Rio Imamura

riodan

Rio Imamura, a U.S. citizen for close to 30 years living in New York City and Southern California, returned to Japan upon retirement in 1994. His Japanese translation of Dear Miss Breed written by Joanne Oppenheim was published by Kashiwa Shobo, Tokyo in 2007.

Updated February 2012

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Notable Japanese Americans

By Rio Imamura
28 Jun 2016

The 46th elementary school opening early next year in Chula Vista with a 47.5 million dollar budget will bear Saburo Muraoka’s name. I thought the case might be the first public school built in honor of a Japanese American immigrant, unprecedented for Japanese Americans. I looked up the late Hawaiian war hero, 442nd combat vet, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (1924–2012), the first Japanese American Congressman. Yes, DKI Institute was built in 2013, inside the University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus to honor his legacy. The Institute will support middle and high school STEM (science, techn…

education en

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

Minato Gakuen Now

By Rio Imamura
1 Jun 2016

The Class of 2016 graduating from Minato Gakuen was congratulated once in San Diego in mid-March and again in Kyoto in early April. Here’s chapter and verse of the life spanning story and the fruits of the concerted service and dedication of all those parties involved. Minato Gakuen was established in 1978 as a Nihongo Hoshuko (Saturday Japanese Supplementary Language School) in San Diego primarily for the Japanese expatriate children. Most expatriate’s term of assignment range from 3–4 years and during that time, the parent’s biggest headache was that their children …

war en

Infamy

By Rio Imamura
11 Aug 2015

My son, who lives in New York, took the trouble to airfreight me Richard Reeves’ Infamy, a 340 page book newly published by Henry Holt & Co. The subtitle reads “The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II.” This is the first book Joanne Oppenheim’s Dear Miss Breed is quoted extensively. I was happy to find Clara Breed’s photo in the book. She was the children’s librarian at the San Diego Public Library, who met hundreds of young Japanese Americans and during the internment years, she sent them letters, books, and gifts. I sa…

culture en

"Painted My Way"—Henry Fukuhara, A True Artist

By Rio Imamura
26 Dec 2013

Shadow of the distant pass; Their memories still last Manzanar: Monument of Tears. Ignorance and pseudo-fears; A wrong that can’t be made right; A blindness for lack of sight; A day now engulfed by night; A hope shaded, once so bright. The m…

war en

Voluntary Evacuation

By Rio Imamura
29 Nov 2013

“Attempted but failed” was my understanding of the voluntary evacuation efforts by the Japanese Americans when Japan declared war against the Allied Forces in attacking Pearl Harbor. Ryo Takasugi’s book on Fred (Isamu) Wada took me by surprise. The book, written a decade ago, was recently republished as The Man who ushered in the Tokyo Olympics (1964) from Kobunsha. What caught me was its subtitle “The Story of an Nisei Japanese who Refused to go to the Concentration Camp.” The scene began at the affluent Chapultepec residence of Mexican General Jose de J. Cl…

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Japanese migrants and their descendants

Rio Imamura

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

Series this author contributes to

Tad Nakamura’s Art and Activism

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

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

The Child of a Thousand Generations

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 View

Interpreting Lost in Translation 20 years later

Ayumi Takenaka: “Even though we don’t have an exact definition of Nikkei cuisine, its origins are in Peru”

Dr. Ryuzo Yanagimachi—Heads or Tails?

Power of Our Stories

In American Dream

The Kawamoto-Wipala Farm in Leland Washington: A Farm for the Ages — Part 4

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

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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

Read the Growing Up Nikkei stories and help select the Nima-kai community favorite >>

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Interpreting Lost in Translation 20 years later

Ayumi Takenaka: “Even though we don’t have an exact definition of Nikkei cuisine, its origins are in Peru”

Dr. Ryuzo Yanagimachi—Heads or Tails?

In American Dream

The Kawamoto-Wipala Farm in Leland Washington: A Farm for the Ages — Part 4

Journal Entry #First Appeared in 1940: "A Wild Hare..."

Chapter 8—The Way Home

Unlocking Family Mysteries

Relearning our culture

Continental Drift: How anti-Japanese sentiment in Australia affected Nikkei Communities in the US and Canada

The Kawamoto-Wipala Farm in Leland Washington: A Farm for the Ages — Part 3

Artist Audra Furuichi Meets Her Match—How she created her nemu*nemu comic empire

Journal Entry #1918-2023: "Good Boys..."

Papa Was a Samurai Warrior!

An Albuquerque Childhood

The Poker Table—Part 4

Historian Arthur A. Hansen on his latest book, Manzanar Mosaic

Dr. Jiro Takai's Journey of Becoming From the Soo to Nagoya University — Part 6

Will Ireton Uses Analytics, Trackman to Help Dodger Players Improve Their Performances

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Collective Memories of the Store

The JABA Legacy Project: Don Tamaki—A Bridge Between Communities — Part 2

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Beyond Shogun: James Clavell's Japanese American History

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Chapter 16 (Part 1) — Activities of Kibei Japanese American Citizens League

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Between Two Kanji

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The Poker Table—Part 1

The JABA Legacy Project: Don Tamaki—A Bridge Between Communities — Part 1

Pictures of Belonging: Rediscovering Three Remarkable Japanese American Artists

Growing Up Nikkei As An Adoptee—A Conversation with Author Susan Ito

Chapter 16 (Part 2) — Activities of Kibei Japanese American Citizens League

The Kawamoto-Wipala Farm in Leland Washington: A Farm for the Ages — Part 1

The Legacy of Resistance: Nimura/Kashiwagi Family at Ireichō

Journal Entry #3 Days Left: "Menacing Mitts..."

Embracing Imperfection: A Journey of Self-Exploration in Japan

The Amazing Tashiro Family - Part 2: Ken Tashiro, Journalist

The Poker Table—Part 2

Shared Memories

Dr. Jiro Takai's Journey of Becoming From the Soo to Nagoya University — Part 4

Tribute to Amy Uyemastu: After — Part 6

The Kawamoto-Wipala Farm in Leland Washington: A Farm for the Ages — Part 2

A New Look at Nisei Veterans: Lawrence Matsuda and Matt Sasaki’s Fighting for America

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**Read the Growing Up Nikkei stories and help select the Nima-kai community favorite >>**

Artist Audra Furuichi Meets Her Match—How she created her nemunemu* comic empire