Kyra Karatsu

kyra.karatsu

Kyra Karatsu was born and raised in Santa Clarita, CA. She is currently a first-year Journalism student at College of the Canyons in Valencia, CA and hopes to transfer to a university after the completion of her AA degree. Kyra is a Japanese-German Yonsei and enjoys reading and writing about the Asian American experience.

Updated January 2021

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Inspire Forward: Nikkei Heroes Under 30

Ancestry & Artistry: The Works of Annie Sumi

By Kyra Karatsu
22 Dec 2022

Japanese Canadian Annie Sumi is many things: songwriter, ethereal folk artist, and, recently, co-creator of the Kintsugi exhibition at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. Providing creative insight inspired by family heirlooms, her work on Kintsugi weaves together the threads of her ancestry with her artistry as a musician. Ancestry Sumi originally hails from Ontario, Canada. Second-generation Scottish through her mother’s side, she recalls that she grew close to the songs and traditions that were brought to Canada from her grandparents’ hometown of Glasgow. &ld…

food en ja es pt

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

Food for Thought—TikTok & Tamagoyaki

By Kyra Karatsu
17 Jun 2022

Like any good Gen Z-er, I’ve made my fair share of TikToks since I first downloaded the app two years ago. Most are silly and trivial and recorded primarily for my “impressive” following of 45 followers—the majority being school friends. Although it pales in comparison to the millions and even billions of views that top users (often dubbed “Content Creators”) regularly receive, the most popular TikTok that I ever made was, interestingly enough, a minute-long video of my dad and me making tamagoyaki. By the time I eventually privated it, th…

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The Times of Tulelake

By Kyra Karatsu
10 May 2022

Located near the Oregon-California border, the ghost of what once was one of California’s two internment camps now stands rather quietly against a backdrop of mountains and shrubs. But for much of the 20th century, Tulelake and the nearby town of Newell – where the Tule Lake Segregation Center stands – were no strangers to the bustle of human activity. A Japanese American relocation camp turned high-security segregation center turned homestead farming community, the Tulelake area has since evolved into a historically significant landscape for a varied miscellany of America…

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From Short Story to Stage Play: Masao and The Bronze Nightingale

By Kyra Karatsu
28 Apr 2022

After years of partnership and production, Dan Kwong and Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara’s Masao and The Bronze Nightingale has finally set stage at the CASA 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights. Based on Guevara’s short story of the same name, Masao and The Bronze Nightingale is set in post-war 1940s Bronzeville—a thriving African American community that sprouted in Little Tokyo after Japanese Americans were forcibly removed. As Japanese American jazz musician Masao Imoto (played by Michael Sasaki) navigates through the vibrant, multicultural L.A music scene and his love for the…

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To Build a Bridge

By Kyra Karatsu
18 Mar 2022

“Why do you want to marry him?” That is what my maternal grandfather asked my mother in the days leading up to her wedding. It was genuine, blunt, honest. Even today, it was a question that my mother recalls as one that stunned her into momentary silence. After a pause and some thoughtful reflection, she was finally able to answer his query. The matter was then put to rest, never to be spoken between the two again. Her father’s curiosity had been satiated. This was the year 2001, and the occasion was the betrothal of a Caucasian woman and an Asian man. At the…

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Discover Nikkei

Japanese migrants and their descendants

Kyra Karatsu

Inspire Forward: Nikkei Heroes Under 30

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

Series this author contributes to

Grammy-Nominated Musician Masa Takumi and His Move to the U.S. in 2018

Who is Nikkei? A Conversation with the President of The Association of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad, Mr. Katsuyuki Tanaka

Two Worlds: The Life and Photography of Wakaji Matsumoto

Wakaji Matsumoto: An Artist in Two Worlds

Telma Shiraishi Gives a Unique Flavor to Japanese Cuisine with Brazilian Ingredients

Finding Forgiveness: Director Stafford Arima on Bringing the Award-Winning Memoir to the Stage

オハヨウ・ボンディア II

「バッチャン」は人気の言葉

Ancestry and Toxicity: Breaking Free From Old Patterns and Toxic Relationships

A Letter to My Community Urging Protection of Minidoka

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #At Least 4500 Years Old: "Infinite Bands..."

書評：和泉真澄『日系カナダ人の移動と運動―知られざる日本人の越境生活史』

1992年渡米、目標は「アカデミー賞」— 俳優の井上英治さん

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tiempos pandémicos: teletrabajo y koden digital

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 e os heróis anônimos

香川県海外移民の父：今雪真一の情熱と功績

第３部：金子正則知事の南米訪問とその主な見解

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Finding Forgiveness: Director Stafford Arima on Bringing the Award-Winning Memoir to the Stage

Ancestry and Toxicity: Breaking Free From Old Patterns and Toxic Relationships

A Letter to My Community Urging Protection of Minidoka

Journal Entry #At Least 4500 Years Old: "Infinite Bands..."

When We Enable Racism

Surrender

Thomas Takashi Nakahara

Pacific Bridges' Innovative Approach to Financial Services

Postwar Japanese Emigration to the Dominican Republic — Part 2: The Japanese American Response

Postwar Japanese Emigration to the Dominican Republic — Part 1: A Tragic Tale

In Remembrance of the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami: An Interview with The Hidden Japan’s Derek Yamashita—Part 2

Tea with my Ancestors

Journal Entry #15th C. Prose: "Weapons are Bad for Me..."

Maia Harima – Distinctive Fashion Designer

Yoshie Fujiwara and Japanese Americans II: A Day at the (Olympic) Races

Our Man on the Hill: Sidney Yates — Part 1

Flight

Setsuko Moriya — Part 2

The Search for Truth: Piercing Three Layers of Deception

Journal Entry #Lesson 3450: "Sharpen Your Pencils!"

Mercedes Luna: Thriving Within Her Rich Heritage - Part 2

Digging up Ways to Honor Her Ancestors—Kyoko Oda and Ireichō

Journal Entry #1 Supplier: "A Company Making Everything..."

Seiichi Higashide — A Man With Three Homelands

Futon, Shoyu, and More: Japanese Words Incorporated into the Vocabulary of Brazil

Remembering Them—Tsuchiya Family Honors Elders Through Ireichō

Yoshie Fujiwara and Japanese Americans I: A Night at the Opera

Setsuko Moriya — Part 3

Redress: A film about the Office of Redress Administration

Journal Entry #2/14/23: "The Most Dangerous Day..."

Manzanar, Diverted: An Appreciation

Narumi Ogusuku—Ubiquitous Nikkei Artist

Mercedes Luna: Thriving Within Her Rich Heritage - Part 1

Aloha 'Oe, Dr. Franklin Odo: Remembering a Brilliant Scholar and a Special Mentor and Friend - Part 2

In Remembrance of the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami: An Interview with The Hidden Japan’s Derek Yamashita—Part 1

Dutch Leonard - The Ballplayer who challenged Fresno's racism

Toronto Japanese Canadian Duo Releases Groundbreaking EP

Yasuko Aratani—She Never Stopped Dreaming

Tokita Tales—Only in America

Journal Entry #My Top 6: "Holy Crappy Cartoon, Batman!"

Being Blasian

Bill Mauldin – An Artist with a Cause

70th Anniversary of Fukuoka Kenjinkai Mexico

Staff Sergeant Higuchi

Remembering Roger Daniels

Barbed Wire, Guard Tower, Tar Paper Barracks, Roll Call

Lessons Realized

American Dream

Journal Entry #Only 2 Choices: "Do or Not Do..."