Leslie Yamaguchi

lyamaguchi

Leslie Yamaguchi is a High School English teacher in Southern California. She is a volunteer for the Japanese American National Museum where she writes articles for the Museum Store Online and helps out with book sales at public programs.

Updated November 2007

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China Dolls by Lisa See

By Leslie Yamaguchi
15 Jan 2015

Fans of best-selling author Lisa See will not be surprised by her diverse background, the source of the unique perspective readers inevitably find in each of her novels. Born in Paris but raised and residing in Los Angeles for most of her life, she is part Chinese. Her great-great-grandfather came to the United States to work on the building of the transcontinental railroad, and her great-grandfather was the “godfather” or “patriarch” of Los Angeles’ Chinatown. About 400 members of her large Chinese American family currently live in the Los Angeles area. Desp…

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Naomi Hirahara’s Murder on Bamboo Lane

By Leslie Yamaguchi
19 Aug 2014

Devoted readers of the Naomi Hirahara’s mystery novels might be dismayed to learn that her recently published book, Murder on Bamboo Lane, is not another installation of the Mas Arai series. However, despite their fondness for their beloved curmudgeon and reluctant detective, readers will find themselves quickly won over by Ellie Rush, the heroine of Murder on Bamboo Lane. Fear not, faithful readers. Naomi Hirahara’s latest book will satisfy the inner detective in all of you. The protagonist of Murder on Bamboo Lane is Ellie Rush, a new recruit on the Central Division’s B…

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"Today’s Thought" by Norman H. Osumi

By Leslie Yamaguchi
28 Jan 2014

Imagine the overwhelming task of writing a book about your personal hero, mentor—and father. Imagine wanting to write this book despite having no previous writing experience. While this goal may seem impossible to most, Norman H. Osumi’s book, Today’s Thought: Rev. Paul Osumi: The Man and His Message, is the product of just such a dream. Reverend Paul Osumi touched countless lives through “Today’s Thought,” his daily words of inspiration that appeared in The Honolulu Advertiser and Hawaii Hochi for over thirty-five years. After the passing of both his m…

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Gone to the Forest - Katie Kitamura

By Leslie Yamaguchi
13 Aug 2013

Three years after the release of her first novel, The Longshot, Katie Kitamura is drawing praise once again for her second novel, Gone to the Forest. Although a relatively new name in the literary world, the author has garnered acclaim from an eclectic group of reviewers. Both of her books were finalists for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award. Salman Rushdie writes of the writer’s latest work: “One thinks at times of both Coetzee and Gordimer, but Kitamura is very much her own writer, and makes you feel keenly the tragedy of her three lost souls.&r…

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Japanese American National Museum Store Online

Naomi Hirahara – Strawberry Yellow

By Leslie Yamaguchi
8 Mar 2013

Fans of Naomi Hirahara should prepare to turn off their cell phones and curl up in their favorite reading chair. Their most beloved detective, Mas Arai, will put his investigative skills to work once again in Hirahara’s newest novel, Strawberry Yellow. Upon learning of his second cousin Shug’s sudden death, Mas returns to Watsonville, a small town in Northern California. Mas’ plan to make a brief appearance in his hometown to attend the funeral is quickly thwarted when Minnie, Shug’s widow, shares her suspicions that Shug was murdered and pleads with Mas to extend his…

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Discover Nikkei

Japanese migrants and their descendants

Leslie Yamaguchi

Japanese American National Museum Store Online

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

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

Two Worlds: The Life and Photography of Wakaji Matsumoto

Wakaji Matsumoto: An Artist in Two Worlds

Japanese Women in Chicago

Part 1: Yone Hara

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #Per 24 Hour Cycle: "Internet Inaction..."

A Vision Takes Root: The Legacy of Judy Nishimoto Ota and the San Pedro Firm Building

Masaki Gaja, el sansei del equilibrio

Aloha, France — Part 2

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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Part 1: Yone Hara

Journal Entry #Per 24 Hour Cycle: "Internet Inaction..."

A Vision Takes Root: The Legacy of Judy Nishimoto Ota and the San Pedro Firm Building

Aloha, France — Part 2

Aloha, France — Part 1

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

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

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

Lessons Realized

American Dream

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

Our Man on the Hill: Sidney Yates — Part 2

OBITUARY - Juan Pollo Restaurant Founder Albert Okura, 71

Ask a Historian: How Did Alaska Natives Wind Up Inside Japanese American Concentration Camps?

Celebrating a Century: Nisei War Veteran and Esteemed Journalist Frank Moritsugu Turns 100

Setsuko Moriya — Part 1

The Morgenthau Diaries and FDR's Troubling Views of Minorities

Thomas Takashi Nakahara

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

Pacific Bridges' Innovative Approach to Financial Services

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

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

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