A Landmark Vanishes
May 16, 2010
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Back on April 20, workmen hired by American Commercial Equities of Malibu, the real estate firm that owns Little Tokyo’s Japanese Village Plaza, erected scaffolding around the open-air center’s signature yagura, Japanese fire tower, and a couple of days later the landmark five-story tower was no more.
Frank Chin: Don’t Fuck With No-No Boy
April 11, 2010
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YOSH AND NO-NO BOY
A release selling Greg Watanabe as the Clark Gable of 21st Century. Watanabe is playing Kenji in John Okada’s No-No Boy a new play written, set to go places, by Ken Narasaki, and directed by Alberto Isaac. March 27th was the premiere performance. Has it attracted your attention yet?
In the 1957 novel, John Okada took a grim dry subject, made a title of it No-No Boy and wrote the most depressing downbeat plot in a realistic yet entertaining “American” way that settled the nerves of jittery Japanese American readers, that the author was a vet of the war in the Pacific who has “reasons” for writing about a traitorous pariah that refused to fight.
How often do JA theatergoers have to compare the work of (a) JA novel to a new play that has taken on the burden of duplicating the literary effect in theatre? What better test for life in a community, than knowledge about itself? If there’s a community, it will rouse if not rise.
Kina Grannis Talks About Her New Album, Stairwells
March 15, 2010
- Hear three songs from Stairwells, life:and:limb
- Official Web Site, kinagrannis.com
- The Kina Grannis Page, Wikipedia
Mia Doi Todd: ‘Open Your Heart’
February 10, 2010
Japanese American folksinger Mia Doi Todd’s new video is directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker/screenwriter Michel Gondry.
Related:
- Justice Kathryn Doi Todd, 2nd Dist. Court of Appeal, L.A. apabala.org
The Saints’ Japanese-American X-Factor in Super Bowl XLIV
February 7, 2010
- [Update] Whodat? Saints 31, Colts 17. Read Scott Fujita’s Super Bowl diary on NOLA.com
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MIAMI—The New Orleans Saints will be packing a Japanese-American double whammy for the Indianapolis Colts Sunday when they face off in Super Bowl XLIV. The unlikely duopoly consists of the speedy, 6-5, 255 lb. strong-side linebacker Scott Fujita and front office marvel James Nagaoka, a guy who doesn’t even have to don a jock and pads to make his team a winner.
A UC Berkeley political science grad with a master’s in education, the inspirational Fujita has done much to rehabilitate the image of the professional athlete by taking some courageous stands on hotly debated social issues, such as abortion rights and gay marriage. While most ballers’ quotes are monosyllabic, Fujita’s are nuanced and articulate.
Given up for adoption by his 16-year-old birth mother when he was six weeks old, Fujita was adopted by third-generation Japanese American schoolteacher Rodney Fujita and his wife Helen, a Caucasian.
Though not Japanese American by blood, Fujita received a typical Japanese American upbringing (with all the trappings) in Oxnard, Calif., considers himself Japanese culturally and says the strongest person he knows is his tiny grandmother Lillie Fujita, who was imprisoned in a concentration camp by the U.S. government during World War II.
♣ ♣ ♥
But the Saints’ real secret weapon just may be the team’s incredibly resourceful director of operations James Kuniki Nagaoka, 60, who orchestrates where his players eat, sleep, travel, work out and practice with the exacting logistical skill of a four-star general. He runs the show that is Saints’ football.
An NFL veteran of 31 seasons, Nagaoka excels at giving the Saints the winning edge of preparation, especially on the road, where the season can be won or lost, through hurricanes Katrina and Gustav and the media conflagration that is the Super Bowl.
A graduate of the University of Washington with degrees in communications and Japanese literature, Nagaoka was lured away in 2000 from the Seattle Seahawks franchise for whom he handled a myriad of logistical duties for 22 seasons. The unflappable operations chief may prove to be the difference on Super Bowl Sunday.
- NFL Stats: Scott Fujita, NFL.com
- The Saints Linebacker Who Speaks His Mind, NYT
- A Linebacker With a Conscience, ESPN
- Scott Fujita: Family Valued, The Times-Picayune
- Fast Facts: Jaclyn Fujita (Scott’s Wife), playerswives.com
- Curriculum Vitae: James K. Nagaoka, Spoke
Gallup: Asian-Americans More Liberal, Less Religious Than Any Other US Racial/Ethnic Group
February 3, 2010
PRINCETON, NJ—Asian-Americans tend to be more liberal and Democratic in their political orientation than the national average, and are the only major racial or ethnic group in the United States with more liberals than conservatives, according to Gallup Daily tracking data.
The findings were based on aggregated data from Gallup’s 2009 Daily tracking survey and included interviews with more than 4,000 Asian-Americans. For the purpose of analysis, respondents were categorized as Asian-Americans if they self-identify their race as Asian.
Gallup said 353,849 whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians 18 and older were interviewed as part of the survey. Read Jeffrey M. Jones’ summary of Gallup’s Asian American data here.
Forty-one percent of Asians identify politically as Democrats, 41% as independents, and 16% as Republicans. As a result, Asians are above the national average in terms of the percentage of political independents (37% nationwide) and Democrats (34%), and below average in terms of the percentage of Republicans (27%).
According to the survey data: “Asian-Americans tend to be less religious than those in other racial or ethnic groups.”
The percentage of Asians who attend church on a weekly basis also is lower than for other U.S. racial or ethnic groups. A slim majority of Asian-Americans say they seldom or never attend religious services.
COMMENT: Gallup is a respected litmus of American opinion. But something doesn’t feel right about these results. Perhaps Gallup didn’t include a representative sampling of Korean Americans in their tracking data. Living in Asian America tells us that Korean Americans are among the most churchgoing-est folk in the entire country, from Fairfax, Virginia to Hacienda Heights, Calif. College and university campus Christian student organizations are dominated by Asians. How about the politically conservative Vietnamese American communities; were they included in the mix?
h/t Keith Kamisugi and Vida Benavides
Aquí Está
December 29, 2009
The video below was cut with FCP from Somalian Pirate Video guerilla Yamato Torrijos’ digital copy of This Is It using a Quo ProQ Mac clone he says he got in Alhambra, California back in September prior to the film’s release. The edit is the duet where MJ sings “I Can’t Stop Loving You” with the amazing Japanese American singer Judith Hill.
“Aquí Está—this is the love ballad that would have stopped the show if there had been a This Is It concert in London this summer,” Yamato wants everyone to know. Aquí Está.
This vid won’t be up long. It will be gone like a dream, and you will remember nothing, and it won’t be on YouTube.
- Aquí Está: The Backstory
- The Jackson Memorial Mystery Singer, Judith Hill
Asia Carrera Planning Porn Comeback?
August 28, 2009
Once, you could count the number of Asian Americans in the adult film industry on the fingers of one sticky hand. The hapa woman who singlehandedly launched an industry-wide pandemic of Yellow Fever in the late-90s, Asia Carrera (nee Jessica Steinhauser) is now a widowed single mother with two children (one developmentally disabled) living in Utah.
Asian American Media Musical Chairs
July 23, 2009
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A Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporter made the leap from print to online journalism, UsWeekly’s gossip queen called it quits and the Asian American Journalists Association soft-played a staff shake-up this week. [Read More]
- Huffington Post Nabs WaPo Rising Star, Mediabistro
- A Lot of “The’s”: Jose Antonio Vargas Leaves The Washington Post for The Huffington Post, The New York Times
- Arianna Huffington Seduces Young Journalist Over Internet, Valleywag
- Filipino Reporter Wins Pulitzer, New America Media
- Janice Min Helped Us Weekly Feed a Hunger for Celebrity, L.A. Times
- Janice Min’s Mysterious Future, Gawker
- Janice Min’s Farewell to Us Weekly Staff, AllieIsWired.Com
- AAJA Names New Interim Executive Director, AAJA
- “Officially it was a mutual decision” that she leave, Maynard Institute
- AAJA National President Sharon Chan, blog
Fools’ Dance: OBON in America 2009
June 17, 2009
Japanese Americans all across the land from Vermont to Hawaii will celebrate the ancient Buddhist Obon festival in the coming weeks with joyous folk dancing, religious observances and traditional Japanese foods in what is the most authentic cultural event remaining in Japanese America.
Obon Festival season continues through August and marks the zenith of the Buddhist year. But more than just a chance to take colorful photos and eat Japanese comfort foods, Obon is a Buddhist teaching come alive.
Obon [ お盆 ] originates from the story of Mokuren, a disciple of the Buddha, who during a meditative trance saw his deceased mother suffering in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts (the Buddhist equivalent of purgatory). Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked how he could release his mother from this suffering. Buddha instructed him to make offerings and to meditate on the life of his mother. Mokuren followed the Buddha’s instructions and he began to see the true nature of her past unselfishness and the many sacrifices that she had made for him. The disciple, happy because of his mother’s release and grateful for his mother’s kindness, danced with joy. From this dance of joy came Obon, which has been celebrated for thousands of years as a time in which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated.
2009 OBON FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Aug. 1-2—Gardena Buddhist Temple Obon Odori, 1517 W. 166th St., Gardena, CA 90247; (310) 327-9400; 3-10 p.m. Sat./2-9 p.m. Sun.
Aug. 1—Buddhist Temple of San Diego Obon Odori, 2929 Market St., San Diego, CA 92102; (619) 239-0896: 5-9 p.m.
Aug. 1—Oregon Buddhist Temple “Obonfest 2009,” 3720 SE 34th Ave., Portland, OR 97202; (503) 234-9456: 4-9 p.m.
Aug. 1—San Luis Obispo Buddhist Temple Obon Odori, 6996 Ontario Rd., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405; (805)-595-2625: 1-9 p.m.
Aug. 1—Waialua Hongwanji Temple Obon, 67-313 Kealohanui St., Waialua, HI 96791; (808) 637-4395: from 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 1-2—Palo Alto Buddhist Temple Obon Odori, 2751 Louis Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94303; (650)856-0123: 5-11 p.m. Sat./noon-10 p.m. Sun.
No Jail Time for Indiana`Exorcist’ Eddie Uyesugi
May 21, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A Japanese American man convicted of battery and criminal confinement after trying to exorcise demons from an autistic teenage boy in 2007 was sentenced to house arrest on Thursday.
Monroe Circuit Judge Teresa Harper sentenced Edward Uyesugi, a 24-year-old former theological student, to three years in jail, with all but six months suspended. He will serve those six months under house arrest at his parents’ home in Orange County, Indiana. Uyesugi was facing a maximum 16-year sentence.
Uyesugi must also perform 400 hours of community service and was credited with one day already served in jail at the time of his surrender and subsequent arrest.
During the trial held last month, the victim’s grandmother and guardian, Mary Lou Raby, admitted she took part in the so-called exorcism, prayed in tongues and physically restrained her then 14-year-old grandson. She also said she forced her hand into her grandson’s mouth that evening. The victim’s older teenage brother also took part in the ritual, said Blanton.
While studying to be a pastor at the Cherry Hill Christian Center, Uyesugi, then 22, lived at the center’s parsonage. Mrs. Raby was a member of the Cherry Hill Christian congregation.
Uyesugi, testified Mrs. Raby invited him into her home and asked him to cast 12 demons out of her grandson and that he tried to do so following procedures taught at Cherry Hill Christian Center.
“Eddie’s actions were consistent with the teachings of Cherry Hill Christian Center,” Blanton maintained throughout the trial.
Blanton told the jury that exorcism, deliverance and root spirits were part of the Cherry Hill Christian Center’s curriculum. “One of the textbooks was on demonic possession,” he added.
“Basically, this was a case of the Cherry Hill Christian Center leaving Eddie holding the bag,” said Blanton.
Saberi: I Just Want to Be With My Parents
May 12, 2009
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Fallen Oakland SWAT Officer Daniel Sakai Remembered
March 23, 2009
OAKLAND—Danny Sakai was no ordinary cop. University educated and a world traveler, Sakai, the 35-year-old, nine-year veteran of the OPD, was killed in the line of duty March 21 when a suspected cop killer opened fire on a SWAT entry team with an AK-47 military assault rifle. Three of Sakai’s fellow OPD officers also were killed Saturday by the same suspect, Lovelle Mixon, 26.
An Eagle Scout, Dan Sakai held a degree in forestry from UC Berkeley and had lived in Japan for a year teaching English. The Japanese American resident of Castro Valley was married to Julie Sakai, a UC Berkeley police officer, and was the father of a young daughter.
- Friends and colleagues remember Daniel Sakai, SFGate
- Police Deaths Amplify City’s Woes, WSJ
- Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 1974-2009, Officer Down Memorial Page
Sin Nombre
March 20, 2009
Sin Nombre, writer/director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s first feature film, premieres this weekend nationwide with a bounce from generally favorable reviews that call it a gritty diamond in the rough. But how does a first-time Asian American filmmaker get a picky studio like Focus Features to fund a Spanish-language movie with a cast of unknown actors? Oakland native and UC Santa Cruz alum Fukunaga, who first attracted attention with his stunning 2004 short Victoria Para Chino right out of NYU graduate film school, explains…
- Cary Fukunaga Profile, IMDb
- New Faces of Independent Film, Filmmaker Magazine
- Sin Nombre Reviews, Moviefone
Sauced In Translation
March 10, 2009
STEW JUICE, ONION RINGS, LOVE STORY
Our story started with Kim Ve Wei-Wong Soy Sauce.
When we first met, he was shy.
Our love story walks along the road of, Stew juice, onion rings— Kim Ve Wei-Wong Soy Sauce.CLOSING SHOT: “Fall in love at first sight choice, unforgettable good flavor, fermented Kim Ve Wei-Wong Soy Sauce.”
Cute, but this spot needs balance, just like American mass media needs one straight Asian American leading man or at least one pretending to be. “No, Russell Wong. That was not your cue.”
Asian American conspiratorialists may say that ad spots like this one for Kim Ve Wei-Wong Soy Sauce smack subliminal, planting hints that Asian-White couplings are more fairy-tale-like than other racial recipes.
Ha, I say. If this is some Madison Avenue Madame Butterfly mindfuck, it’s useless. Asian women already hold the WBA title of “World’s Most Outmarrying Women.”
It’s got to said: “If aliens from the planet Cubiczirconia landed on Earth, Asian women would immediately hookup with them.”
But the thing that’s really bothering me about this ad: Is that Zac Efron in dat joint?
- Marriage Patterns For the Six Largest Asian American Ethnic Groups, Asian-Nation
- Interracial Marriage (Globally), Wikipedia
- Race, Interracial Marriage and the New Administration, Free Press Release
- 40 Years After Loving v. Virginia, Interracial Marriage Flourishing in U.S., MSNBC
- The Myth of Interracial Marriage (Yikes! A white supremacist group’s view, VDare.com
Sato Masuzawa Mystery Solved; “Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto”
February 23, 2009
Actor Sean Penn, who won the best actor Oscar at the 81st Academy Awards for his portrayal of San Francisco gay activist Harvey Milk in the film Milk, opened his acceptance speech by calling the audience “you Commie-, homo-loving sons of guns.”
Then, the first person Penn thanked was “my best friend Sato Masuzawa,” whom almost no one had ever heard of. Speculation was that the Japanese name was a cipher for the actor’s wife, Robin Wright Penn or that it was some inside joke. Nope.
Sato Masuzawa, a graphic artist and artistic facilitator, is credited as “assistant to Mr. Penn,” beginning with the 1998 film Hurly Burly. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Masuzawa’s first show biz credit came in 1991 when he she (thanks, Disgrasian Whoo-whoo!) was the post-production coordinator on Indian Runner, which Penn wrote and directed.
The best acceptance speech by far was delivered by young Japanese animator Kunio Kato, whose Tsumeki no Ie/La Maison en Petits Cubes won for best animated short. Kato kept it short and sweet quoting ’80s Styx lyric, “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.”
The best foreign language film award went to Japan’s Okuribito/Departures.
Other non-Slumdog, non-winning Asian nominees included Thavisouk Phrasavath, best documentary Nerakhoon/The Betrayal; Steven Okazaki, best documentary short subject, The Conscience of Nhem En; and James J. Murakami, art direction, Changeling.
- Sato Masuzawa credits, IMDb
- Kunio Kato’s “Mr. Roboto” acceptance speech
- 81st Academy Awards results
- James Murakami credits
The 81st Academy Awards: For Your Consideration From Deep Within the AMPAS Ghetto–The Asian Nominees
February 21, 2009
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WHO KNEW? Back in the mid-’80s, Yojiro Takita was nothing but a soft-core porn hack, but his multilayered Okuribito (Departures), is the first Japanese film in six years to merit a Best Foreign film Oscar nomination. It’s a tough field, but Takita has faced stiff competition before. Lao American director Thavisouk Phrasavath’s Nerakhoon (The Betrayal) follows the hard-scrabble struggles of Lao immigrants in New York and is nominated in the Documentary Feature ‘hood category. In his Documentary Short The Conscience of Nhem En, Japanese American documentarian Steven Okazaki tells the story of a teenager who photographed thousands before they were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Okazaki was Oscarized in 1990 for his short-form doc Days of Waiting. This is the Venice, Calif.-born Okazaki’s fourth nomination. La Maison En Petits Cubes (Tsumiki no Ie/House of Small Cubes) by Robot Cage artist Kunio Kato gets Oscar’s chinky-eyed glance for short animation. Finally, 2009 marks the year Bollywood unleashed a Slumdog Millionaire on Hollywood, uncovering a slew of pennies-on-the-dollar South Asian talent including composer A.R. “Mozart of Madras” Rahman with three nominations and Best Song nods to Urdu poet Galzar (Jai Ho) and (O Saya) from Web 2.0 multimedia Tamil force majeure M.I.A. If form holds, these nominees will all take home bupkes.
Rumors had been spreading through the Japanese American community for the past six months that Little Tokyo’s Mitsuwa Market would be closing in 2009, and now it has been confirmed that the L.A. Nihonmachi’s landmark supermarket will close its doors for the last time on Jan. 25.
African-American Sings Enka on NHK’s Kouhaku Utagassen; Named Japan Music’s ‘Best New Artist’
December 31, 2008
TOKYO—Jerrold Jerome White, a 27-year-old African-American from Pittsburgh who learned to sing in the traditional Japanese enka style by listening to his grandmother’s records, was named 2008 Best New Artist at the 50th Annual Japan Record Awards Dec. 31.
And it was a fitting end to a storybook year which saw White, known as “Jero” in Japan, rise from an English language teacher in Wakayama to a household name in Japanese entertainment. Later, that same evening, Jero, a 2003 information science graduate from the Univ. of Pittsburgh, fulfilled a promise he made to his dying grandmother to sing enka on NHK’s fabled Kouhaku Utagassen New Year’s Eve broadcast.
White who traveled to Japan during his high school days to compete in a speech contest, learned the language from his grandmother, in high school and at Pitt. He returned to Japan in 2003 as an exchange student. He later found work as a computer engineer and English teacher.
Jero’s mother flew from Pittsburgh and was in the Kouhaku audience to hear her son keep his promise to her mother who passed in 1998.
- What’s enka? Wikipedia
- Jero Breathes New Life Into Enka, Japan Today
- Jero’s Blog (Japanese)
- “Our Man in Japan: Jero,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Jero, Wikipedia
- More About Jero, Mahalo
