Keiko Fukuda
@fukudaKeiko Fukuda was born in Oita, Japan. After graduating from International Christian University, she worked for a publishing company. Fukuda moved to the United States in 1992 where she became the chief editor of a Japanese community magazine. In 2003, Fukuda started working as a freelance writer. She currently writes articles for both Japanese and U.S. magazines with a focus on interviews. Fukuda is the co-author of Nihon ni umarete (“Born in Japan”) published by Hankyu Communications. Website: https://angeleno.net
Updated July 2020
Stories from This Author
Hiromi Budej, who moved to the U.S. in 1981 and lives in Irvine, California
July 29, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
The encounter took place near the Futenma base. The environment surrounding Japanese women who move to America to marry American soldiers changes greatly with the times. Budei Hiromi, who lives in Orange County in Southern California, was born in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, and was 56 years old at the time of this interview in May 2016. She met Steve, who was one year older than her, when she was 20 and attending junior college, and married him at 21. …
Moved to the U.S. in 1956 and currently resides in Ontario, California: Fumiko Lopez - Part 2
July 1, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
Read Part 1 >> Returning Home to Japan—and Her Father’s Rice Balls—for the First Time In 1956, Fumiko Lopez and her husband, Luis, arrived in San Francisco. They got on a Greyhound bus heading to Southern California and started living in a renovated garage at Luis’ sister’s house in the city of Los Angeles. “We didn’t have a house, a car, or money. We had nothing. We started our life with just one suitcase. Our garage room had no kitchen …
Moved to the U.S. in 1956 and currently resides in Ontario, California: Fumiko Lopez - Part 1
June 30, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
“He’s an honest person” was my first impression Thirty years ago I read a book titled Brides in America. I was greatly inspired by the lives of Japanese women who married American officers after the war and went across the ocean. I wanted to hear their stories in their own voices. There wasn’t much time left. I sent emails to some people to see if they knew anyone, and soon one of them told me about a woman named Fumiko …
Movie director Ryuhei Kitamura betting on Hollywood, Part 2
June 1, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
Read Part 1 >> The sealed first work His first Hollywood film was "Midnight Meat Train." Kitamura himself cast Bradley Cooper, who was still unknown at the time, in the lead role. However, this film, which the distributor Lionsgate had high hopes for, was "eliminated," in Kitamura's words, after an unexpected coup. The company's top management changed, and the new head decided to cancel the nationwide release of films made by the old management. It was originally planned to be …
Movie director Ryuhei Kitamura betting on Hollywood, Part 1
May 31, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
Moved to Australia at age 17 After a successful career in Japan, film director Kitamura Ryuhei moved to Hollywood in 2007 and is currently involved in several projects. He says, "I grew up watching Hollywood movies." When he lost his mother when he was in elementary school, he moved from Osaka to Tokyo temporarily with his father for work. Instead of going to school, he went to Shibuya, where there was a movie theater. In the sixth grade, he declared …
Sadaharu Nishio, owner of Green Paradise Farm, which grows Japanese vegetables in Southern California
May 20, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
In the 1970s, he went to Oregon for agricultural training. We usually see Japanese vegetables in Japanese supermarkets and Japanese restaurants. I have never really thought about where and by whom they are grown. I had always assumed they were grown by Japanese farmers, but then an acquaintance of mine who moved from Los Angeles to the Oceanside area, halfway between San Diego and San Diego, told me that there was a Japanese person nearby who was growing a wide …
Hiroki Itokazu, CG artist behind "Frozen" and "Tangled" - Part 2
May 3, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
Read Part 1 >> From Warner to Disney In 1993, Itokazu began his training at Warner Bros. "At the time, there were still few people working in CG, and no one around me with experience, and no one to teach me. But I was determined to get out of my apprenticeship, so I stayed at the company until almost midnight and studied on my own." His efforts paid off, and six months later he was promoted to a full-time employee. …
Hiroki Itokazu, CG artist behind "Frozen" and "Tangled" - Part 1
May 2, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
I wanted to be an art teacher When my daughter, who is now in the 8th grade, was in elementary school, we would always go to the cinema together to watch Disney animated movies. The one she was most fascinated with was "Tangled". And when she first saw it at the cinema, the name of a Japanese person appeared in the end credits, and I still remember how moved I was at that moment. However, I had forgotten about it …
Interview with Ayaka Yamamoto and Katsuya Uechi, a chef from Okinawa, who are sharing authentic Ryukyu cuisine
April 4, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
When searching for "Yamamoto Ayaka" on the internet, one comes across various blogs about the cuisine at her restaurant in Naha. She is widely known as a chef who inherited the Ryukyu royal cuisine, and I had always wanted to visit her restaurant, but unfortunately in 2012 "Ryukyu Cuisine Yamamoto Ayaka" closed down. At that time, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see Ayaka herself visit Los Angeles, where she gave a lecture and tasting event on cuisine …
Rereading "Bride of America" for the First Time in 30 Years: A Record of Japanese Women Who Crossed the Ocean After the War
March 4, 2016 • Keiko Fukuda
Japanese mixed with English In February 2016, I picked up a book for the first time in 30 years. Last year, my 18-year-old son, born in the United States, graduated from high school in the suburbs of Los Angeles and came to live with my parents in Japan. I stayed there for three weeks to help him set up. While I was going through various procedures, such as obtaining a resident registration card, joining the National Health Insurance, purchasing a …
