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Mitch Homma @mhomma

My name is Mitch Homma. I’m a sansei who grew up and still resides in Southern California. In addition to working as a software and aerospace engineer for a small Chantilly, Virginia based company, my interests include Japanese history and Christianity in Japan. In my spare time, I work on publishing some family items that I believe are important to history and hope it inspires other to do the same. I contribute to three different Discover Nikkei albums which are based on my family’s photo albums, documents, and stories. My current albums contain items from Amache and Heart Mountain Internment Camps as well as Gardena Valley Baptist Church, which 4 generations of family attended. The Amache and Heart Mountain albums are being updated as I come across related photos while still searching through hundreds of photos in boxes. I am also working on two other albums which may be published in the future. Both albums are based on recently uncovered photos and documents. One collection is based on Christianity in Japan (1890-1930) and the pre-WWII Southern California Japanese Christian Federation of churches. The second documents my 2008 trip back to Japan and Amache to see my family history first hand. This album includes pre-WWII and today’s photos of my family’s sites, Japan relatives, and finally my father and his sibling’s emotional closure when visiting Amache during JANM’s Enduring Communities Conference field trip.

Torrance, California, United States of America Nima since 2006 last login 3 weeks ago
Nima of the Month Learn about some of our favorite Nima and what they like about Discover Nikkei.

Lee Tonouchi, also known as “Da Pidgin Guerrilla,” is an Okinawan Yonsei writer who lives in Hawai‘i. Lee is recognized for his work advocating for the acceptance of Pidgin (Hawai‘i Creole) as a legitimate language. In 2023, he received the American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Public Service Award for his advocacy of Pidgin.

Lee is the author of a number of award-winning books, including Pidgin poetry collection Significant Moments in da Life of Oriental Faddah and Son: One Hawai‘i Okinawan Journal, winner of the Asian-America Studies Book Award in 2013; children's book Okinawan Princess: Da Legend of Hajichi Tattoos, winner of the Skipping Stones Honor Award in 2020; and Chiburu: Anthology of Hawai‘i Okinawan Literature. His monthly column for Discover Nikkei, “Much Mahalos,” uses Pidgin to interview Japanese and Okinawan Americans from Hawai‘i about their stories.

What do you like about Discover Nikkei?

As one Discover Nikkei contributor who wuz born and raise in Hawai‘i, I stay in one position for talk story with lotta really interesting Hawai‘i Japanese/Okinawan folks and it's kinda cool how I get for help introduce these amazing Local people to da world.

And I not exaggerating when I say da world, cuz Discover Nikkei get one onreal reach. I love it when da people I profile report back for tell me how so many readers from so many places said dey read their interview!

Why is it important to share your Much Mahalos series on Discover Nikkei?

People get lotta stereotypes about Hawai‘i. Dey tink everybody in Hawai‘i does hula and surfs all day long. I like for tink that my Much Mahalos column helps for eju-ma-cate people and show off da full spectrum of talented kine peoples we get living ova hea. So far I wen interview one poet, stand-up comedian, actor, sanshin player, storyteller, Pidgin linguist, muralist, comic strip artist, crafter, Okinawan language activist, graphic designer, clothing designer, with planny more occupations yet for come!

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Episode 17
November 12
5pm PDT | 7pm PET
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