Guest: Jean Mishima, President, Chicago Japanese American Historical Society

Jean Mishima was one of more than 20,000 people of Japanese ancestry to resettle in Chicago after she was incarcerated by the US government during WWII. After her incarceration at the age of six, Jean spent her youth helping her mother re-establish their lives by running a dry cleaning business. Jean’s mother was a fierce survivor who left the incarceration camp early by learning to sew and getting a job. She divorced her husband and restarted her life as a single parent of three children. Jean's story inspired the short film, Resettlement: Chicago Story, which was released last year by Full Spectrum Features as part of a cinematic digital history project that teaches Japanese American history to K-12 students.

Produced by Reina Higashitani 

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Guest: Susan Miyagi McCormac, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Japan Culture NYC

As Gaby tries to define his multicultural identity, he meets Susan Miyagi McCormac, who grew up in North Carolina with an Okinawan mother and a U.S. military father. When Susan discovered that the 1945 Battle of Okinawa (in which the U.S. invaded Okinawa) began on her mother’s birthday, she felt an urgency to learn about her mother’s heritage. Susan is now a Japanese American community leader in New York City and runs the website Japan Culture NYC, a go-to resource for Japanese culture, events, and businesses.

Produced by Gabriel Bhasin

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Guest: Joan Shigekawa, Arts and Culture Philanthropist

Many artists with underrepresented backgrounds face additional challenges when they first try to set their career path. Gaby talks to Joan Shigekawa, who received the National Medal of the Arts from the President of the United States in 2021. Since she was incarcerated as a child by the U.S. government during WWII, she made an extraordinary career in the film and television industry, and later in philanthropy work in supporting arts and culture. She shares stories of resiliency from landing her first job at CBS despite her limited experience, to producing a feminist television series in the 1970s, to her career transition after becoming a mother in her 40s. She talks about behaving invisibly, as many in our culture have been raised to do, calling it a huge mistake and advising us to be visible.

Produced by Gabriel Bhasin

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Guest: Russell Tanita at Tanita Farm

Rusty’s father was one of the thirteen children of Naomasa Tanita who started farming in Arizona in 1928. The family business grew into a farming empire, Tanita Farm, once the largest grower and shipper of mixed vegetables in the state of Arizona in the 1960s. While the city has developed and generations of families have left farming, Rusty continues to farm in northwest Phoenix. He reflects on his family legacy as he helps a new generation of American farmers.

Produced by Reina Higashtiani

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Guest: Fumiko Sally Matsumoto Adams at Japanese American Citizen League Arizona Chapter

Growing up as a child of Japanese immigrants in the 1950s California often made Sally uncomfortable. After marrying her airman husband and living in Alaska for forty years, she finally began to reconcile with her heritage and became an active member of the Japanese American Citizen League, Arizona Chapter. 

Produced by Reina Higashtiani

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Guest: Irene Tsukada Simonian  at Bunkado

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to shutter, but as one of the few remaining original Japanese-owned businesses in Little Tokyo, legendary gift shop Bunkado had faced such hurdles before. What is the secret to its longevity? Bunkado owner Irene Tsukada Simonian shares her memories of growing up in Little Tokyo, and why she returned to run Bunkado after a 17-year absence from her hometown.

Produced by Reina Higashtiani

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Guest: Dr. Patricia Allyn Biggs at National Park Service, Manzanar National Historic Site

Every year, Japanese American communities across the nation organize a pilgrimage to former WWII incarceration camp sites. One of those sites is Manzanar National Historic Site in Southern California, preserved by the National Park Service. Historian and park ranger Dr. Biggs describes the everyday lives of 10,000 people who were forced to leave their homes, and their resilience while incarcerated in barracks in the middle of the desert.

Produced by Reina Higashtiani

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Guests: Dr. Kathryn Nakagawa at Arizona State University / Baseline Flowers and Donna Cheung at Japanese American Citizen League, Arizona Chapter

Cat and Tin live-record a panel discussion at Arizona State University, as part of the AAPI Heritage Month celebration in the spring of 2022. Native Arizonan Dr. Nakagawa runs the last remaining Japanese American flower shop, established by her father in the 1950s. Growing up as a child of Chinese immigrants, Donna Cheung discusses how she felt connected to Japanese Americans' experience and served as a President of the Japanese American Citizen League, Arizona Chapter. They also answered questions from students from various backgrounds.

Produced by Catherine Jie Baxter and Tinnley Sawan Subsin

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Guest:  Cindi Kishiyama Harbottle at Japanese American Citizen League, Arizona Chapter

In the 1960s and ’70s, people used to travel long distances to see the Baseline Flower Fields in Phoenix, Arizona. Tin returns home and talks to Cindi Kishiyama-Harbottle at the Japanese American Citizen’s League Arizona Chapter. Cindi talks about how her family were early settlers in Arizona, and one of the first families to grow flowers at the legendary Japanese Flower Gardens on Baseline Road. Cindi tells stories of growing up at the flower shop her parents ran, as well as how she overcame struggles with finding her Asian-American identity.

Produced by Tinnley Sawan Subsin
* The pronunciation of “hapa” was pulled from the Cambridge Dictionary.

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Guests: Kathy Masaoka and Yasuko Sakamoto at Little Tokyo Service Center

Tin’s next destination is the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), an organization that provides social welfare and community services in Little Tokyo. They have been a major force in preserving the town while welcoming people from various ethnicities. Tin speaks to Kathy Masaoka, a board member of LTSC, and Yasuko Sakamoto, a founding member and former Director of Social Services at the organization. They discuss their journeys of finding community and acceptance.

Produced by Tinnley Sawan Subsin

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