Third Annual Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest: Submission Deadline is January 31

imagine LT call 2016

“Kazuo embraced Mondays like no other, and that was because of its silence. Mondays were sweet, a sweep of semi-peace in the streets of Los Angeles. The typical street-crawlers were in school and the typical tourists at their nine to five jobs, and so Kazuo chose Monday to roam, map, conquer his neighborhoods unperturbed. Mondays were a convenience only when eighty five of your years had passed and your company along with it. It was nice timing for those who desired solace. The old man had fit this criteria to a tee.”
– Linda Toch, “Kazuo Alone”

The evocative words above constitute the opening paragraph of Linda Toch’s “Kazuo Alone,” the 2015 Youth Division winner of the Little Tokyo Historical Society’s Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest. Toch is a self-described “proud Cambodian American” who is now a freshman at Soka University of America. On a family outing in Little Tokyo, she found the neighborhood so positive and uplifting that she imagined a sad person’s spirits would be brightened there. She wrote “Kazuo Alone” as a response.

The Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest, created to raise awareness of the neighborhood, is now in its third year and it continues to grow. Last year’s expansion of the categories to include a Japanese-language division and a youth division (18 and younger) proved to be stimulating, attracting submissions from all over the country and the globe. The English-language winner for 2015 was Nathaniel J. Campbell of Fairfield, Iowa with “Fish Market in Little Tokyo,” while Miyuki Sato of Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan took the Japanese-language prize for “Mitate Club.”

The three winners all received cash prizes and were published in the print edition of the Rafu Shimpo, on the Little Tokyo Historical Society website, and on JANM’s own Discover Nikkei website. Stories by 11 other finalists were also published online. A public reception to announce the winners was held at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles.

If you feel inspired by Little Tokyo and have dreamed of seeing your name in print, you have until January 31 to submit your story for consideration in this year’s contest. The story must be fiction, and must be set in Little Tokyo. The cash prize in each category is $500. For complete details, click here.

Vote for your favorite Nikkei+ Articles by December 20th!

Tani Mitsui Brown talks about her mixed heritage as Japanese-American and African-American, in her article, "A Hapa Girl in Vietnam."
Tani Mitsui Brown talks about her mixed heritage as Japanese-American and African-American, in her article, “A Hapa Girl in Vietnam.”

Discover Nikkei explores the Nikkei experience theme by theme and story by story through the Nikkei Chronicle series.

For the second year of the Nikkei Chronicles: Nikkei+ ~Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race~we solicited stories that explore how Nikkei around the world perceive and experience being multiracial, multinational, multilingual, and multigenerational.

People around the world were invited to submit personal stories and essays, memoirs, and academic papers, in hopes that by sharing the multitudes of experiences, we could enhance our ability to better understand who Nikkei are. There are stories about war brides, food, such as fusion restaurants, and Oshogatsu traditions, architecture, mixed family stories, and of course, Hapa identity related stories.

In Chanda Ishisaka's article, "Diary of a Mad Hapa Judo Girl", Ishisaka recounts her experiences as a girl in judo, and her mixed heritage.
In Chanda Ishisaka’s article, “Diary of a Mad Hapa Judo Girl”, Ishisaka recounts her experiences as a girl in judo, and her mixed heritage.

All of the submissions are now published on Discover Nikkei, and there are just 11 days left to vote for your favorite Nikkei+ stories!

It will be a great opportunity to learn more about being Nikkei, and to support authors and their articles with your votes. The stories with the most Discover Nikkei “stars” will be translated into our site languages, and may even be published in our partnering publications in the US, Canada, and Latin America!

Asami Goto talks about Japanese American food culture - namely, Japanese food 's influence on the healthy-eating movement.
Asami Goto talks about Japanese American food culture – namely, Japanese food ‘s influence on the healthy-eating movement.

All you have to do is log in to Discover Nikkei and click on the “star” icon if you like a story. Vote for as many stories as you like. If you don’t have a Discover Nikkei account, it’s free & easy to sign up!

Get your votes in by December 20th, and we will announce the “favorites” before the end of the year!

Remember, every vote counts!

To access all of the Nikkei+ stories, please visit the Nikkei+ page.

Photos: courtesy of the authors 

1 week left to submit your NIKKEI+ story!

NIKKEI+ ~Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race~

Deadline for submissions: September 30 @6pm (PST)

Do you use chopsticks and forks; mix Japanese words with English or Spanish; or celebrate the New Year’s Eve countdown with champagne and Oshogatsu with ozoni and other Japanese traditions?

There’s just 1 week left to submit stories about being Hapa, growing up in families with mixed generations, or mixing traditions.

All stories that meet the submission guidelines will be published on Discover Nikkei. Our online community’s most favorite stories will be translated into our site languages (English, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese) and may even ben published in our partnering Nikkei publications in the US, Canada, and Latin America!

Submission guidelines: http://5dn.org/nikkei-plus

* * * * *

Here are links to a few of the 12 stories published so far. After you’ve read them, “vote” for your favorites to help us select the stories to translate! Just log in to award your favorite stories a “star”.

Sushi & Salsa, Cactus & Bamboo by Dorothy Yumi Garcia
Documentary Explores Being “Hafu” in Japan by Susan Hamaker

 

 

 

 

Japanese and Jewish Food Come Home to Brooklyn by Tamio Spiegel
Ted Tokio Tanaka: Meeting Architectural Challenges with a Global Vision by Meher McArthur

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read all of the stories published so far >>

Nikkei+ ~ Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race ~

logo-NIKKEI-PLUSBeing Nikkei today is all about diversity, from languages and traditions to generations and culture. This blend is part of what makes being Nikkei such a rich identity, not divided but instead enhanced by its many facets. So whether you mix Japanese and Spanish when speaking, or eat bacon wrapped hot dogs at obon, come share your story with us!

This year’s Nikkei+ ~ Stories of Mixed Language, Traditions, Generations & Race ~ focuses on how Nikkei around the world perceive and experience being multiracial, multinational, multilingual, and multigenerational. We want a diverse range of entries, so submissions can be anything from personal stories to academic papers, and much more! The pieces should fall into the range of 600-1,200 words and may be in English, Japanese, Spanish, or Portugese.

All stories submitted that meet the project guidelines & criteria will be published in the discover Nikkei journal section as part of the Nikkei+ series. Multiple entries per author will be accepted. In addition, each piece submitted to the Nikkei+ anthology will be eligible for selection as our readers’ favorites. The top favorites will be translated into all four site languages and published on Discover Nikkei, as well as possibly shared through participating Nikkei medias.

If you need inspiration, we’ve just started publishing a few of our submissions. Read Edward Moreno’s memories of his wife’s talent for multicultural cooking and then check out Gil Asakawa’s review of Japanese salsa.

The deadline to submit stories is September 30, 2013 at 6pm PDT.

For submission guides, more information, and even some questions to get you started, visit our website.

Reiko2_sm
Edward Moreno’s wife, Reiko, tasting items at a February 2011 luncheon. (Photo from Discover Nikkei – Edward Moreno)
Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture

5 days left to submit Nikkei food stories!

Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture
http://5dn.org/itadakimasu

There’s just 5 days left to submit your Nikkei food stories for our special Discover Nikkei Itadakimasu before the September 30, 2012 deadline! We’ve been receiving more stories this week as the deadline approaches.

English, Spanish, and Portuguese articles should be about 600–1,200 words. Japanese articles should be about 800 to 1,800 characters. Full submission guidelines are available online: http://5dn.org/itadakimasu

All stories that meet our guidelines will be published on DiscoverNikkei.org. Plus, our editorial committee will be selecting their favorite stories to feature and to be translated into all of our site languages (English, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese). Selected stories will be printed in our partner Nikkei publications.

Deadline to submit stories for Itadakimasu! is September 30, 2012 at 6pm (PST).

Since our last update last week, we’ve published a couple more Itadakimasu stories online, including our first Spanish story!

Eri Kameyama's shares about her family's temaki parties to welcome them to Japan in "Temaki Zushi: A Welcome-Home Party"

 

Roberto Hirose writes about Chilean Japanese food in "Sushi y Vino"

 

Read all 20 Itadakimasu stories >>

Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture

2 weeks left to submit Nikkei food stories!

Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei CultureThere’s just 2 weeks left before the September 30, 2012 deadline to submit your Nikkei food stories for our special Discover Nikkei Itadakimasu!

You don’t have to be a professional or aspiring writer to participate. The most important thing is that you share your story and be included.

English, Spanish, and Portuguese articles should be about 600–1,200 words. Japanese articles should be about 800 to 1,800 characters. The full submission guidelines are available online: http://5dn.org/itadakimasu

All stories that meet our guidelines will be published on our DiscoverNikkei.org website. Plus, our editorial committee will be selecting their favorite stories to feature, translate into all of our site languages (English, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese), and selected stories will be printed on our partner Nikkei publications.

Deadline to submit stories for Itadakimasu! is September 30, 2012 at 6pm (PST).

 

Since our last update a couple of weeks ago, we’ve published 3 more Itadakimasu stories online with more waiting to be published:

Mochi and Me by Ben Arikawa

Food for Life: Nice Rice by Gil Asakawa

ブラジルのおかきと“ウメボシ” by Naomi Kimura (in Japanese & Portuguese)

Read all 17 Itadakimasu stories >>

Ben Arikawa reveals a shocking confession about his mochi tastes

 

Naomi Kimura's story about okaki and umeboshi in Brazil

1 month left to submit your Nikkei food story for Itadakimasu!

There’s just 1 month left until the deadline to submit your Nikkei food story for our Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture project!

Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture

Please join us and share your favorite food stories on Discover Nikkei!

All stories that meet our guidelines will be published on our DiscoverNikkei.org website. Plus, our editorial committee will be selecting their favorite stories to feature, translate into all of our site languages (English, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese), and selected stories will be printed on our partner Nikkei publications.

The deadline to submit stories to be included in Itadakimasu! is September 30, 2012 at 6pm (PST).

See submission guidelines & check out the stories published so far: http://5dn.org/itadakimasu

 

Since our last update, we’ve published 4 more Itadakimasu stories online with more waiting to be published:

Hiraoka Ranch. Fowler, CA
Erik Matsunaga’s story about JA enchiladas in “Farm Food”
 
Janice D. Tanaka’s shares about how her Maryknoll classmate took her on a Little Tokyo food adventure in “Elsie Kikuchi’s J-Town”

The Odyssey is another humorous Itadakimasu story by Rachel Yamaguchi about how her father led their family on a “quest” to find a Japanese restaurant he remembered from the “old days” when traveling through Fresno, CA.

Read all 14 Itadakimasu stories >>

2 months left to submit for Itadakimasu!

There’s now just 2 months left to submit your Nikkei food story for our Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture project!

Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture

Our Discover Nikkei website is collecting and sharing stories about Nikkei food culture and its impact on identity and communities. We want to collect together as many diverse stories from around the world as we can, so we invite you to submit personal stories and essays, memoirs, academic papers, book reviews, and other prose genre.

All stories that meet the guidelines will be published on Discover Nikkei as part of this special series. In addition, our Editorial Committee will select their favorite articles per language to be featured and translated into our site languages! Some of the submitted stories will be selected to be published in various Nikkei newspapers and partnering organization newsletters around the world (including The Rafu Shimpo in Los Angeles, Peru Shimpo in Lima, and Nikkeiy Shimbun in São Paulo, Brazil) after the conclusion of the project.

Since our last update, we’ve published 4 more Itadakimasu stories online. There are also more that we’ll be posting soon. The deadline to submit stories to be included in Itadakimasu! is September 30, 2012 at 6pm (PST). That’s just 2 months away from today!

Please join us and share your favorite food stories on Discover Nikkei!

See submission guidelines & check out the stories published so far: http://5dn.org/itadakimasu

Itadakimasu stories published since our last blog post:

The ESGVJCC Leisure Chef Kitchen Brigade pose with tsukemono, from Edward Moreno's story, "Our Lady Queen Of Pickles"

 

Family photo from Thanksgiving 1951 from Troy Ishikawa's story, "Three Generations of Japanese American Cooks and Food: From Grandma to daughter to grandson"

 

Her mother's jubako, from Lily Yuriko Nakai Havey's "Food for New Year" about her mother's cooking before and after WWII, and the foods they ate while at Amache

 

There are no tantalizing photos to accompany this story, but it’s well worth the read! “Look’it” Food by Rachel Yamaguchi is a humorous story of how the “hoarding” of treats for company isn’t a tradition that works well when you don’t entertain guests often.

 

Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei Culture

Itadakimasu! Nikkei food stories

For many Nikkei around the world, food is often the strongest and most lasting connection they have with their culture. Across generations, language and traditions are often lost, but their connections to food remain.

Itadakimasu! A Taste of Nikkei CultureThe Museum’s Discover Nikkei website has launched a project to collect and share stories about Nikkei food culture and its impact on identity and communities. We want to collect together as many diverse stories from around the world as we can, so we invite you to submit personal stories and essays, memoirs, academic papers, book reviews, and other prose genre.

All stories submitted for our Itadakimasu! that meet the guidelines will be published on Discover Nikkei as part of this series. In addition, our Editorial Committee will select their favorite articles per language to be featured and translated into our site languages! Some of the submitted stories will be selected to be published in various Nikkei newspapers and partnering organization newsletters around the world (including The Rafu Shimpo in Los Angeles, Peru Shimpo in Lima, and Nikkeiy Shimbun in São Paulo, Brazil) after the conclusion of the project.

We’ve already published 6 Itadakimasu stories online, and have received several more that we’ll be posting soon. They range from holiday food traditions to sushi therapy. The most recent story features 100th/442nd veterans, Jake Shimabukuro, and of course, food!

The deadline to submit stories to be included in Itadakimasu! is September 30, 2012 at 6pm (PST). That’s just 3 months away from today!

Please join us and share your favorite food stories on Discover Nikkei!

See submission guidelines & check out the stories published so far: http://5dn.org/itadakimasu

Jake Shimabukuro with 100th & 442nd veterans from Jayne Hirata's story, "Health, Happiness, and Bear Hanakuso with the Wine Gang"

 

Giant tempura from Silvia Lumy Akioka's story, "My gastronomic habits in Brazil" (Portuguese & English)
From Jean Oda Moy's story, "Sushi Therapy" -- a touching story about the power of food memory
Ben Arikawa's mother on their Fresno family farm. From his story, "Cooking Traditions with Mom"
From Keiko Fukuda's story, 我が家の定番、県民食の鶏料理 (Japanese only)
Plastic kagami mochi and sparklers from Laurie Iwami's "Soba, Firecrackers and Home"

 

30-second volunteer videos

Our volunteers are amazing. They continually inspire us with their dedication and enthusiasm. They are even willing to step outside their comfort zones if it means helping the museum to share the important stories of the Japanese American experience.

Since last summer, staff at our Watase Media Arts Center along with interns and volunteers have been working on a series of digital shorts that record many of our docents and other volunteers. The videos share the volunteer’s personal stories related to artifacts from our core Common Ground: The Heart of Community exhibition.

We’re collecting them together for easy access on our Discover Nikkei website. There are already 15 of the videos online, with more being added almost weekly.

Check out the volunteer videos on Discover Nikkei:

The 21st Century Museum: Significant artifacts selected by Japanese American National Museum Volunteers
http://5dn.org/janm-vols

Volunteers featured so far: Bob Uragami, Babe Karasawa, Yae Aihara, Richard Murakami, Yoko Horimoto, Jim Tanaka, Tohru Isobe, Mas Yamashita, Robert Moriguchi, Kathryn Madara, Kent Hori, May Porter, Eileen Sakamoto, Lee Hayashi, and Roy Sakamoto.

Here are the three most recently uploaded videos: