I’m not much of a collector—not like my husband, who has more than one hundred college basketball T-shirts all hung in our second bedroom’s closet. But there has been one item that has stuck since my elementary school years—postcards. First, it was postcards that my friends and acquaintances had sent to me on their summer …

"Yo no he nacido para sufrir," one of Kjarkas' most popular songs, begins to beat strongly, and Makoto Shishido—until then in the background with his charango, behind the front line formed by the singers, brothers Elmer and Gonzalo Hermosa—steps forward, takes center stage, and displays his full instrumental talent. He also dances for a while. …

In the 1940s, Americans faced issues related to xenophobia, immigration, the exclusion and detention of individuals in camps, constitutional protections, race relations, and civil liberties. Today, in the year 2025, Americans are dealing with those same exact issues. Closing of the Jerome Concentration Camp, Denson, Arkansas. Residents, carrying their hand luggage, wait at the chair …

Amy at “work” in Tampa speaking about a clinic they hosted with Pete Alonso, Michael King, and Sean Manaea for young athletes impacted by the ’24 hurricanes. Photo courtesy Amy Hever Discover Nikkei spoke with Amy “Emiko” Hever, Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Trust, about her roots, cross-cultural upbringing, and work in philanthropy and …

Author’s note: As with many Nisei parents, my mother often had difficulty expressing her love for her children through words, but she had little trouble conveying that love in myriad other ways. I wrote this fictional short story to capture that family dynamic. * * * * * When Keith and I finally bought a …

During the occupation, second-generation Japanese Americans, the children of immigrants who had left for North America from this port, came to Yokohama as part of the occupying forces. Hitoshi Samejima in front of the Kamaboko Barracks in Yokohama, October 1945. Born in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles, in 1921, Hitoshi Sameshima was the second …

As a recent graduate of University of California Santa Cruz’s (UCSC) Ph.D program, I have recently taken to reflecting on the school’s connection with Asian American studies. Several prominent figures, including Judy Yung, Karen Tei Yamashita, Alice Yang, Christine Hong, Hiroshi Fukurai, Celine Parreñas Shimizu, Michael Jin, and Dana Takagi, have played important roles over …

As a recent graduate of University of California Santa Cruz’s (UCSC) Ph.D program, I have recently taken to reflecting on the school’s connection with Asian American studies. Several prominent figures, including Judy Yung, Karen Tei Yamashita, Alice Yang, Christine Hong, Hiroshi Fukurai, Celine Parreñas Shimizu, Michael Jin, and Dana Takagi, have played important roles over …

A semi-monthly comic that explores the experiences of contemporary Japanese immigrants in the U.S. This week’s strip, which was originally published in 2020: “On or in?” Check back twice a month for subsequent entries. Click to enlarge  

Read Part 3 Visual depiction of cultural erosion and its variables for Map the System (click to enlarge). As I began reshaping my feature-length piece for one class, I was working on a large project for another. My elective for the semester was Thinking in Systems, a project-based course with a linked competition portion. While I’d …

A weekly visual journal/cartoon about an easily-annoyed fourth generation American of Japanese descent. This week, “Foods I've given up...” Check back every weekend for subsequent entries. Click to enlarge

I learned about the Nippon Zaidan scholarship through a friend who participated in the tea ceremony club at Tsukuba University. She, being of Japanese descent, had managed to apply for the scholarship even though she was already in Japan—something that surprised me, as I believed that all applicants needed to apply while still in their …

I have been writing for Discover Nikkei since 2012—almost as long as I have been working on my forthcoming memoir, A Place For What We Lose: A Daughter’s Return to Tule Lake. It seemed fitting to publish a “cover reveal” here, one of my publishing homes. After I sent a few photos and ideas about …

My name is Ellyn Iwaoka. I am a Sansei living in Chicago. I come from a family who excel in math and science, while I am the maverick who chose a career in communications in the nonprofit sector. I’ve used my experience to write their obituaries and preserve their legacy, with some help from my …

In a magical subterranean installation at the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) San Francisco curated by Alison Gass, audiences are immersed in Osaka-born/Berkeley-based Masako Miki’s syncretic project that knits together aspects of Japanese folklore, modernist surrealism, and mid-century design. Thirty-four of Miki’s colorful wool-felted abstract sculptures are displayed in the dramatically darkened ICA space, sparely …

In my previous two articles in The Nikkei Family 2 series (“Leaving for Camp” and “Camp Harmony”), I recounted my memories of the camp1; here, I share my strongest childhood memories of Camp Minidoka. These memories do not include the worst of camp. There were riots, inmate deaths, “No -No” questions, a draft notice for …

A boat is just a boat, unless you’ve named it. Then it’s a friend. And if that friend has kept you safe and warm on the open sea, and hauled home your heavy catch, that friend becomes family. He named her Soyokaze, gentle wind in Japanese, and she was the boat of his dreams, handmade …

Work boots and chairs scraped in the kitchen, so I knew that Baachan and Jiichan, Grandma and Grandpa, were already up. Then Mom got up from the sagging metal cot we shared in the front room. I nestled into the warm hollow she’d left behind until my bursting bladder forced me upright into the frigid …

At noon on October 9th, I visited the currently running " Cruising J-Town " exhibition, and I'd like to share my thoughts on the exhibit. The exhibition is being held at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, which is currently undergoing renovations. It is located in part of the campus of the Art …

Sumi stared out the window, gnarled fingers wrapped around her steaming cup of green tea. The house was silent except for the occasional jingle of dog tags as the family dog adjusted his position on the couch. The adults were at work and the children were at school. Again, she was alone. Sixty-six years since …

A weekly visual journal/cartoon about an easily-annoyed fourth generation American of Japanese descent. This week, Neal discovers the real nightmare before Christmas! Check back every weekend for subsequent entries. Click to enlarge  

At Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles’ Obon Remembrance service in late July, congregants solemnly wound their way toward a large three-tiered structure illuminated by candles. Under a simple wooden cross, each person lit a tea candle and placed photographs or cloud-shaped cards in the lower two tiers—filling this Christian obutsudan or altar of remembrance …

One of the best things about Japan is taking a bath in a nice, deep tub. The tub is next to a tiled area with a drain, so the water in the tub is free to spill over the edge when a bather takes a seat inside its steaming hot—not warm—liquid embrace, sitting with the …

In my recent column on actor Yukio Aoyama, I mentioned his most substantial screen role, in Who’s Your Servant? In that film, released in 1920, he portrayed a villainous valet who was secretly a Japanese spy. Here I will examine the history of the film, as well as the controversy sparked by Aoyama’s performance. The origins …

When I was little, my family would visit my grandparents in Slocan in the interior of British Columbia. I didn’t know why they lived in Slocan, I was just happy to see them. It would take about 9 hours to drive from Surrey to Slocan. For those of you who have looked it up on …