THE YELLOW DOOR By Amy Uyematsu (Pasadena, Calif.: Red Hen Press, 2015, 112 pp., $15.95, paperback) Journey through a post-war Japanese American landscape with Amy Uyematsu as she defines race, unpacks the family incarceration experience and discovers a confluence with Japanese culture in “The Yellow Door,†her latest book of poetry. The power bursts forth […]
Archives for 2016
A fun and free cultural resource for Nikkei kids
January 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
WAKU WAKU, JAPANESE CULTURAL ACTIVITIES RESOURCE GUIDE Edited by Carol Kawase, Meg Mizutani, Arnold Shimizu, and Miwa Smith (a project of the Japanese American Citizens League, Legacy Grants Fund Program, 2015, 60 pp., free, PDF) This 60-page booklet full of ideas for grandparents, parents and children interested in Nikkei culture is free. Here are activities […]
Artist’s story of survival and success against the odds
January 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
THE INKER’S SHADOW By Allen Say (New York: Scholastic Press, 2015, 80 pp., $19.99, hardcover) I am fascinated by Allen Say, the renowned painter, author and illustrator of many exquisite books for children. I welcome each of his new books. This one offers a peek into his move from Japan to California at age 15. […]
‘Treasure trove of invaluable new inf(o)’ on the WWII camps
January 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS AND THE JAPANESE-AMERICAN INCARCERATION CAMPS: COMMUNITY, NOT CONTROVERSY By Ronald Bishop, with Morgan Dudkewitz, Alissa Falcone and Renee Daggett (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2015, 372 pp., $110, hardcover) In the interval between 1973 and 1988, thanks to some enterprising undergraduate and graduate students of mine affiliated with the Japanese American Oral History Project […]
END OF AN ERA: Sacramento Tofu Company closes after 68 years
January 1, 2016 by 1 Comment
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After 68 years in business, rising from the aftermath of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II, the Sacramento Tofu Company officially closed its doors on Nov. 30. Owner Alvin Kunishi, 71, and his wife Dorothy, who helped handle the book work, entered retirement and handed over their keys to Hodo […]
ENTERTAINMENT RE-ORIENTED: Unprecedented TV visibility is the biggest API entertainment story this year, but lesser-known works hold their own
January 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The big story in Asian Pacific Islander entertainment of 2015 is undoubtedly the return of the Asian American sitcom. Not one, but two shows featuring an Asian American family at their center, “Fresh Off the Boat†and “Dr. Ken,†respectively, debuted in a year in which APIs, and people of color more generally, have reached […]
Book explores significance of JA camp art
January 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
ART, LITERATURE, AND THE JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT: ON JOHN OKADA’S NO-NO BOY By Thomas Girst (Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien: Peter Lang, 2015, 261 pp., $64.95, hardcover) With the latest Paris attacks and the subsequent call for the incarceration of Muslim Americans by Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, the memory […]
Weightlifting legend began Olympic journey as World War II inmate
January 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — While many Olympic athletes can trace their path back to high school gyms or local playgrounds, weightlifting legend Tommy Kono began his journey to the Games in a most unlikely setting — a World War II concentration camp for Japanese Americans. A six-time world champion and the only lifter to set world records […]
Insider’s look at the ‘rebellious’ rights icon Fred Korematsu
January 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
ENDURING CONVICTION: FRED KOREMATSU AND HIS QUEST FOR JUSTICE By Lorraine K. Bannai (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015, 312 pp., $34.95, hardcover) This work covers the life of Fred Korematsu, a Nisei from San Leandro, Calif. who insisted on his rights as a citizen in the face of the wartime restrictions on Japanese Americans, […]
THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Support your community
January 1, 2016 by 1 Comment
It’s that time once again, when most of us focus on changes we’ll make for the rest of the year: Spend less, weigh less, work harder, study more, be a better person and so on and so forth. Sometimes we’re successful and continue on throughout the year. Sometimes we’re not as successful and falter somewhere […]
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