Susan Miyagi McCormac

smhamaker

Okinawan American Susan Miyagi McCormac is a New York-based writer who started the website JapanCulture•NYC in May 2011 as a resource for all things Japanese in New York City. She also blogs about her Okinawan heritage and her fascination with Japanese culture at shrinecastle.com.

Updated March 2012

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Have Your Bento Your Way with Bento On Demand

By Susan Miyagi McCormac
8 Sep 2015

“Have it your way” was a slogan that fast-food chain Burger King used for forty years to encourage customers to create the burger they want rather than adhering to a strict menu. This is a concept that is generally not embraced in Japanese cuisine. Do you ever purchase pre-packaged bento from a Japanese grocery store in New York City? Did you ever think, “Wow, I really like this, but I wish I could have hijiki instead of gobo kinpira”? Do you even know the difference between hijiki and gobo kinpira? With pre-packaged bento, you don’t have a choice with the side…

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Nikkei Chronicles #2—Nikkei+: Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race

Documentary Explores Being “Hafu” in Japan

By Susan Miyagi McCormac
6 Aug 2013

Daddy: Check the box that says “Caucasian.”Me: Really? I didn’t know because I’m not completely Caucasian. What about mom?Daddy: The child’s race is determined by the father’s side. That conversation between my father and me took place when I was around eight or nine years old. It was the first time I filled out official school paperwork on my own. It was also the first time I gave any thought to my race—both of my races. The paperwork was easy at first. Name, address, phone number, date of…

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Enka Singer Jero Delights Diverse Japan Society Audience

By Susan Miyagi McCormac
19 Jun 2012

A diverse crowed filled Japan Society’s auditorium Saturday night. They were young, middle-aged, and not so young. They were Japanese, half Japanese, part Japanese, and non-Japanese. They were wearing jeans, dresses, and kimono. And they were all there for the New York debut of Jero, a Pittsburgh native who has achieved success in Japan in the unlikeliest of professions: He’s an enka singer. Enka, a Japanese ballad that became popular during the postwar era, generally has a fan base that is considerably older than Jero, who, at age thirty, prefers the hip-hop style of clothing to…

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Kizuna: Nikkei Stories from the 2011 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

Japanese Pop Singer AK is Saving Japan with Your Love

By Susan Miyagi McCormac
9 Mar 2012

Akemi Kakihara is a Japanese pop star who has released 14 albums with EMI Music Japan, one of Japan’s major record labels. Her latest album, Say That You Love Me, came out in August 2010, and her two most recent US singles appear on compilation albums. But she’d rather talk about the children. The children are preschoolers in Miyagi and Fukushima, where AK (as she prefers to be called) visited six months after a massive earthquake triggered a tsunami in Northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. When she arrived at the school in Soma, a small town near the coast of Fukushima approx…

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Kizuna: Nikkei Stories from the 2011 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

Fukushima City: Six Months Later - Part 2

By Susan Miyagi McCormac
5 Dec 2011

Read Part 1 >>Professor Takahashi is an intelligent man whose face shows no signs of stress despite the hardships that have befallen his country. When discussing the nuclear crisis and radiation levels in Fukushima Prefecture, he speaks matter-of-factly and explains the science in layman’s terms. Armed with Fukushima University’s state-of-the-art sievert meter and a scientific background, he admits he has a base knowledge of radiation, which helps him understand the nuclear situation better than the average citizen. Although he feels that the government’s information …

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Discover Nikkei

Japanese migrants and their descendants

Susan Miyagi McCormac

Nikkei Chronicles #2—Nikkei+: Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race

Kizuna: Nikkei Stories from the 2011 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

Kizuna: Nikkei Stories from the 2011 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

Series this author contributes to

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

Nikkei Chronicles #5—Nikkei-go: The Language of Family, Community, and Culture

The Chuo Gakuen School: The Seeds of Prestige for the Japanese Community in Mexico

Nikkei Chronicles #3—Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João?

The Child of a Thousand Generations

Tad Nakamura’s Art and Activism

My Name is Neal

Journal Entry #Around 80,000 Words: "Novel Novels..."

日系（ニッケイ）—をめぐって

第36回 和歌山市・移民資料室を訪ねる—日本の海岸線の旅の途中で⑤

David Mura’s Work Continues to Push Readers to Question the World

Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column

Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 3

ブラジルに残る大正デモクラシーの余韻＝日系女性アーティスト３人の物語 — その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

Nikkei Chronicles #12

Growing Up Nikkei: Connecting with Our Heritage

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Journal Entry #Around 80,000 Words: "Novel Novels..."

David Mura’s Work Continues to Push Readers to Question the World

Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 3

Stephen Nelson Makes History as New Dodgers Announcer

An Unsent Letter to My Nisei Grandpa–Part 1 of 3

In Their Own Voices: Understanding Heart Mountain through Oral Histories

Dr. Jiro Takai's Journey of Becoming From the Soo to Nagoya University — Part 1

Journal Entry #24 Hours: "Some Days are Too Long..."

Rediscovering Poston

The Readmission: Toyohiko Kagawa’s 1950 US Tour

A Dream Deferred, A Dream Fulfilled

Journal Entry #4 Body Types: "Poor, Poor Pitiful Ken..."

Chapter 15 (Part 1 ) — Nisei’s Political Involvement in the Japanese American Citizens League

Preserving Legacy and Artistry: A Behind-the-Scenes Look into the Henry Sugimoto Collection

Artist and Documentarian: The Life of Kango Takamura

Bridging the Past and Present: Preserving History Through the Tanaka Photo Studio Collection

Nikkei Incarceration

EO9066’s ‘Coerced Prison Work(ers)’

Journal Entry #6 More Noises: "Onomatopoeia Mania..."

An In-Depth Examination of the WRA’s Legal System

Shelter Lodge

A Journey of Self-Discovery: My “Japaneseness” — Part 2

Frozen Hair, Work Stoppages, and Other Lesser-Known Stories from Heart Mountain - Part 2

A New Take on Madama Butterfly Updates Puccini’s Opera for Modern Times

WTF — Not the What, Why, or When, It’s the How

Darcy Tamayose on Exploring Hauntings by Ghosts, Grief, and Guilt

Wisdom Grown Wild: A Conversation with Filmmaker Rea Tajiri — Part 1

Rice, Race, and Growing up Hafu

Journal Entry #Lumenø: "The Stygian Box..."

Coming Home: My Family’s Journey to Ireichō

To Be Nikkei

A Northern Lesson: Carey McWilliams and the Incarceration of Japanese Canadians

Bruce Miyahara — “OG-San” Marries Food Passion with Service — Part 2

A Journey of Self-Discovery: My “Japaneseness” — Part 1

Frozen Hair, Work Stoppages, and Other Lesser-Known Stories from Heart Mountain - Part 1

Hajichi Stories — Tree Local Women Tell Why Day Got Their Okinawan Hand Tattoos

Wisdom Grown Wild: A Conversation with Filmmaker Rea Tajiri — Part 2

Identity in the Music Industry with Musician & Two-Time Grammy Nominee Nick Lee

Journal Entry #Combining 26 Characters: "Cliché in Vain..."

The Heart of Naomi Hirahara’s Evergreen

For Kyra Karatsu—Writing is a Foregone Conclusion

Exposing America’s “Secret Weapon” — Part 2

Layle Lane: Black Woman Educator and Defender of Japanese Americans

Death of Affirmative Action

Bruce Miyahara — “OG-San” Marries Food Passion with Service — Part 1

第36回和歌山市・移民資料室を訪ねる—日本の海岸線の旅の途中で⑤