Material contribuído por gasagasagirl
Silk
Chapter Five—Kuninosuke Masumizu: Lightning in a Bottle
Naomi Hirahara
“Kuni, place your bet,” the miner said, first in English and then in his native Portuguese.
Silk
Chapter Four—Kintaro and the Magic Koi
Naomi Hirahara
Serve the shogun with single-minded devotion.
Silk
Chapter Three—Neko-chan
Naomi Hirahara
Nozomi chased her black cat through the fields of Wakamatsu Colony in Gold Hill. She still was not allowed to bring the cat inside of their home. “Kitanai,” her mother said, pushing Neko-chan out with the ends of a straw broom.
Silk
Chapter Two—Wheelbarrow Wars
Naomi Hirahara
Shinshi-san went into her second bedroom, the one filled with mulberry leaves, and checked on the status of her silkworms. Hundreds of white skinny caterpillars, thinner than her pinkie finger, had devoured thick layers of leaves that she had laid out last night. It amazed her that these creatures could …
Silk
Chapter One—Jou Schnell: Keeping House
Naomi Hirahara
Jou Schnell looked out her window of her small four-room, wood-framed house on Gold Hill. Through the walnut trees, dappled light streamed onto the dew-covered grass, a common sight during the last days of summer in California.
Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
What spirits whisper...
Stan Yogi, Naomi Hirahara, traci kato-kiriyama
This month we are treated to two highly-lauded, accomplished writers and community heroes – Naomi Hirahara and Stan Yogi. Their pieces step out of each writer’s usual practice and into the poetry featured here (and we will surely feature more of their poetry in the future!). When I read through …
Killer Roll
Chapter Twelve — Family Ties
Naomi Hirahara
“Just give it to me, Maki.” I hear Carrie’s voice behind me. I’m so relieved that she, Som, and Crowe have arrived. She walks and stands in front of me, her blue eyes laser focused on my face and I know that she means business. I have a government-issued gun …
Killer Roll
Chapter Eleven — How to Sharpen a Knife
Naomi Hirahara
One of the first things Yudai, my boss at the sushi bar, taught me was how to properly sharpen my knife.
Killer Roll
Chapter Ten — Double Crosser
Naomi Hirahara
“What do you mean Yudai was behind this?” I can hardly get the words out of my mouth. Yudai is like my Japanese brother—only many times more because while my own blood relatives have stomped on my dream, Yudai made it possible for me to be a sushi chef. And …
Killer Roll
Chapter Nine — Where’s Som?
Naomi Hirahara
On my dead husband’s laptop is only one document, a letter addressed to me.