@erikmatsu
Erik Matsunaga’s investigations into the history of Chicago’s Japanese American community have been featured by the Japanese American National Museum, Alphawood Gallery, WBEZ Radio, and the Newberry Library.
Born in Chicago, a descendant of WWII-era Nikkei resettlers from California, he curates @windycitynikkei—“Bite-sized Glimpses of Japanese American Chicago”—on Instagram.
He has been a Discover Nikkei contributor since 2011.
Nikkei Interests
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Andrew Masaru Sato: Discovering Roots through Aikido—Part 2
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From the 1960s through the 1990s, the Lakeview neighborhood was colloquially known …
May 2, 2024
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Andrew Masaru Sato: Discovering Roots through Aikido—Part 1
Though not, perhaps, in the way one might think given his martial arts bonafides, in 1950 Chicago n…
May 1, 2024
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Clark & Division: Japanese Americans on Chicago’s Near North Side, 1940s-1960s - Part 3
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Keiko Harada Ohtaka
Clark Street and Division Street bring back so many great memo…
Feb. 3, 2020
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Clark & Division: Japanese Americans on Chicago’s Near North Side, 1940s-1960s - Part 2
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David Toguri
I was born in Chicago in 1947 at Cuneo Hospital. Dr. Junji Hasegawa d…
Jan. 27, 2020
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Clark & Division: Japanese Americans on Chicago’s Near North Side, 1940s-1960s - Part 1
Chicago’s Near North Side. In the early to mid-twentieth century it was a playground for the rich, …
Jan. 20, 2020
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Windy City Nikkei: Bite-sized glimpses of Japanese American Chicago
With a family of six and a full-time job, researching and writing full-length articles about family…
May 21, 2019
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Jamie Dihiansan and Chicago Graffiti
The first time you hit a real wall, not a practice spot, you get this rush. Like, “I shouldn’t be…
Jan. 23, 2018
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Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Place / Location
This month, we feature just one writer and a beloved one to the Discover Nikkei space at that—Chica…
Nov. 16, 2017
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The Story Behind that YELLOW BROTHERHOOD Shirt
In the late 1960s, a group of Los Angeles Japanese American ex-gang members, many at the time eithe…
Sept. 19, 2017
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Chicago's Sansei Yonsei Athletic Association Basketball Clinic
Prior to WWII, there were roughly four hundred persons of Japanese ancestry living in Chicago. By 1…
Feb. 15, 2017
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