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UID:events.uid.6848@www.discovernikkei.org
DTSTART:20231209T000000Z
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DESCRIPTION:<strong>Hybrid presentation: Manjirō’s short time in Okinawa
  before changing Japanese history</strong>\n<strong> </strong>\n<strong><
 /strong>On December 9th (Saturday)\, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.\, the Okinawa Assoc
 iation of America (OAA) in Gardena will welcome a special guest presenter 
 from Okinawa\, Yoshimasa Kamiya. This event will be hybrid\, taking place 
 in person at the OAA Center’s Yamauchi Building and online via Zoom. The
  presentation will be in English. RSVP is requested: tinyurl.com/oaa-manji
 ro-23 or (310) 532-1929 (please leave a message).\n\n“John” Manjirō N
 akahama is an important figure in Japanese history whose unintended voyage
  to the United States played a role in Feudal Japan opening up to the worl
 d. While much can be learned about Manjirō\, his experiences in the U.S.\
 , and his contributions to the Japanese government\, December 9th’s pres
 entation will focus on his short time in the Satsuma Clan-occupied Ryūky
 ū Kingdom.\n\nWhile Satsuma Clan samurai treated Manjirō and crew as cri
 minals\, the Ryūkyūan people showed immeasurable kindness and hospitalit
 y. A bilingual storybook inspired by this experience\, “John Manjirō in
  the Ryūkyū Kingdom\,” was published in 2001 by Kamiya and renowned Ok
 inawan artist Hiroshi Gima.\n\nYoshimasa Kamiya is a retired Itoman City o
 fficial who has done extensive research on John Manjirō. His next book\, 
 "John Manjirō: Landing in Ryūkyū Kingdom\," was released in 2021. Publi
 shed by the Ryūkyū Shimpō newspaper\, it summarizes 30 years of researc
 h. He translated the book into English and published that version in time 
 for the 7th Worldwide Uchinaanchu Taikai/Festival in 2022\, with the goal 
 of introducing Manjirō’s way of life to the world.\n\nHe first connecte
 d with the OAA in 2003 to introduce his and Gima’s storybook. Ten years 
 have passed and the OAA is excited to welcome him back!\n\nThe OAA Center 
 is located at 16500 S. Western Ave.\, Gardena 90247. The parking lot is ac
 cessible behind the Western Avenue buildings off 165th Place. The event wi
 ll be hosted in the Yamauchi Building\, located on the south side of the l
 ot. For online participants\, the Zoom link will be emailed on the day of.
 \n\nAwarded as one of 2023’s California Nonprofits of the Year\, the Oki
 nawa Association of America\, Inc. (OAA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organiz
 ation whose mission is to promote Okinawan culture and to contribute to lo
 cal and international cultural exchanges. It was formed by Okinawan immigr
 ants 114 years ago and has since grown into a multigenerational organizati
 on that provides cultural\, educational\, and social programs for its memb
 ers and the larger community. Although the OAA has changed its name\, stru
 cture and mission to reflect the changing times\, the basic goals of yuima
 aru/yiimaaru (mutual aid) and retention of Okinawan identity have remained
  the same.\n\nFor more information about the OAA and its activities\, plea
 se visit oaamensore.org or follow @oaamensore on Facebook/Instagram. To ma
 ke a tax-deductible donation\, please contact the OAA office at (310) 532-
 1929 (leave a message) or oaamensore@gmail.com.
DTSTAMP:20240508T032920Z
SUMMARY:"John" Manjiro Nakahama in the Ryukyu Kingdom
URL:/en/events/2023/12/09/john-manjiro-nakahama-in-the-ryukyu-kingdom/
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