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@takdaman

Indiana, United States of America Nima since 2022 last login 1+ years ago
@YuriKageyama

Yuri Kageyama is a poet, writer and journalist of bilingual and bicultural upbringing, born in Japan and growing up in Maryland, Tokyo and Alabama. Her poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in many literary publications, including “Y’Bird,” “Greenfield Review,” “San Francisco Stories,” “On a Bed of Rice,” “Breaking Silence: an Anthology of Asian American Poets,” “POW WOW: Charting the Fault Lines in the American Experience _ Short Fiction from Then to Now,” “Other Side River,” “Beyond Rice,” “Bridge, ” “Yellow Silk,” “Stories We Hold Secret,” “KONCH,” “MultiAmerica” and “Obras.” She has two books The New and Selected Yuri: Writing From Peeling Till Now (Ishmael Reed Publishing Co.) and Peeling (I. Reed Press). Her film Talking Taiko (March 2010), directed by Yoshiaki Tago, documents her readings and thoughts on writing, art and life. She has read with Ishmael Reed, Shuntaro Tanikawa, Eric Kamau Gravatt, Geraldine Kudaka, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Winchester Nii Tete, Russel Baba, Seamus Heaney, Sachiko Yoshihara, Yumi Miyagishima, Shozu Ben, Keiji Kubo, Teruyuki and Haruna Kawabata, Takenari Shibata, Abel Coelho, Yuri Matsueda and many other artists. She has collaborated in readings with music, visual art and dance, including a reading at an Isamu Noguchi exhibit at the San Francisco Musem of Modern Art. Yuri Kageyama is compiling with Isao Tokuhashi an oral history of Yoichi Watanabe, composer, leader and founder of Amanojaku, a Tokyo taiko group, where her son Isaku Kageyama is a drummer. She has translated works by poet Hiromi Ito and the words of dancer Suzushi Hanayagi for Robert Wilson’s performance piece “KOOL _ Dancing in My Mind.” Her poetry, translated into Japanese, is featured in a 1985 anthology of Japanese-American and Japanese-Canadian poetry published by Doyo Bijutsusha. She has a 1993 book in Japanese co-written with Hamao Yokota on the Japanese workplace. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Cornell University and holds an M.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Tokyo.

California, United States of America Nima since 2011 last login 1+ years ago
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@akina

Los Angeles, California, United States of America

Akina Nishi is from Los Angeles, California, and is currently completing a teacher preparation program at Cal State Long Beach. A graduate of UCLA, Akina majored in Japanese & Applied Linguistics with a minor in film studies. During her time at UCLA, she took part in several Japanese student organizations to improve her Japanese language skills and cultural knowledge. She’s also been involved with the LA Nikkei community as a volunteer for Japan Film Festival Los Angeles. In her free time, Akina enjoys cafes, museums, concerts, and movies. She’s a fan of J-pop, K-pop, and Carly Rae Jepsen. Her favorite thing to snack on in Little Tokyo is monaka matcha ice cream!

Akina began volunteering with Discover Nikkei in summer 2024. She’s helping us out behind the scenes with English-Japanese translations for our Instagram page and around the website! She has also participated in our annual Nikkei Chronicles series. We are so grateful to Akina for her help!

What do you like most about Discover Nikkei?

I love that Discover Nikkei is a place to freely express who you are, your experiences, and your story. It gives us a chance to learn from each other and grow as a community. I can relate to a lot of the stories that people talk about on Discover Nikkei, and it feels good knowing that my feelings are validated and shared.

How do you connect to your Nikkei identity?

I go to Little Tokyo often. I like going to the cafes, the shops, and bakeries and supporting the small businesses. It’s especially nice in the mornings. Little Tokyo has been special to me since childhood, almost like a second home

Meet more Nima of the Month
Are you a Nima*? Nima are members of Discover Nikkei’s global community called Nima-kai. Create an account and share your personal and community stories, events, and more related to the Nikkei experience. Connect with Nima around the world! *The term “Nima” comes from combining Nikkei and nakama (Japanese for “colleagues”, or “fellows”, or “circle”). Create an Account

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