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Gil Asakawa's Nikkei View
LINKS & RESOURCES

Return to the Nikkei Resource Index

NIKKEI & APA SITES

  • bringithome.rocheletanabe.com - Rochele Tanabe is a Bay-Area Sansei who is deeply involved in fighting Leukemia and Lymphoma -- check out the site and support her fundraising efforts!
  • Nikkei Booklist - Here's a list compiled with the help of a man who calls himself Prophet of the Way (the list is from my book, "Being Japanese American"; he added the ISBN numbers and other information), as a resource for anyone interested in Nikkei history and culture.
  • Colorado Dragon Boat Festival - I'm involved with the steering committee of this event, which debuted in August, 2000. It's a summertime outdoor festival that celebrates the Denver area's diverse and thriving APA communities, featuring an Asian Marketplace, Asian cultural performances and Dragon Boat Racing. Dragon Boat Racing is an ancient sport that new to Colorado, and I'm proud to be involved in an event that works hard to build bridges between the various APA communities and cultures.
  • Aurora Asian/Pacific Community Partnership - A hard-working and active group based in a Denver suburb that spans the interests and cultures of the region's diverse APA communities. The group sponsors the annual Aurora Asian Film Festival.
  • Orations & Essays Project - Joyce Hirohata Gonzales' Web site for a powerful bok project. The book, "Orations & Essays by the Japanese Second Generation of America" was originally compiled by her grandfather in the 1930s. A collection of graduation speeches by Nisei students fro high schools throughout California, the book showed how much the Nisei belieed in their country and the opportunities awaiting them. But of course the war and internmane tcame along just years later. Now, Joyce Hirohata Gonzales is re-publishing the book with the addition of the stories of these students' lives. She' tracked down most of them, or their families, and has interviewed some for the expanded book.
  • AlterAsian - An online source for "Alternative & Asian Culture" with sections on arts, entertainment, lifestyle and culture. Good, insightful writing and scope -- and a terrific name. This is one I'll come back to regularly....
  • dIS*orient - The Web site hosted by JANet for the APA arts/lit/poetry magazine, mostly a promotional venue that shows off each issue's cover.
  • Gidra - A no-nonsense quarterly periodical published by an editorial collective of APAs that covers gobal issues from the war on terrorism and a strike by auto workers in Korea, to a documentary film about an Indian physician who promotes health with laughter and an AIDS conference for south Asians in the US.
  • Noodle - A magazine for Asian Pacific Islander gay men.
  • All Look Same - Take the test -- do all Asians look alike? This is an interesting interactive experience. I thought I could tell differences between Asians, but I have to admit, I didn't do very well.
  • 80-20 Initiative - 80-20 Initiative is a national nonpartisan Political Action Committee dedicated to work for equality and justice for all Asian Americans. The group believes that if APAs could vote 80% as a block on an issue or candidate, we will be a political force with real impact, not the "invisible minority." The question I have, though, is whether APAs as a group can be expected to have one voice as a political force. But they're trying, and they're involved in many national issues.
  • Asian Connections - A well-connected, though sometimes unpolished, 'zine aimed at hip young APAs, with a broad range of coverage. I came to the site because of one of its regular contributors, columnist Ben Fong-Torres, who was one of Rolling Stone magazine's earliest editors and an inspiration to me when I was a kid.
  • AsianDB - A Web site dedicated to followig the Asian movie industry, with news, features and of course, e-commerce so you can but the films they cover.
  • Goldsea Asian American Supersite - A sprawling site that seems to be trying to appeal to a mainstream cross-section of APA readership, with headline news, career content and lots of glitz, fashion, celebrity and relationship advice. Worth noting: The site spells "Korea" as "Corea" -- the way it was spelled before it was invaded by the Japanese.
  • National Japanese American Historical Society - The NJAHS keeps alive the culture and history of Japanese Americans with events, exhibits and publciations. A great non-profit to support.
  • Asian American as Foreigners - A site that explores the issue of APAs being "Perpetually Foreign" within American society, something we were reminded of during the 2002 Winter Olympics when a Seattle newspaper declared that an "American" beat out Michelle Kwan for a skating gold medal.
  • Angry Little Asian Girl - A cool, smart comic strip starring an Angry Little Asian Girl. The strip tackles some issues any APA will find familiar, and it's evolved over time from somewhat crudely-drawn characters to a very clean, finished look, and has added more regular characters, including a Boy.
  • Little Tokyo Servic Center - The community heart that beats withi Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district. Founded in 1979, LTSC is a nonprofit charitable organization serving people in need, especially those facing language or cultural gaps, financial need, or physical disabilities. Currently, LTSC sponsors over a dozen different community and social service programs, with over 40 paid staff persons and hundreds of volunteers to provide competent and compassionate services in seven different languages as well as Spanish and English. Services include individual and family counseling, support groups, transportation and translation services, an emergency caregiver program, student help lines, crisis hotlines, and consumer education. Great organization!
  • LA Tofu Festival - What a great idea -- the Little Tokyo Service Center in Los Angeles sponsors an annual Tofu Festival that celebrates APA culture with multicultural entertainment, health information and lots and lots of tofu. There are cooking demonstations, samplings and recipes galore.
  • Asia for Kids - The e-commerce site for a mail-roeder catalog company that specializes in Asian cultural games, toys, books, music and more for kids. Recommended for your children, and perfect for nieces and nephews.
  • Nikkei Place- The home page of the Japanese Canadian National Nikkei Heritage Center. Not a lot of content on the site, but a facility worth supporting.
  • APAnet - APAnet is a coalition and network of Asian Pacific American (APA) community-based non-profit organizations with the goal to encourage the use of computer-networking and information technologies. Through the application of these electronic tools -- computers and computer training, and access to Internet services, we hope to empower and increase the effectiveness of our organizations to better serve our Asian American communities.
  • Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council - A3PCON is a coalition of Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) health, human service, educational, cultural and policy agencies, and individuals who advocate for the rights and services of the APIA community in Southern California, primarily in Los Angeles County.
  • Asian Community Online Network - The Asian Community Online Network (ACON), based in Chicago as a project of the Asian American Institute, is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit electronic communications network which brings together Asian American and Pacific Islander non-profit and community-based organizations in cities across the United States with concerned individuals living in those cities.
  • Japanese American Cultural and Community Center - The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC), based in LA's Little Tokyo, is dedicated to presenting, perpetuating, transmitting and promoting Japanese and Japanese American art and culture to diverse audiences and to providing a center to enhance community programs.
  • Midwest Asian American Students Union - MAASU strives to recognize the need for an Asian American student organization which facilitates dialogue among student leaders throughout the Midwest and addresses itself to all pertinent issues affecting Asian Americans.
  • Visual Communications Online - The mission of Visual Communications is to promote intercultural understanding through the creation, presentation, preservation and support of media works by and about Asian Pacific Americans. Visual Communications was created with the understanding that media and the arts are important vehicles to organize and empower communities, build connections between generations, challenge perspectives, and create an environment for critical thinking, necessary to build a more just and humane society.
  • LEAP - Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP) is a national non-profit organization founded in 1982 to achieve full participation and equality for Asian Pacific Americans. Unmatched in vision and scope, LEAP offers leadership training, publishes original public policy research, and conducts community education to advance a comprehensive strategy of Asian Pacific American empowerment.
  • Polychrome - Polychrome Publishing has specialized in Asian American Children's Books for over 11 Years. The title I've seen most often is "Nikkei Donburi: A Japanese American Cultural Survival Guide," but their entire catalog looks wonderful!
  • Children of the Camps - A Web site for a documentary filmed in 1999 and shown throughout the year over the U.S. Public Broadcasting Network, about the children who were interned along with their families during World War II.
  • Rabbit in the Moon - The PBS Web site for a powerful, honest documentary about the Japaese American internment, which focuses on the division within the JA community and between the JACL and the "No-No Boys." It looks at issues such as draft resistors within the camps with unflinching clarity.
  • Asian-Nation - SUNY Albany sociology professor C.M. Le maintains this nicely organized and cleanly presented resource, which he describes as "Asian American 101 -- a one-stop information source on the historical, political, social, economic, and cultural elements and issues that make up today's diverse Asian American community." There is a separate section for Vietnam, the country of Le's heritage.
  • Ohashi Design Studio - The husband and wife team of Joy and Alan Ohashi run this architecure-interior design firm based in Berkeley, California. The two also design creative original furniture, and do all of it with a decidedly contemporary Japanese influence. The couple's designs are clean, fluid and reflect an appreciation for natural elements. They're the architects for the National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) in San Francisco, as well as for Philip Gotanda and Diane Takei, writers and filmmakers in the Bay Area. Some of their furniture designs can be seen on the Conde House Web site.
  • Asian-American Village - Part of the expansive IMDiversity.com Web site which addresses all US minority groups, Asian-American Village is a thoughtful site that covers issues that affect Asian Americans of all stripes with articles and commentary. The site's goal is to be an online community gathering place for Asian Americans, and it succeeds. The site's editor, David Stewart Ikeda, has been kind enough to reprint some of my columns.
  • Japanese American Genealogy Home Page - Stuart Terashita's helpful hints for researching your roots if they're buried in the soil of Japan.
  • Kaya - This New York-based publisher was founded in 1994, dedicated to the publication of new and innovative literature and the recovery of important and often overlooked work from Asia and the Asian diaspora. Kaya's books range from individual volumes by innovative poets and fiction writers to comprehensive anthologies to its annual publication of Asian diasporic culture and society, MUĈ.
  • The National Japanese American Memorial Foundation - The Web site for a proposed memorial in Washington, D.C. to the history of Japanese Americans and our contribution to the U.S. of A. Support this memorial with your donations -- it's a very worthwhile cause.
  • John Manjiro Home Page - John Manjiro (or "Mung," real name Nakahama Manjiro) was a Japanese sailor who was shipwrecked in 1841 when he was 14, and saved by an American, Captain William Whitfield. Whitfield brought Manjiro back to Massachussetts and he became the first Japanese to visit and study in Japan. He later returned to Japan and helped the Japanese government reach out to America. Phew, that said, this is the home page for the American organization that celebrates Manjiro's accomplishments.
  • Manjiro Society for International Exchange - This is the site for the organization which is headquartered both in McLean, Virginia and Tokyo, which sponsors an annual "Japan-U.S. Grassroots Summit" that alternates between the countries. It was held in Kagoshima in 1995, and I was lucky enough to attend. I wrote about the experience and have it in my Writing Samples.
  • Nikkei Home Page - An overview of the Nikkei, all generations of Japanese-Americans (or immigrants to other countries), and their unique experience, including the Internment during WWII, and the involvement of Japanese-Americans in the U.S. Military Intelligence Service during WWII.
  • Japanese-American Network (JA*Net) - The Japanese American Network (JA*Net) is a partnership of Japanese American organizations based in Los Angeles. A goal of this partnership is to encourage the use of the Internet and interactive communications technologies to exchange information about Japanese Americans -- art, culture, community, history, news, events, social services, and public policy issues.
  • Japanese American National Museum - I'm a member, and it's a must-visit if you're in the LA area. It's a moving, well-designed and run tribute to our heritage. Worth supporting.
  • Japanese-American Citizens League - The JACL is a civil-rights organization formed in 1929 to protect the rights of people of Japanese heritage. Although some in the JA community think the JACL was much too complicit in the government's WWII internment of JAs, the organization was largely responsible for the U.S. legislation that led to an apology and redress money for Japanese-Americans who were interned in American concentration camps during WWII. Now, the JACL's mission is changing because the redress campaign is over, and the focus will be on anti-civil rights battles throughout the country and in Colorado, incorporate cultural programs into events, and attract younger members into its ranks. Click here to read my "Nikkei View" column about the 1998 JACL National Convention.
  • Japan-America Society of Colorado - I'm also a member of the JASC, the Colorado chapter of an organization dedicated to promoting business and cultural ties between the U.S. and Japan. The group hosts monthly cultural events and informal get-togethers where everyone speaks Japanese, and its major events are high-profile and well-attended by Denver's business and political movers and shakers.
  • The Japanese American Internment - A great resource for a variety of links and information about the Internment experience. Anyone doing research on the topic should not miss this exhaustive, thoughtfully compiled site.
  • The Office of Redress Administration - A companion site for anyone interested in Internment -- this is the official Dept. of Justice Web site about the Redress campaign which brought about the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, authorizing reparations for victims of Internment and an official government apology. The legislation ended on Aug. 10, 1998, so any Internees who hadn't applied for Redress can't any longer. But the legislation will live on in the form of educational grants. The history of the movement (with a very complete timeline starting with Internment) is included here.
  • Giant Robot - This magazine (and Web site) is recommended if you're into contemporary APA pop culture, from Jackie Chan and Chow Yun Fat to manga and anime. It's cutting-edge, though aimed more (I think) at a young readership.
  • NikkeiWest - A bi-monthly newspaper for the Northern California Japanese American community. The paper puts most of its current issue online using Adobe Acrobat's "Portable Document Format," which allows you to see the paper as its pages look in print. You'll have to download the Acrobat Reader plugin for your browser, but it's easy to install and use.
  • Communication Breakthrough - An interesting concept: A Japanese/American couple who work as translators (they run "JETServ," or Japanese English Translation Services)  have created a "bilingual web magazine for cross-cultural communication." The site features a variety of message boards and Q&A areas where both Japanese and Americans can have an ongoing dialogue -- in their native languages, with Lucia and Yas, the couple, translating each message for the other language. It's an example of one way to build an online "community," and it seems to be working. The format of titles with actual messages below makes sense once you figure it out.
  • Nikkei Nexus - A well-done resource, which the creators (the National Association of Japanese Canadians) describe thus: "This is a comprehensive and ever-growing resource of World Wide Web links which are of interest to nikkei-jin living outside Japan." The site includes organizations, arts and culture sites, personal home pages, and business and commerce links. The personal home pages are very cool -- the list reflects the wide range of nikkei who have established a presence on the Web.
  • The Asian American Cybernauts Page - Wataru Ebihara of the Japanese American Network has created this terrific collection of weblinks to Asian American Web sites, including organizations, media and a great list of personal home pages. Like the Nikkei Nexus site above, this is a wonderful resource, and one that has extra significance because it reaches outside of the Japanese community to other Asian Pacific Americans.
  • National Association of Japanese Canadians - The home page of Canada's Nikkei community, the northern equivalent of the JACL in the United State. The organization sponsors the "NikkeiNet," an e-mail directory of members with short bios, and the Web site also features a history Japanese Canadians.
  • Cultural Bridge Productions: A Long Way Home - A powerful site that's mostly text (with a cool "photo album" at the end) that tells a story somewhat like my dad's, of two Nisei sisters stuck in Japan during WWII, in Iwakuni, and the horrors they see during the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing. Again, this is what the Internet excels at -- new ways to tell stories that would otherwise go untold.
  • AsiaXpress.com - A great idea, and a venture worth supporting. A group of young and energetic Denver-area APA Web-heads have put together this site as a cross-cultural virtual community center, a place to announce Denver-area Asian events and pass along news and information. You'll also find an index of area businesses and organizations. In time, if the crew can maintain their initial momentum, the site could become a wonderful resource for the community(ies) -- it's already taken a strong step in the right direction.
  • Ties-Talk Archive - Tadaaki Hiruki, a member of the "Ties-Talk" JA e-mail discussion list, has collected some of the threads and posted the messages (taking out any names of members) so you can read a sampling of this very active, thoughtful online community.
  • Hapa Issues Forum - The Internet home of Hapa Issues Forum, a national non-profit organization that celebrates the mixed race AsianAmerican experience.
  • Anne Namba Designs - Namba is a JA from Hawaii who combines traditional kimono fabric with a keen eye for clean lines and hip, contemporary styles.

Copyright 1998-2006 by Gil Asakawa -- not for use without permission.
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Thanks for reading!