Chiana Fujiwara

Chiana Fujiwara is a fifth generation Japanese American, fifth generation Mexican American, and second generation Chinese American college student from southern California majoring in Psychology. Having strong connections to Japanese American Internment during World War II, she has since developed a passion for further researching the stories of her family as well as the general period and its impacts at large. Other hobbies include ancient Chinese poetry and everything that has to do with history.

Updated October 2023

Stories from This Author

Unveiling the Unknown: Understanding Japanese Canadian History Through An Insider’s Perspective

Jan. 2, 2025 • Chiana Fujiwara

Throughout our evolution as human beings, stories of those who lived before us have been passed down from generation to generation. Whether to share a lesson to aid in our survival or a story to reinforce an elder’s wisdom, acquiring such special knowledge and passing it down is arguably one of the most rewarding things one can experience. However, the unfortunate reality is not everyone has had the chance to hear their family history, perhaps due to deaths within the …

book reviews Canada essays Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Japanese Canadians Ontario reviews Toronto

Exchanging Enlightenment Through a Modern Medium

Sept. 16, 2024 • Chiana Fujiwara

With the exponential growth in popularity of podcasts, there is no doubt that anyone can find a podcast for just about any of their interests, from the most well-known to the hidden gems only shared among a few. Since February of 2024, Japanese Americans and many others interested in history, particularly as it pertains to Japanese Americans, have had the incredible privilege of a podcast especially devoted to such a topic with Koji Steven Sakai and Michelle MaliZaki’s podcast, Japanese …

Japanese American National Museum (organization) Koji Steven Sakai Michelle MaliZaki podcasts

Where Dreams Come True—The Works of Debbi Michiko Florence

Oct. 2, 2023 • Chiana Fujiwara

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” they say. But when an Asian American child with a less than cheerful outlook on reading in Wisconsin suddenly sees another Asian American on the cover of Debbi Michiko Florence’s book, Jasmine Toguchi Mochi Queen, the cover is nothing but subject to judgment. Although it is unknown what exactly the Asian American child’s initial assessment of the book was, outside sources observing the spellbound look on her face as she attentively flipped through …

authors children's literature Debbi Michiko Florence Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen (book) Jasmine Toguchi series (book) Mark Nagata Sweet and Sour (book) writers

Harry Manaka: Crystalizing the Sansei Rocker Scene

Oct. 21, 2022 • Chiana Fujiwara

The late 1960s until the early 1980s...what comes to mind? Perhaps the movies of the era are some of your favorite films of all time, or the rising activist movements of the ’70s are deeply engraved into your mind. One of the most popular responses would almost certainly be the music; Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and The Rolling Stones are still highly well known to this day. But was everyone aware of the small but strong Sansei rocker scene of …

1960s 1970s big bands Chronicles of a Sansei Rocker (book) generations Harry Manaka music musicians Sansei

Nikkei Chronicles #11—Itadakimasu 3! Nikkei Food, Family, and Community

Tree of Lemon

Sept. 18, 2022 • Chiana Fujiwara

Before the current tree came into bloom, its predecessor was flourishing elsewhere long before. The predecessor's keepers, a large Sansei sharecropper family, had to make the best of what they grew while still hoping to remain true to their ancestral roots. They were residing in shacks on other peoples’ land, then to a small barrack across the country barely capable of keeping itself intact, and soon back to a new shack as tiny as ever. Feeding the family a dinner …

families