Stuff contributed by gilasakawa
Kizuna: Nikkei Stories from the 2011 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami
Five Years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Gil Asakawa
I can still remember March 11, 2011, the night of the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which devastated a huge swath of northeast Japan, as if it were last week.
Nikkei View
Building bridges with the Muslim community
Gil Asakawa
Late last year, Erin and I were lucky enough to travel to New York City to see the Broadway musical Allegiance starring George Takei. It’s a story about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and it vividly and powerfully brings to life the emotional toll of the …
Nikkei View
George Takei’s Allegiance Is A Timely Historical Musical For Today - Part 2
Gil Asakawa
Read Part 1 >>
Nikkei View
George Takei’s Allegiance Is a Timely Historical Musical For Today - Part 1
Gil Asakawa
After a November performance at the Longacre Theatre in New York’s fabled Broadway district, AARP members were invited for a “talkback” with George Takei and other cast members answering questions about their powerful musical, Allegiance. (NOTE: This post was originally uploaded to the AARP AAPI Community Facebook page.)
Nikkei View
RIP George “Joe” Sakato
Gil Asakawa
I was saddened to hear of the passing of George “Joe” Sakato, a Denver resident who was a World War II hero, a veteran of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Battalion that fought in Europe during World War II. He was 94 years old. Adele Arakawa of 9News broadcast …
Nikkei View
Immigration, Refugees, and the Gift of Citizenship
Gil Asakawa
I was born in Japan, but because my father was born in Hawaii when it was a U.S. territory, I am an American citizen. I didn’t have to take a test, and recite an oath of allegiance. After my family moved to the States in 1966, I remember helping my …
Nikkei View
Being JA v2.0 Is Here, And I’m So Glad To Be JA!
Gil Asakawa
During a recent trip to San Francisco to attend the annual conference of the Asian American Journalists Association, I squeezed in two readings from the new revised edition of my book, Being Japanese American. The two events reminded me why I wrote the book in the first place and why …
Nikkei View
What are words worth: Hapa, Hafu, or Mixed-Race?
Gil Asakawa
I’ve recently finished writing revisions for a new edition of my book, Being Japanese American: A JA Sourcebook for Nikkei, Hapa…& Their Friends, which will be published this June by Stone Bridge Press.
Nikkei View
“Fresh Off the Boat” could be the tipping point on TV for Asian Americans
Gil Asakawa
There’s a new ABC sitcom being aired starting in February that I can hardly wait to see. I’m hoping Fresh Off the Boat will finally be a show where I can see people like me acting the way my family acts, with funny American situations but filtered through an Asian …