Gil Asakawa's Nikkei View

2001 ARCHIVES

Howdy,

Welcome to the 2001 Archives page of my weekly "Nikkei View" columns. You'll find the headlines for all my 2001 columns below; just click to read each article on its individual page (this is a faster way of presenting my past articles than putting thm on one long, slow-loading page).

Thanks for reading, and remember: Each week's column is always available on the main "Nikkei View" page!

-- Gil

31 December, 2001: Engurish Lessons
The amount of English used in Japan is incredible -- even if some of it doesn't make any sense at all.

17 December, 2001: Family Values, JA Style
Musings on family values from my Japanese American upbringing to the JA community and the effects of divorce. This column was originally written for the Pacific Citizen, the national newspaper of the Japanese American Citizens League.

3 December, 2001: Farewell to a Beatle
I'm feeling guilty because George Harrison was never my favorite Beatle.

26 November, 2001: Kurisumasu Memories
My childhood Christmas memories are different from the all-American image of "A Christmas Story." But then, Christmas in Japan is different, period.

19 November, 2001: The Sound of Japan in Hawai'i
A new CD produced by historian Billy Rose brings the sound of the Hawaii Shochiku Orchestra -- and the sound of Hawaiian Japanese in the post-war years -- back to life.

12 November, 2001: Too Much Sushi and Tea
It's great that Asian culture is becoming mainstream in the west. But I've had enough of phony sushi and weird green tea.

4 November, 2001: Internment Today
A symposium I recently attended on the PATRIOT Act and a new book on the Japanese Internment have a troubling theme in common.

22 October, 2001: Asian Role Models in the Media
I wanted to be a rock critic when I was growing up. And one of the key role models who inspired me had an Asian surname.

10 October, 2001: War Is Here
Now that America is at war with terrorists, I'm reminded of the anti-war mentality of a generation ago.

1 October, 2001: Japanese Shopping, American-style
My memories of shopping in Tokyo have been updated with the introduction of a member warehouse shopping chain to Japan.

24 September, 2001: You All Look Alike... Don't You?
The harrassment of Middle Easterners since the terrorist attacks makes me confront my own prejudices.

17 September, 2001: Helplessly Hoping
I feel inadequate trying to write about last week's unspeakable attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. So much has already been said and written, and no mere words can truly capture the horror of the tragedy or the scale of human loss.

10 September, 2001: Viva Las Vegas
Las Vegas may not have all the cool kitshcy buildings of the past, but the sensory overload -- and Asian references -- kept me occupied and happy.

27 August, 2001: Seoul Good
With tensions simmering between Japan and her Asian neighbors, I decided it was time for some dinner diplomacy.

20 August, 2001: Dragon Boat Festival --Proudly Pan-Asian
The Mongolian Dragon Boat racing team was Denver's version of the Jamaican Bobsled Team going to the Winter Olympics. The races amd the Dragon Boat Festival 2001 were a great success, after a lot of planning and hard work.

12 August, 2001: Fun with Languages
Attending a wedding with Japanese Americans reminded me how much Japanese language is sprinkled throughout my English conversation.

30 July, 2001: News from Japan -- Believe It or Not
I'm a Japanese news junkie, and I especially love the unusual news nuggets I come across when I follow the Japanese media.

23 July, 2001: Do other Asians Like Japanese?
Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but the tensions between Japan and her Asian neighbors over wartime atrocities seem to be affecting how some Asians treat me here in the US.

9 July, 2001: Japan through the Pages of a Book
I have too many books about Japan to keep up. But a new release, "The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan," was worth taking the time to read.

2 July, 2001: An Insider's View of Sakura Matsuri
It's not easy putting on the oldest continuous community event in Denver, and that's what Sakura Matsuri is.

25 June, 2001: Becoming a Dancing Fool for Obon
Practicing for the bon-odori dance during the Cherry Blossom Festival can be a trying task if you're dance-imparied like me.

19 June, 2001: Celebrating Japanese ... and Asian ... Culture
The annual Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates Japanese culture, but we need to celebrate all Asian communities as well.

11 June, 2001: Assimilation and Separatism
I'm an assimilationist, but that doesn't mean I'm a "shuck and jive" Japanese American.

6 June, 2001: "Pearl Harbor" Is Hollywood, not History
I'm somewhat relieved to announce that the movie is more Hollywood romance than potentially racist propaganda. Some thoughts on the movie after viewing it on opening day.

21 May, 2001: Dreading the Opening of "Pearl Harbor"
Will the Memorial Day weekend opening of the summer blockbuster film "Pearl Harbor" spark a rise in anti-Asian and anti-Japanese feelings?

14 May, 2001: Reinventing History -- on Both Sides of the Pacific
Both the US and Japan have a problem with reinventing the past in their respective history textbooks.

8 May, 2001: The Boys of Summer ... from Across the Pacific
The Seattle Mariners baseball team has a new star player, and he's Japanese -- Ichiro Suzuki. Japanese athletes may finally be earning some respect, thanks to recent imports in the Major Leagues.

30 April, 2001: Warning Signs of a Return to Racism
A recent survey found that one-fourth of Americans have ill feelings about Chinese Americans. That's not good news for any Asian Pacific Americans.

23 April, 2001: Waste Not, Want Not
The Japanese word "mottainai" doesn't just translate into "wasteful" -- there's an entire cultural context with which many Japanese are all too familiar.

10 April, 2001: Sweet Dreams Are Made of These....
Denver is crazy over Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and the sugary treats got me thinking about the sweets of my childhood.

4 April, 2001: Service with a Smile, Japanese Style
I've always liked how Japanese businesses treat customers -- welcoming them when they enter the store or restaurant is one example. Why can't US businesses focus more on service?

20 March, 2001: The New Miracle Drink: Green Tea
I like coffee, but since Starbucks started appearing on every corner, I've returned to my roots, and drink more green tea. To my surprise, I found out how healthy it is!

11 March, 2001: When Media Mangle Japanese Words
I love National Public Radio for its newscasts, except for when the reporters and anchors can't pronounce "Tokyo" correctly. And why can't the US media pronounce "Ehime Maru?"

4 March, 2001: Learning Japanese the Modern Way
Japanese classes? Been there, done that. Language books? Yep. Now with the help of CD-ROMs, the Internet and a set that includes cassettes, I'm trying once again to learn more Japanese.

19 February, 2001: The Story of a Vietnamese Refugee
I was fortunate enough to get to review a new book about a Vietnamese refugee's experiences after the fall of Saigon, and wanted to let everyone know how powerful it is.

12 February, 2001: Holding onto Heritage
Language and other aspects of cultural heritage are important for young people to hold onto -- even if they don't think so.

31 January, 2001: Beat Crazy -- Kodo Returns to Colorado
The kings of rhythm in Japan are coming back for concerts in Colorado, and the group's new CD has me beat crazy!

22 January, 2001: Being Bitten by the Shutter Bug Again
A digital camera has gotten me excited about photography again, the way I was when I got my first 35 mm camera in 8th grade.

15 January, 2001: The Zen of Painting in Black and White
Sumi-e, or ink painting, is a different discipline from watercolor painting, but the two are related.

7 January, 2001: The Art of Martial Arts Movies
The new movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a beautiful film, but it's not the best martial arts movie I've seen.

2001 ARCHIVES

Copyright 1998-2006 by Gil Asakawa -- not for use without permission. Contact me if you'd like to run "Nikkei View" in your publication. Thanks for reading!

Copyright 1998-2006 by Gil Asakawa -- not for use without permission.
Contact me if you'd like to run "Nikkei View" in your publication.
Thanks for reading!