Hikari Farms keeps the legacy of the Issei farmers alive

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Hikari Farms has faced hardships before, so Janet Nagamine, who manages the third-generation family farm in Watsonville, is optimistic that the operation will continue and even grow in spite of the battering that California has taken from Mother Nature in the past couple of months. Watsonville has been subjected to flood warnings, […]

Sparking Joy: Lydia Yamaguchi cultivates cultural connections in school gardens

Visiting her grandparents as a child, Lydia Yamaguchi caught a captivating preview of her future career. “My ojiichan had a pretty epic backyard garden,” she raved. “It felt like a little bit of a magical wonderland.” Down in the suburban Orange County city of Tustin, Yamaguchi’s grandfather had set up a space behind his house […]

A Japanese garden hidden in downtown San Mateo

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Tucked away in downtown San Mateo, Calif. near Suruki Supermarket lies the Japanese garden in the city’s Central Park, full of large trees, a tiered pagoda and koi fish. “I’ve had people that have lived in San Mateo all their life and didn’t know this garden existed,” Mike Allen, a garden […]

Natural Progression: Sharecropper descendant James Nakahara supports emerging farmers

If you’ve ever dreamed of starting your own farm, you might want to talk to James Nakahara of Kitchen Table Advisors. His job at the Northern California nonprofit is to counsel fledgling agricultural entrepreneurs, and he can provide you with all sorts of useful information about irrigation techniques, soil properties and organic growing practices. He […]

Cultural elements reinterpreted for Peace Plaza renovation

San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the Japantown Task Force held a virtual community briefing Feb. 28 to discuss the cultural elements that will be implemented in the Japantown Peace Plaza. The plaza, which will undergo a $32 million renovation expected to start in the spring of 2024, will reinterpret several key cultural elements […]

Bruce Lee, Anna May Wong heirs talk legacy, roles for Asians

Almost every working Asian actor in Hollywood can trace their path back to Bruce Lee and Anna May Wong. The Chinese American screen legends are typically talked about the way one talks about revered ancestors. One was a martial arts icon, the other an actor who stood out during the silent film era despite playing […]

For Asian Americans, Yeoh, Quan’s Oscar wins are theirs too

LOS ANGELES — Edward Dion Fariñas watches the Academy Awards every year but the Filipino American didn’t expect to have such a visceral reaction when hearing Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh’s awards announced. “I had a squeal come out that I was not expecting,” said Fariñas, who was watching Sunday from his Austin, Texas, […]

Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga enters supervisor race

Longtime Mountain View Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga has more to give as she looks beyond serving in her city. Abe-Koga, 52, is the first to enter the race for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 5 seat. She announced her bid to replace incumbent Supervisor Joe Simitian at a Lunar New Year event hosted […]

San Francisco board open to reparations with $5M payouts

SAN FRANCISCO — Payments of $5 million to every eligible Black adult, the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens, guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes in San Francisco for just $1 a family. These were some of the more than 100 recommendations made by a city-appointed reparations committee […]

OBITUARY: Yumiko Oino Hojo

Yumiko Oino Hojo March 1, 1921 – Feb. 26, 2023 HOJO, YUMIKO passed away peacefully on February 26, 2023 at the age of 101. Yumiko was born March 1, 1921 in Suisun, California. She attended local schools in Cordelia and Fairfield. Yumiko’s high school music teacher encouraged her to apply to the San Francisco Conservatory […]

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