nmatsumotoによるコンテンツ
Native Sons of Fresno, California Look Back
ナンシー・マツモト
I’m writing a Densho Encyclopedia entry now on the poet Lawson Fusao Inada. He’s a third-generation Japanese American who was locked up in three different U.S. government prisons during World War II.
Fishing as a Form of Defiance: Cory Shiozaki and "The Manzanar Fishing Club"
ナンシー・マツモト
In 2004, The Los Angeles Times published an article about a mysterious man, identified only as “Ishikawa, Fisherman,” taken at the California World War II U.S. government prison camp Manzanar. Included in the story was a photo of Ishikawa, his face weathered and brown, holding a line of what article …
Roger Shimomura, Artist, Collector
ナンシー・マツモト
Earlier this week, I attended the opening of Japanese American artist Roger Shimomura’s exhibit at the Asian/Pacific/American Institute’s new digs at 8 Washington Mews, a part of New York University.
Book Review: Exploring the Borderlands of Race, Nation, Sex and Gender
ナンシー・マツモト
Growing up in predominantly white Marin County, mixed-race yonsei Akemi Johnson hates her name and just wants to blend in. In college, though, her attitude changes. She studies race and ethnicity and travels to Japan. Though her stated purpose there is to study issues around the American bases in Okinawa, …
Bringing New Life to Japanese American Hero Gordon Hirabayashi's Story
ナンシー・マツモト
Three men, Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, and Minoru Yasui, defied President Franklin Roosevelt’s order to 110,000 West Coast Japanese to submit to evacuation and imprisonment during World War II. Among their stories, Gordon Hirabayashi’s has always struck me as the most dramatic.
Japanese American Chefs in New York City: Yuhi Fujinaga & Craig Koketsu
ナンシー・マツモト
In addition to contributing to Discover Nikkei, I write for Cravings, a site devoted to exploring the best in food, drink, culture and travel. Editor-in-Chief Celia Sin-Tien Cheng and her sister Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng are global travelers who bring home favorites from every metropolis and hamlet they touch down in. My …
Tradition: Osechi
ナンシー・マツモト
Japanese Americans welcome the New Year with a special feast that can take weeks to prepare.In the waning days of December in the small, hot kitchen of East Restaurant in Kips Bay, chef Syozo Tsurunaga is directing a small army of assistants as they prepare the annual New Year’s feast …
Retrospective: Magic and Beauty in the Art of Patrick Nagatani
ナンシー・マツモト
To call Patrick Nagatani a photographer, or even a fine art photographer, seems like such a wan, inadequate description because his work—30 years’ worth of which will be displayed in two Los Angeles exhibits beginning this month—is so richly layered with cultural symbols, narratives, dreams and memories. He is a …
A new musical set in Heart Mountain, an indy film featuring Manzanar
ナンシー・マツモト
Last week, I attended a workshop production of a musical called Allegiance, which tells the tale of the unconstitutional imprisonment of 120,000 West Coast residents of Japanese descent during World War II. The show is being developed by the Old Globe in San Diego, with music and lyrics by composer/producer …
Partying Like a Nikkei Widow or Widower - Part 2
ナンシー・マツモト
Read Part 1 >>As musical director Harry Inao cued up a recording of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” (“Background music provided by NWG**” as the program described it) the noise level in the room rose and our main courses of baked Atlantic salmon with hollandaise sauce and prime rib were placed …