Darin S. Furukawa and Mike Yamasaki are co-curators Japanese American National Museum’s new exhibit for the month of August, Jidai: Timeless Works of Samurai Art. Together, they are preserving and passing along an appreciation for traditional Japanese culture.
What separates a Japanese art sword from any manufactured metal-bladed weapon? An extraordinary level of craftsmanship, artistry, and specific techniques that are carefully passed along from generation to generation—in other words, tradition.
My grandfather, led an exceptional life that has been detailed in numerous publications including several multi-part articles and video interviews here at DiscoverNikkei.org.1
The wartime roundup and removal from the West Coast of 120,000 American citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry has generated an enormous literature, including important contributions from Dr. Greg Robinson. But the postwar period of resettlement and renewal of Japanese American communities, largely unstudied, is also compelling and deserving …
Farewell to Manzanar, adapted from the memoir that Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston penned with her husband, James D. Houston, tells the story of the injustice suffered by 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II by focusing on a single family, the Wakatsukis, as seen through the eyes of seven year old …
“I was always out to change the world...”John Korty’s remarkable success in the film industry—an Oscar and two Emmys among numerous film awards—doesn’t mean he’s “gone Hollywood.” The director of Farewell to Manzanar has consistently chosen projects focused on themes of social justice from very early in his career. …
Four generations of the Morey family have been a part of Little Tokyo’s business community. Three generations of the Morey family have also been a part of the Japanese American National Museum, since its inception nearly thirty years ago. In fact, much of the Morey family history has taken place …
Nearly seventy years have passed since the first busload of Japanese Americans arrived at Manzanar, forced from their coastal California homes to spend the duration of World War II behind barbed wire and beneath the gaze of armed soldiers perched in perimeter guard towers. The incarceration of 120,000 American citizens …
Read Part 1 >>Only a few days after Henry and Helen’s wedding ceremony, Henry left for Korea where he was stationed for eight months before transfer back to headquarters in Tokyo. Helen joined him there. “The first chance we had,” said Henry, “I took her to Yamaguchi where my parents …
Yamato Damashi translates to “Japanese Spirit.” It’s painted in calligraphy on a scroll that hangs in the home of Henry and Helen Yasuda, a reminder of the Japanese cultural values that have sustained them throughout the years—doing one’s best, putting family first, a commitment to education, and expressing gratitude. The …
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