James Okumura

Born in Boyle Heights near downtown Los Angeles, Sansei and native Angeleno James Okumura (奥村ジェイムス登) grew up in the foothill communities of Altadena and Pasadena, California. He worked in Information Systems for nearly 30 years before retiring to pursue his lifelong interests in ceramics, family history, and gardening. His maternal roots lie in the Yokohama area of Kanagawa-ken and his paternal ancestry originates in Ise-Shima in Mie-ken. James is a JANM charter member.

Updated April 2023

Stories from This Author

Nikkei Chronicles #13—Nikkei Names 2: Grace, Graça, Graciela, Megumi?

Discovering Myself in My Name

Dec. 6, 2024 • James Okumura

My parents named me James Noboru Okumura. My birth certificate from The Japanese Hospital of Los Angeles declared my full name in uppercase 1950s typewriter font. I have known that name since the time I could recognize it. My parents chose my given name, James, because they wanted to give me an acceptably American name. It sounded nice, but I have no ancestors with that name. As a young child, I never answered to James. My family and our lifelong …

California Chinese characters Discover Nikkei Honshu identity Japan Japanese language kanji languages Mie Prefecture names nicknames Nikkei Chronicles (series) Nikkei Names 2 (series) Southern California United States writing

A Day of Remembrance at JANM

April 13, 2023 • James Okumura

I left Los Angeles over a half decade earlier in 2010 and had not been back since. A visit to see my sister in downtown Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo prompted my return in 2018, allowing me to take care of some minor matters and visit some old haunts. While she was away at work one day, I took the opportunity to visit the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) and mark another item off my trip checklist. The summer day’s short …