Jackie Kojima
Jackie Kojima works as an eighth-grade Japanese teacher at ‘Iolani School and is a freelance writer. A Gosei, she developed a passion for studying Japanese in her middle school years. In her free time she enjoys singing, listening to podcasts and going on walks.
Updated December 2022
Stories from This Author
Shelter Lodge
Aug. 4, 2023 • Jackie Kojima
Many of us in Hawai‘i grumble about long commutes. But not many can beat Kaua‘i resident Kenji Yamada, who travels 2,700 miles just to get to work. During the spring and summer months, Yamada manages Shelter Lodge, his family’s fishing lodge in Alaska. Guests can fish for species such as King (chinook) Salmon, Black Cod (butterfish), and Pacific halibut at the Lodge, which can accommodate 20 guests at a time. Once the fishing season is over, Yamada heads back home …
REPRESENT!: “Ikigai” – Yonsei Filmmaker Makes Directing Debut
July 11, 2023 • Jackie Kojima
In July, California State University Northridge senior Maren Elardo and her crew of fellow students in the Department of Cinema and Television Arts will begin filming her senior thesis film, “Ikigai.” Elardo’s film, along with three others, were selected through an intensive application process that involves submitting a 12-page story, and preparing a proposal that details the potential budget, visuals and crew. “Ikigai” revolves around nine-year-old Mayumi, a Japanese American girl integrated into a primarily Caucasian school in the mid-1970s. …
American Dream
March 1, 2023 • Jackie Kojima
For professional opera singer Nina Yoshida Nelsen, the path of life has been full of unexpected twists and turns. But she would not have had it any other way. Born Nina Kiyoka Yoshida on Sept. 19, 1979, to sixth-grade teacher Ron Yoshida and artist Janice Blair Yoshida, Nelsen grew up alongside her brother, Mitchell, in Santa Barbara, California. One day as a third grader, she surprised her parents by telling them she wanted to play the violin. “They had no …
Generational Pies: The Hori family’s continued passion for baking
Dec. 8, 2022 • Jackie Kojima
In 1932, Yoshio and Miyako Hori brought two babies into the world: their son, Richard Yasuo Hori, and their bakery. Yoshio, a former mechanic, opened his shop in the back of his Uncle Ayataro Nanbu’s hotel located in the North Kohala community of Kapa‘au on the Big Island. The sign maker mistook the name “Hori” for “Holy,” which resulted in a major typo; but the name stuck. Holy’s Bakery churned out hundreds of loaves of bread and baked goods daily …
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