Stuff contributed by haruka08

The Journey to Discovery

Cathy Haruka Uechi

Melinda Yamane Crawford has forged a path to merge her personal endeavors of family discovery while helping others do the same. As a member of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society, Melinda had the resources, insight, and passion to co-found the Nikkei Genealogical Society specifically for the Japanese American community.

Random Awesomeness Brought to You by Random Ninjas!

Cathy Haruka Uechi

Ninjas? Check!

Nikkei Chronicles #4—Nikkei Family: Memories, Traditions, and Values

Taste of Okinawa

Cathy Haruka Uechi

Crackle!

Honor and Sacrifice: Revealing Roy Matsumoto’s Story

Cathy Haruka Uechi

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They are found in our local communities, schools, and workplaces. And sometimes their stories make it to the six o’clock news while others remain under a blanket of anonymity and secrecy, buried from public knowledge.

Film: Reiko's Hina Dolls

Cathy Haruka Uechi

“It’s 1935. A Japanese family making their start in Canada receives a special gift from the country they left behind—a beautiful set of Hina dolls.”

Internment: A Passion Project

Cathy Haruka Uechi

There is a script floating around Hollywood with Japanese Americans as central characters and the desolate landscape of an American concentration camp as the setting. Much has been documented about the wrongful incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 forcing …

Japanese American National Museum Store Online

City Girls: The Nisei Social World in Los Angeles, 1920-1950

Cathy Haruka Uechi

In City Girls: The Nisei Social World in Los Angeles, 1920-1950, author Professor Valerie Matsumoto has opened a time capsule in the vaults of American history, zeroing in on the lives of Nisei women in Los Angeles and their exploits of club and community involvements spanning three decades—prewar, World War …

Maceo: East Beats Meets West

Cathy Haruka Uechi

Maceo Hernandez is aptly nicknamed, “The Demon Drummer of East LA.” His story is one of identity, perseverance, and the blending of two cultures, while the heart-pounding beats of the taiko drum take center stage.

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About

Cathy Uechi is a volunteer at the Japanese American National Museum and a contributing writer for Discover Nikkei. She is Nisei, born in Boyle Heights and raised in the Valley, to parents who hailed from Okinawa. Currently residing in South Pasadena, she enjoys exploring LA's food scene whether it be the latest hotspot or a “mom and pop” establishment off the beaten path. Cathy is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine.

Nikkei interests

  • community history
  • family stories
  • festival/matsuri
  • Japanese/Nikkei food
  • Japantowns
  • taiko

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