
Nima-kai
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I’m a Yonsei, occasional artist and writer, and full-time Digital Program Manager at the Japanese American National Museum. I was born in Los Angeles and have lived in Southern California almost my entire life. I am fluent in English, can understand about 80% of conversational Japanese, and don’t know any Spanish or Portuguese (although after having worked on Discover Nikkei for so long, would like to learn someday). I love working in Little Tokyo and living in Gardena. Both areas give me wonderful access to Japanese/Nikkei food, community, and culture. I bowl in a Nikkei league once a week, and spend my free time eating, sleeping, playing on my phone and computer, rooting for the Dodgers, watching TV and reading, spending time with family and friends, and traveling. I love working on Discover Nikkei and learning about so many different Nikkei experiences around the world!

Born in Foz do Iguaçu, western Paraná state, Brazil, he is the second son of Harry and Ligia Daijó. Married to Adriana Rodrigues Daijó for over 20 years, no children. Graduated in Law from the Bauru Law School - Toledo Educational Institution - ITE (06/24/1995), he began his professional career with the Public Prosecutor's Office of the state of São Paulo, in the District of Bauru/SP, under the guidance of Dr. Heitor Evaristo Fabricio Costa and Dr. João Costa Gomes. Postgraduate degree in Strategic Business Management (Executive MBA) - University of São Paulo - USP (08/15/2012) and also in Forest Management - Federal University of Paraná - UFPR (05/03/2019). Bachelor's degree in History from Uninter. Author of the articles "The urgency of learning the Portuguese language for Japanese immigrants in Brazil in the 1940s", published in Caderno Intersaberes (Curitiba, v. 11, n. 33, p. 37-56, 2022) and "Passages from Takahide Daijó's life correlated with Tomoo Handa's work 'The Japanese Immigrant'", published in Caderno Intersaberes (Curitiba, v. 12, n. 40, p. 6-24, 2023) - both in partnership with Prof. Dr. André Luiz Moscaleski Cavazzani. He also wrote the article "Excerpts from the diary of Japanese immigrant Takahide Daijó related to his union with Rosa Kiguti". He also has an international certification in environmental auditing by IEMA, a participant of ORCID (Connecting Research and Researchers). In the first half of the 90s, he was the guitarist and vocalist of the rock band LEXHARE and in the second half, he was president of the Progressive Party in Foz do Iguaçu. Between 2004 and 2006, together with journalists Andye Iore and Fábio Linjardi, he wrote regularly for the "anti-news" blog Factorama. In 2015, in partnership with his brother, Hedryk Genson Daijó, he published the book: "An awakening: behind the scenes of a transplant" (Editora Eureka). A businessman, Harry has been a managing partner of the company Expoagro – Exportadora Agropecuária Ltda. for 30 years. He founded the companies Expoagro SA, Iguassu Agronegócios Ltda., Rádio Foz-Lago Comunicadora Ltda. and Arte Final Cosméticos Ltda. He also founded the Association of Young Iguaçu Broadcasting Entrepreneurs (AJEIR) and the Panorama Artistic-Cultural Association. He was a partner in the SPE Construction and Incorporation of the Omoiru Building Ltda. and in the companies Riobase Mining Ltda. and Daijó & Filhos Import and Commerce Ltda. He is a partner in the companies Sysmob Technologies Ltda., Biogranos Monitor, Itoman Asset Management Ltda., Amadeus Real Estate Development Ltda. and Figueira da Foz Real Estate Development Ltda.

Lee A. Tonouchi stay known known as "Da Pidgin Guerrilla" for his activism in campaigning for Pidgin a.k.a. Hawai‘i Creole for be accepted as one legitimate language. Tonouchi stay da recipient of da 2023 American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Public Service Award for his work in raising public awareness of important language-related issues and promoting linguistic social justice. His Pidgin poetry collection Significant Moments in da Life of Oriental Faddah and Son: One Hawia'i Okinawan Journal won da Association for Asian-American Studies Book Award. His Pidgin children’s picture book Okinawan Princess: Da Legend of Hajichi Tattoos won one Skipping Stones Honor Award. And his latest book stay Chiburu: Anthology of Hawai'i Okinawan Literature.

Yonsei Generation. Japanese,Canadian mother / Mexican father.

I am 29 years old i was born in Hayward, CA .... My dad is Japanese and my mom is White.... my dad never really new to much about his dad and he only new a some stuff about his mom because he did not live with her tale he was older and she just did not really like me or my dad that much.... So i really don't know about my Japanese side at all really....so it would be really grate to learn about my Taira family to..... I also have tow boys one of them is 3 1/2 years old and will be 4 in March...and my other son just turd 2 in Marc..... I love my family and i love my boys but it work be grate if i could tale them more about there papa's side of the family..... i love to make pottery and teach it to people that love to learn...i teach kids and other people pottery that are blind and that is so much fun.... i also love to bake thing for friends and frmily as well...

Los Angeles, California, United States of America
Kristopher Kato was born in Saitama, Japan, and raised in Southern California. He currently lives around the corner from Discover Nikkei’s office in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighborhood, with his cat, Mickey Meowse! He is a cum laude graduate from California State University of Fullerton and has worked as a data analyst in the banking and entertainment industries for over 10 years.
Kristopher became a Discover Nikkei volunteer in 2023. He’s written several articles and helps us out with data analytics, too. When he’s not working or volunteering his time, Kristopher enjoys visiting theme parks. He even worked as Jungle Cruise Skipper at Disneyland during college! Kristopher is also an avid Dodger fan and a collector of movie and sports memorabilia.
What do you like most about volunteering for Discover Nikkei?
Volunteering for Discover Nikkei has allowed me to get in touch with my Japanese heritage. Specifically, it has allowed me to better understand and appreciate the hardships, achievements, and contributions of Nikkei, both past and present. Through Discover Nikkei, I have been able to see the growth of the Nikkei community through the site’s numerous shared stories and by assisting with the site’s data analytics. Lastly, volunteering for Discover Nikkei has allowed me to connect with like-minded Nikkei who also enjoy learning about and preserving Nikkei history.
How do you connect to your Nikkei identity?
My first true connection to my Nikkei identity occurred when my grandmother, Rose Watanabe, and mother, Diane Kato, took me to the Japanese American National Museum in the 1990s. At the time, I was still in elementary school and relatively unaware of the incarceration of 120,000-plus people of Japanese ancestry during World War 2. However, when my elementary school assigned us a history project around the topic “Conflict and Compromise,” it was an easy decision to focus my project on the “conflict” of the Japanese concentration camps and the paltry “compromise” of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
Through that project, I had many discussions with my grandparents and other family of that generation who also provided me with numerous family heirlooms related to their experience in camp. The combination of their stories and family heirlooms allowed me to create a project that I presented at Los Angeles County’s “History Day L.A.” competition. Medaling at that competition provided me the opportunity to showcase the project at the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s 33rd annual dinner.
In more recent years, I have connected to my Nikkei identity by working with organizations including Discover Nikkei to ensure that the stories of previous generations are never forgotten. In 2019, I loaned the hand carved and painted animal pins created by my great uncle, Lui Kodama, and great aunt, Aki Narahara, to Anaheim’s Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center for their I Am an American: Japanese Incarceration in a Time of Fear exhibition.
Lastly, moving to Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district has allowed me to connect with my Nikkei identity as I get to regularly enjoy the numerous cultural events and dine at the many delicious restaurants. Living so close to the Japanese American National Museum led me to volunteer for both the museum and Discover Nikkei, and has allowed me to find and be proud of my Nikkei identity.
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