Kendra Arimoto
Kendra Arimoto is a writer, performer, and mother on a mission to tell powerful stories thematically focused on Japanese American ancestral memory and intergenerational trauma, identity, and Otherness. Current projects include feature screenplays “Starshine and Clay” (American Zoetrope grand-prize winner; Film First Fund Finalist; PAGE Awards Fellowship Honorable Mention) and “Before I Disappear” (Tribeca Creators Market; Stowe Story Labs); and short film “Pachuke” (Screencraft Film Fund shortlist; Film Independent fiscal sponsorship). Before becoming a full-time writer and parent, she graduated from Stanford University and Smith College.
Updated July 2021
Stories from This Author
Little Tokyo, A.C.
July 5, 2021 • Kendra Arimoto
Your daddy’s religion was Worry. Never one to call upon any God for any reason, he chose to bear the weight of everything—especially the fear of uncertainty—upon no one other than himself. But in those tender, terrifying seconds between your mama’s contractions, he felt an instinctual, perhaps primitive-like urge to pray. He reassured your mama he’d be right back before hurrying out onto the balcony. He clutched the railing and took deep breaths of dry, summer air. He gazed down …
