traci kato-kiriyama
@traciakemitraci kato-kiriyama is a performer, actor, writer, author, educator, and art+community organizer who splits the time and space in her body feeling grounded in gratitude, inspired by audacity, and thoroughly insane—oft times all at once. She’s passionately invested in a number of projects that include Pull Project (PULL: Tales of Obsession); Generations Of War; The (title-ever-evolving) Nikkei Network for Gender and Sexual Positivity; Kizuna; Budokan of LA; and is the Director/Co-Founder of Tuesday Night Project and Co-Curator of its flagship “Tuesday Night Cafe.” She’s working on a second book of writing/poetry attuned to survival, slated for publication next year by Writ Large Press.
Updated August 2013
Stories from This Author
Spare Abundance
March 19, 2020 • Courtney Ozaki , Margaret Ozaki Graves , traci kato-kiriyama
In a time of ever changing and heightened needs for social distancing, self isolation and attention to the greatest ways we can care for oneself and each other, I’m grateful to still be able to share two short poems from artists Courtney Ozaki and Margaret Ozaki Graves, both of whom are based in Denver. Their pieces speak to the solace we can find in moments of quiet, solitude, and reflection—and that the resilience before us or inside of us is …
Locale
Feb. 20, 2020 • Wataru Ebihara , Nina Chan , traci kato-kiriyama
This month I was inspired by the Little Tokyo Candidates Forum that occurred at the top of the month, to present an opportunity for all current city council candidates a chance to speak with the community. The forum, with many passionate expressions for the neighborhood, made me think on locality, affinity and the infinite ways with which you can fall in love with a community. I thought it would be fun at long last to feature a behind the scenes …
Harmonics
Jan. 16, 2020 • Nobuko Miyamoto , Goh Nakamura , traci kato-kiriyama
This being the first month of a new year, I thought we’d present “poetics” with a different approach from any other edition of the column—to feature lyrics of two songwriters of different generations and share a bit of their music to boot. For January 2020, we have a song from a brilliant musician, Goh Nakamura, who now hails from Little Tokyo, and a classic from a true legend, Nobuko Miyamoto. We’re also including links to some tracks for you to …
In Homage to Hiroshi Kashiwagi
Dec. 19, 2019 • Hiroshi Kashiwagi , traci kato-kiriyama
As we come to our 4th December and third anniversary of Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column, it seemed very fitting to pay tribute to the recently departed poet, Hiroshi Kashiwagi. A beloved community member and writer for many generations, Hiroshi was the inaugural poet featured (alongside Amy Uyematsu) when we began the column. I have fond memories of hearing Mr. Kashiwagi read his poetry aloud and I was always inspired by his candor, slightly mischievous smile, and of course, his …
Remains
Nov. 21, 2019 • Hiromi Yoshida , Terry Watada , traci kato-kiriyama
From Toronto-based writer, Terry Watada and Bloomington, Indiana-based poet, Hiromi Yoshida, are pieces that can be read as the remains of beings past, the memory of memories, the parts of a person embedded in our psyche or those aspects we wish to keep and uplift. Enjoy... —traci kato-kiriyama * * * * * Hiromi Yoshida is a first-generation Japanese American poet, with ethnic roots in Japan and Taiwan, and family in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Now based in Bloomington, Indiana, she has …
What spirits whisper...
Oct. 17, 2019 • Stan Yogi , Naomi Hirahara , traci kato-kiriyama
This month we are treated to two highly-lauded, accomplished writers and community heroes – Naomi Hirahara and Stan Yogi. Their pieces step out of each writer’s usual practice and into the poetry featured here (and we will surely feature more of their poetry in the future!). When I read through each of the poems we feature for this October issue of Nikkei Uncovered, I swear I can hear whispers of ghosts...a swirl of voices yearning to break free and be …
Presence
Sept. 19, 2019 • Nancy Uyemura , Amy Honjiyo , traci kato-kiriyama
This month, I sought out poems from Los Angeles-based Nancy Uyemura and Amy Honjiyo. I'd been asking Nancy for quite some time now to send me some writing ever since I learned she writes from time to time in the background of her beautiful art making career. Then, I saw both of them onstage for one of the +LAB Artist-in-Residence culminations at the Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo (supporting my fellow cohorts Marina Fukushima and Isak Immanuel) and was caught in a …
Body
Aug. 15, 2019 • Greer Nakadegawa-Lee , Lauren Emiko Ito , traci kato-kiriyama
How do memories, observations and spirits transfer through our bodies and onto the page? How does a poem reveal where we hold the gift and burden of memory in our body? Happy August everyone...I’m excited to bring two beautiful young voices into the “Nikkei Uncovered...” fold. This month, we have Yonsei teen, Greer Nakadegawa-Lee hailing from Oakland, and Gosei Lauren Ito, based in San Francisco via Seattle. On the surface, their poems may be read as text tied to identity …
Theme: (open)
July 18, 2019 • Mya Worrell , Kahlil Kochiyama , traci kato-kiriyama
This month I wanted to leave the theme open and invite two young voices who are both incredibly active in community building work here in Los Angeles. Kahlil Kochiyama is a UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara) student from the South Bay - his piece places us in his relationship with a simple tool of constant use in both nourishment and reflection on roots and culture. Mya Worrell hails from USC (University of Southern Califonia) via Sacramento county - their …
Place/Displace
June 20, 2019 • Amy Sanchez Arteaga , Misael Diaz , Marina Fukushima , Isak Immanuel , traci kato-kiriyama
For this month’s column, I thought it would be a good time to feature the other artists in a residency we are sharing this summer in Little Tokyo (the +LAB Artists-in-Residence program, where five of us are here for three months working on various arts and community engagement projects in partnership with Little Tokyo Service Center, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Sustainable Little Tokyo, Visual Communications and the Japanese American National Museum). We ended up going through an experiment …
