November and will conclude her current term of office on January 1. The announcement by Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye will give Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, his third opportunity to appoint […]

New Nikkei head of Legal Services for Children hopes to help families in need
August 4, 2022 By TOMO HIRAI, Nichi Bei Weekly
Working with youth has always been a priority for Cathy Sakimura, a Sansei lawyer from Hawai‘i. In her new position as executive director of Legal Services for Children, she leads the San Francisco-based nonprofit, which represents children and families with children, ensuring their access to education and stable living situations. The center also represents clients […]

ENTERTAINMENT RE-ORIENTED: For Asian American entertainment, 2020 marks a new beginning — but the beginning of what exactly?
January 1, 2021 By Ben Hamamoto, Nichi Bei Weekly Columnist

Cherry Blossom Festival celebrating 50 years and embracing the future
April 1, 2017 By TOMO HIRAI, Nichi Bei Weekly
News
Facing eviction, community rallies around S.F. Taiko Dojo
An iconic Japanese American institution that has inspired the proliferation of the art of Japanese drumming in America is facing eviction due to rising rents, and the potential of losing the beloved taiko group has sent reverberations throughout the taiko community and beyond. But without missing a beat, supporters of San Francisco Taiko Dojo — […]
‘Remembrance for Peace’ commemorates atomic bombings
According to an excerpt from her essay, “In Hiroshima, Japan, a Teenager Finds an Unexpected Home,” Daisy Okazaki went “to the Peace Park for the memorial of the 74th anniversary of the bombing” Aug. 6, 2019. The Aug. 9 virtual “Remembrance for Peace” event — presented by the Nichi Bei Foundation and Friends of Hibakusha […]
Asian American Studies Center to create free resource for high school teachers
$10 million from Calif. budget will fund efforts to bring experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders into classrooms Key takeaways: • Fills a need. Fifty-eight percent of Americans were unable to name a prominent Asian American. • Customizable lessons. Chapters will be designed for a single class period or a week-long series. • Project […]
Our Columnists
THE GREAT UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN GREAT: Recounting ‘Sushi and Sourdough’ author and WWII vet Tooru Kanazawa’s life
By GREG ROBINSON, Nichi Bei Weekly Columnist

THE HEART OF KANJI: We tend to believe we are always right
By Rev. Masato Kawahatsu, Nichi Bei Weekly Columnist
In Sports

10-year-old Japanese golfer closing in on 12th sponsor
EL CAJON, Calif. — Miroku Suto of Japan looks like a professional golfer with logos of 11 sponsors splashed across her polo shirt, cap, bag and even her belt. Her parents say the deals are worth in the mid-six figures annually, with some contracts for 10 years. A 12th sponsorship is waiting when she returns […]
In Travel

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series. Last September, Rev. Ken Yamada, the former minister of Berkeley Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple, and Rev. Jerry Hirano, minister of Salt Lake City Buddhist Temple, spent 36 days driving through the 48 contiguous states in an RV, racking up more than 13,000 miles. To view […]
In Books

Inmates’ historical narratives for the layperson
REMEMBERING OUR GRANDFATHERS’ EXILE: US IMPRISONMENT OF HAWAI‘I’S JAPANESE IN WORLD WAR II By Gail Y. Okawa (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2020, 272 pp., $26, paperback) Back in 1980, very little had been written about the World War II imprisonment experience of more than 5,500 Japanese American aliens (Issei) within the hodgepodge of 24 […]
My tsuru
January 21, 2021 By AKEMI YAMANE INA