YEONCHEON, South Korea (AP) — Jin, the oldest member of K-pop supergroup BTS, began his 18 months of mandatory military service at a front-line South Korean boot camp Dec. 13 as fans gathered near the base to say goodbye to their star. Six other younger BTS members are to join the military in coming years […]
Music
BTS visits White House to discuss combating hate crime surge
June 9, 2022 by Leave a Comment
WASHINGTON — K-Pop sensation BTS visited the White House on May 31 to talk with President Joe Biden about combating the rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans — bringing superstar sizzle to an otherwise sad and scary topic. Band members J-Hope, RM, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin and Jimin joined White House press secretary Karine […]
Mark Izu’s ‘Songs for J-Town’ evokes memories and hopes
April 28, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Mark Izu assembled performers from across the United States and spent years putting together “Songs for J-Town,” but he only expected around 60 people to attend the April 23 world premiere at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco when he scheduled the show during the height of the omicron surge. Instead, more than 400 people […]
Mark Izu’s reflective journey through music with ‘Songs For J-Town’ April 23
April 14, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Nichi Bei Weekly Report Award-winning jazz musician Mark Izu will present his latest concert “Songs for J-Town,” featuring a personal reflection of his nearly five-decade musical journey, April 23 at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. He recently sat down with the Nichi Bei Weekly to discuss the project, and what it means to him. […]
Pioneering NYC taiko group Soh Daiko continues to transform itself
April 2, 2022 by Leave a Comment
It’s another snowy Saturday afternoon in New York, but this has not kept members of taiko group Soh Daiko from holding their normal practice. As the days relentlessly beat toward their Carnegie Hall citywide performance at the end of March, members follow hours of drills and practice with a run through of their performance, energetically […]
Japanese joy
June 10, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Japanese joy. When offered these words separately, Japanese and Japanese Americans understand them, but presented together — as they were at the recent virtual event entitled “The Story Circle of the Japanese Diaspora” — the concept generates a question in the minds of many Nikkei: “What is that?” “I thought it was strange to hear […]
TAIKOPEACE: A movement for connection and community
April 3, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Last year, San Jose Taiko’s artistic director emeritus and long-time community activist PJ Hirabayashi launched the Website for a movement she calls TaikoPeace. According to Hirabayashi, TaikoPeace is a movement of Japanese traditional drumming for social change and empowerment. Over the past couple of years, Hirabayashi has spread the movement through creating shared values, guided […]
CONTINUING TRADITIONS: The evolution of koto artist Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto
April 3, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto is literally in the middle of three generations of a family of koto teachers. Rising through the ranks over the years, she was awarded her Dai Shihan master’s degree from the Chikushi Kai Koto School in Fukuoka, Japan in 2000, and was inducted into the Hokka Nichibei Kai Bunka (Japanese Culture) Hall […]
Nobuko Miyamoto releases new double album, ‘120,000 Stories’
April 1, 2021 by Leave a Comment
On the first track of Nobuko Miyamoto’s brand new double album, “120,000 Stories,” the long-time musician and community activist sings these words from her Asian American Movement song, “We are the Children”: “Sing a song for ourselves. What have we got to lose?” After 50 years of using the arts to create social change and […]
Asian American Orchestra to celebrate Black History Month, commemorate DOR with new work
February 15, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Anthony Brown, who is of African and Japanese heritage, will commemorate the intersection of his biracial identity as part of a 20-year retrospective of his Grammy-nominated Asian American Orchestra Feb. 18 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, celebrating Black History Month and observing the Day of Remembrance. The Day of Remembrance reflects upon the 76th […]
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