ギル・アサカワ

(Gil Asakawa)

gilasakawa

ポップカルチャーや政治についてアジア系・日系アメリカ人の視点でブログ（www.nikkeiview.com）を書いている。また、パートナーと共に www.visualizAsian.com を立ち上げ、著名なアジア系・太平洋諸島系アメリカ人へのライブインタビューを行っている。著書には『Being Japanese American』（2004年ストーンブリッジプレス）があり、JACL理事としてパシフィック・シチズン紙の編集委員長を７年間務めた。

（2009年11月更新）

community en

Asian representation: It’s getting better, but still has ages-old challenges

ギル・アサカワ
2021年12月22日

Japanese Americans and the wider Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities are seeing more of ourselves reflected in pop culture these days, but the high arts has a ways to go. It’s important to recognize the ongoing challenges of representation, because they affect our view of ourselves and our community. The past year-and-a-half has seen a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes across the United States, thanks to fanning of the racism sparked the covid-19 pandemic. And yet, Asians have become more and more a part of the American cultural fabric. Through arts and enter…

war en

Finally, a salute to WWII Nisei soldiers

ギル・アサカワ
2021年11月25日

It took 15 years, but the US Postal Service (USPS) this past June released a Forever stamp that memorializes the “Go For Broke” 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Nisei soldiers of World War II who served in Europe and became the most highly decorated unit in the history of the US military for their size and length of service. The Pacific Citizen newspaper reported last year on the approval for the stamp, which was the result of a decade-and-a-half of work by a volunteer trio of women who founded the Stamp Our Story Campaign in 2005, as well as&n…

sports en

Nikkei View

Tokyo’s Second Olympics Will Be Forever Remembered for Its Unique Circumstances

ギル・アサカワ
2021年7月19日

As I write this, the “2020” Tokyo Olympic Games are just two weeks away. It’s the second time the summer games have been held in Japan. I was a kid living in Japan when Tokyo hosted its first Olympics, from October 10-24, 1964. It was a big deal for all Japanese, and for me and my family—a Hawaii-born Nisei dad working for the US Army, my Issei mom from Hokkaido and my older brother and me (a younger brother would be born Oct. 29, less than a week after the games’ closing). I was six years old, and aware that the Olympics were really important for Japan. World W…

food en

Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dreaming of travel to Japan

ギル・アサカワ
2021年1月3日

During the last week of October, there was a lot on my mind, including Covid-19 and the ongoing pandemic, and of course the November U.S. elections. But I also found myself at a moment in time, looking back one year that week to a 2019 family trip to Japan, and looking forward to next year with the hopes that we’ll be able to return. Longtime readers know I was born in Japan and moved to the U.S. when I was a kid. You also know that I always advocate for Americans – and especially Japanese Americans – to travel to Japan. I’m pretty familiar with the country, and I&rsq…

war en

Nikkei View

We Are Not Free tells the JA incarceration story through a different perspective

ギル・アサカワ
2020年12月7日

During the Coronavirus pandemic, we’ve all gotten used to staying home every evening – no parties, dinners at restaurants, movie nights, concerts. Just a lot of plopping down on the couch to see what’s available on demand via cable, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or other streaming source that brings entertainment to your living room. A lot of people have been reading too. Book clubs seem to have been embraced by a whole new crop of eager readers. I was honored this spring to be asked to create an educator’s guide for a novel so that teachers could use the book help student…