Keiko Fukuda
@fukudaAfter graduating from International Christian University, Keiko Fukuda worked at a publishing company for an information magazine in Tokyo and moved to the U.S. in 1992. She served as Editor-in-Chief of a Japanese information magazine in Los Angeles until 2003 and transitioned to freelance work that same year. She conducted interviews with various people and reported on topics such as education in the U.S. and Japanese food culture. In 2024, she relocated her base to her hometown of Oita and has continued her reporting and writing online. Website: https://angeleno.net
Updated October 2024
Stories from This Author
Presenting HIBAKUSHA To The World: Animated film conveys the hibakusha experience
Nov. 28, 2012 • Keiko Fukuda
Was the atomic bomb a necessity? Was it really necessary for America to drop the atomic bomb in Japan on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? The answer to that question varies greatly depending on whether you’re Japanese or American, as well as how much you know about the people who experienced the bombings. Growing up in post-war Japan, August 6th was always associated with the “Day Of Peace” for me. Even though it was during our summer vacation, we would return to …
The Last Standard Bearer of American Immigrant Literature - Masao Yamashiro
Nov. 2, 2012 • Keiko Fukuda
He has been writing columns for 45 years and is still active at age 96 It has been two years since I started interviewing people from Okinawa Prefecture living in the United States. As long as they are Okinawan, they can be new generations such as second, third, or fourth generation Japanese who were not born in Okinawa, or they can be completely unrelated by blood but are interested in Okinawa's traditional culture, cuisine, or climate. As someone who is …
Running a beauty salon in Beverly Hills -- Chura's life after 50 years in the US: Kazumi Kim
Aug. 27, 2012 • Keiko Fukuda
A change of heart from aspiring to be a journalist "Chura-san" means a beautiful woman in the Okinawan language. Many Okinawan women are beautiful, with firm skin and large eyes. So an editor from a certain magazine asked me to write an article about "Chura-san's secrets." I thought it was a topic I would like to know more about personally, so I immediately asked a male acquaintance who is my go-to source for Okinawa-related information, "Please introduce me to a …
A staple in our household: local chicken dishes
May 16, 2012 • Keiko Fukuda
The taste of home that I didn't know much about when I was a child I was born in Oita, Kyushu, Japan, and lived there until I was 18. Chicken dishes are a taste I have been familiar with since I was a child. I only recently learned that Oita Prefecture has the highest chicken consumption in Japan. I never thought that it would surpass Aichi Prefecture, which is famous for its chicken wing dishes. Moreover, there have been many …
Ukulele playing that transcends borders: Jake Shimabukuro
April 5, 2012 • Keiko Fukuda
The Jimi Hendrix of the Ukulele I love Hawaii, and it's become a daily habit for me to read blogs written by Japanese people who live in Hawaii. One of my favorite blogs is written by a woman who works at a travel agency, and it tells me about ukulele concerts that are held around Waikiki.Among them, the number of articles about live performances by Hawaii-based Jake Shimabukuro stands out. Jake frequently plays the ukulele at concert venues, hotels, restaurants, …
"Pray for Japan" is a "grassroots" film depicting victims and volunteers after the earthquake disaster.
March 23, 2012 • Keiko Fukuda
The untouched onigiri At 7pm on March 14th, 2012, the AMC Torrance movie theater in the suburbs of Los Angeles was packed to capacity. The film being screened was "Pray for Japan," a documentary film shot in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake from April to May 2011.Prior to the screening, I received an email from a friend, which said that all proceeds would be donated to the disaster area. I knew that it was imperative that as …
"Bringing Japanese TV back to the community" - UTB's new president, Kaoru Kawada
Feb. 16, 2012 • Keiko Fukuda
A window to experience Japan Twenty years ago, when I came to the United States from Japan, my weekly entertainment was watching Japanese TV on Sunday nights. In Los Angeles, where I had no Japanese friends or relatives, Japanese TV programs were a window through which I could feel Japan and were an important presence that comforted me in Japanese. I would tune in to tear-jerking family dramas that I would never watch if I were in Japan, simply because …
Wanting to connect Uchinanchu around the world through video —Hollywood information program "Extra" editor: Eric Toume—
Jan. 31, 2012 • Keiko Fukuda
Moved by the passionate energy of the people The 5th World Uchinanchu Festival in Okinawa, which is held every 5 years, was held in grand style in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture from October 12th to 16th, 2011. A total of 350,000 people gathered for this major event, which aims to allow Uchinanchu (people from Okinawa) with roots in Okinawa to travel to Okinawa from all over the world and interact with each other. One of them is Eric Tome, a …
Passing on the traditions of Japanese home cooking: Food writer, Sonoko Sakai
Oct. 25, 2011 • Keiko Fukuda
Growing up overseas, but "Japanese" at home I asked Sonoko Sakai, who is a contributing writer to The Los Angeles Times and has been writing articles about the culture of Japanese food for the last ten years, if she was willing to be interviewed. She replied, if I was able to come out to Venice (a beach front community in Los Angeles) where she holds a class on the weekend, she would be able to speak to me afterwards. As …
Sweeping the Nation with Sweetbread: The Past and Present of the Founders of King’s Hawaiian
Sept. 13, 2011 • Keiko Fukuda
Blending deep into the market Ramen, tofu, soy sauce, miso—though there are many types of food that are associated with Japanese origins, not many Americans know that the King’s Hawaiian brand is also a Japanese American company. In a way, this serves as proof of how well the King’s Hawaiian sweetbread has blended into the American market over the years. King’s Hawaiian got its start when Robert Taira—a Nikkei-Okinawan Nisei from Hilo, Hawaii—opened his own bakery upon graduating from bread …
Discover Nikkei Updates
See exciting new changes to Discover Nikkei. Find out what’s new and what’s coming soon!