Gwen Muranaka
Gwen Muranaka, Senior Editor, has been with The Rafu Shimpo since 2001. Prior to that, she worked in Tokyo at the Japan Times where she still contributes the weekly cartoon “Noodles.” She attended UCLA where she received a BA in English literature and also studied one year at Waseda University. Muranaka started in community newspapers as assistant editor at the Pacific Citizen.
Updated March 2021
Stories from This Author
Bob Furuike: Creator of Delite-ful Pies at Gardena’s Pie Kitchen
Jan. 30, 2024 • Gwen Muranaka
Some of my favorite memories of childhood were of eating a slice of Citrus Delite pie, the signature dessert at Pie Kitchen in Gardena. Bright orange and yellow circles of tangy meringue on top of vanilla custard and a crisp, flaky crust—Citrus Delite tasted of summer evenings visiting with family and friends. Whenever we stopped in Gardena to see Nana, we always made sure to make a run to Pie Kitchen on Redondo Beach Boulevard, next to McDonald’s and H …
Nomo, Ohtani, and Dreams of Spring
Dec. 27, 2023 • Gwen Muranaka
I drew this cartoon in May 1995, Hideo Nomo’s first season as a Dodger. All those years ago, it struck me that besides being a great pitcher, Nomo would inspire young Japanese Americans to dream that maybe, one day, they could play in the Major Leagues. Nomo, with his signature “tornado” wind-up, blazed the trail for so many who have come after him: Ichiro Suzuki, Kenta Maeda, Hideki Matsui, Hiroki Kuroda, Yu Darvish, the list goes on and on. Not …
Fujima Kansuma — To Dance, to Live, to Persevere
May 4, 2023 • Gwen Muranaka
For one last time, the students of Fujima Kansuma Kai performed and at the conclusion, bowed to their beloved Osho-san as paper pink petals drifted down at the Aratani Theatre on Sunday. A portrait of Kansuma, standing regal and resplendent in formal kimono, looked on as if once more teaching her students and taking it all in with a critical eye. This month (April) has seen the return of cherry blossom festivals to Southern California after ceasing for three years …
'Hit' After Hit for Ally Maki
Dec. 9, 2021 • Gwen Muranaka
JA actress talks Toy Story, Asian American representation and her newest project, Hit-Monkey. Ally Maki definitely has a thing for authority figures. She memorably portrays police officers in Toy Story 4, as the bubbly, tiny Officer Giggle McDimples, the first Asian American Toy Story character, and in her newest project portraying Detective Haruka, in the Hulu Marvel series Hit-Monkey. She is also featured in the new Home Alone reboot, Home Sweet Home Alone. Originally from Seattle, Maki was signed to Columbia …
Fighting Hatred With Song
Sept. 2, 2021 • Gwen Muranaka
“Your eyes tell the story of your family.” Through its long history, Sesame Street has addressed difficult issues, and the troubling rise in anti-Asian hatred during the COVID-19 pandemic is no different. In the video, Filipina American Analyn, performed by Claudia Fabella, is sad because a kid at the playground makes fun of her, saying her eyes are ugly and “slanty.” Alan, played by Alan Muraoka, and Wes, a Muppet, comfort Analyn and tell her that her eyes are actually beautiful. …
Obituary: Eunice Sato, 99 — First Female Mayor of Long Beach
March 9, 2021 • Gwen Muranaka
LONG BEACH — Eunice N. Sato, the first Asian American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city, passed away of cardio-pulmonary arrest on Feb. 12, 2021. She was 99. Sato served as mayor of Long Beach for two years in the early 1980s, the first woman to lead the city, guiding it through a period of economic turmoil. She was also a member of the Long Beach City Council, representing the 7th District, from 1975-1986. After leaving …
Love is Little Tokyo: Iconic mural becomes the setting for a special engagement
Oct. 14, 2020 • Gwen Muranaka
Auntie Nancy would be proud. Little Tokyo has been through much in 2020, but last Saturday was a rare moment of celebration and joy in this most difficult year. Under the “Home Is Little Tokyo” Mural Matt Consalvi got down on one knee and asked his girlfriend, Marissa Hernandez, to be his wife. “I have no words. I’m blown away,” Marissa said, beaming, a diamond ring on her finger. Family and friends, all wearing masks, were there to surprise the …
Taking Flight After The Tumult
July 3, 2020 • Gwen Muranaka
Little Tokyo and yearning for meaning and hope in the power of place. A bird taking flight. Little Tokyo is a small neighborhood of artists and activists, of commerce and spirituality, of parades and protests, densely layered by its long history and its proximity to the seats of power. And so, in early June, Nihonmachi, wounded by a week of turbulence and tumult that has shaken an entire nation, took to the task of rebuilding and reforming a community. Summoning …
Energizing Or End Times For a 117-Year-Old Publication
June 3, 2020 • Gwen Muranaka
This is how I go cover a story now. I put on a cloth mask and wash my hands, grab my recorder and put an LAPD press badge around my neck. A while back, photographer Mario Gershom Reyes and I covered Hideki Obayashi of Azuma in Gardena as he fights to keep the restaurant going. Even with masks on, you can see the strain, exhaustion and worry in his eyes. His wife Genie Nakano stopped by with a tin box …
Norman Mineta: An American Story - New documentary captures JA experience through life of two time Cabinet secretary
June 14, 2019 • Gwen Muranaka
"I don’t like the word H-A-T-E. I don’t use it,” says Norman Mineta. Even if it’s a matter of a dislike for carrots, the former transportation secretary says “hate” isn’t a part of his vocabulary, and that informs who he is and the issues he has championed. “I’ve always been a half-full kind of person, more optimistic about things and how they happen, but you know I was only 10 years old at the time of the evacuation, so it …
