Stuff contributed by TKA

Nikkei Chronicles #3—Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João?
Asamen - Is it Japanese?
Tim Asamen
My name is Tim Asamen, and, yes, I am a full-fledged Sansei. I say that because my surname is so strange that it can be downright baffling to ethnic Japanese. Whenever I introduce myself to both Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans, it always causes confusion. When I say “Asamen” the …

Speaking Up! Democracy, Justice, Dignity
Climbing Out of the Well: My Impressions of the JANM 2013 National Conference in Seattle
Tim Asamen
If you have not taken in a Japanese American National Museum (JANM) event, be it a workshop, book reading, or some other special program, I highly recommend that you do so. The National Museum knows how to put on a good show, and everything is always meticulously planned down to …

Will the Rafu die like my grandfather?
Tim Asamen
My grandfather passed away when I was four years old. My only memories of him are from when he was already bedridden and deathly ill. At that time, my father would take me for a ride to the post office in Westmorland every morning where we picked up our mail …

The 1940 Earthquake
Tim Asamen
Takanori “Pro” Nimura never forgot the 1927 earthquake because of the auspicious day on which it struck—January 1. In the Nimura family’s small moveable house in rural Calexico, his mother had stayed up all night preparing special New Year’s delicacies (Osechi-ryori), but the kitchen table toppled over during the earthquake …

Kagoshima Heritage Club
Tim Asamen
The Kagoshima Heritage Club (KHC) is a sub-organization of the Nanka Kagoshima Kenjinkai (Kagoshima Prefectural Association of Southern California), the oldest Kenjinkai in California founded in 1899. During the early 1980s, the Kenjinkai became aware of its aging and declining membership and worried about its future.