New on the pod! Humbled and honored to welcome international artist, activist, educator, and documentary filmmaker EMILY HANAKO MOMOHARA. Listen in as we explore 1940’s AAPI feminism, patriotism, resilience, perseverance, leadership, and “gaman (我慢)” – Japanese for “silent endurance” from Zen Buddhist origin meaning "enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.”
Tune in to a riveting behind-the-scenes glimpse into Momohara’s upcoming film premiere of NAMBA, inspired by the true story of May Namba. From Japanese American grandparent FBI files to incarcerated Japanese American Omikuji cookie makers in the San Francisco Bay area unexpectedly inspiring counter-culture fortune cookie branding and marketing, we share tales of Momohara’s Okinawan family and my Filipino family journey to the States by way of Hawaiian pineapple plantations. (I promise you will never look at a fortune cookie or pineapple the same way again!) A true time capsule tribute, Momohara masterfully transforms multi-generational trauma, revealing how her own family’s incarceration story intertwines with May and May’s granddaughter, Miyako.
NAMBA will premiere at Cincinnati’s National Underground Freedom Center Harriet Tubman Theater on July 16th with additional screenings at Seattle’s Wing Luke Asian Art Museum Takeuchi Story Theatre on July 30th, and future Portland and virtual dates forthcoming. NAMBA is a coming-of-age journey in the midst of war and bravery, introducing us to May Namba, a Japanese American woman incarcerated during WWII, a portion of American history not often told. We learn the story of May Namba, narrated by her granddaughter Miyako Namba. Beginning with the summer of 1941, Momohara chronicles the bombing of Pearl Harbor and President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 that sent Japanese Americans to prison camps, and the impact it had on those Americans. May was incarcerated in Minidoka, Idaho, one of 10 such prison camps.
Of Japanese-British-American ancestry, EMILY HANAKO MOMOHARA grew up outside of Seattle, Washington in a mixed-race family. Her work centers around issues of heritage, multiculturalism, immigration, and social justice. Momohara has exhibited internationally including in the Changjiang International Photography & Video Biennale, Chongqing, China; a 2-person exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum titled Sugar Islands; and the Okinawa Prefectural Museum in Naha, Japan.
Momohara was featured in a number of public art projects such as the For Freedoms 50 State Initiative billboard campaign and 2021 AAPI Heritage Month program. Her billboards have been featured at the International Center for Photography, NY; Utah Museum of Contemporary Art; and StandBy in Tokyo, Japan.
She serves as Associate Professor of Studio Art at the Academy of Cincinnati. She is currently a board of trustee at the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center and member of Ohio Progressive Asian Women’s Leadership (OPAWL).
Emily Hanako Momohara
ehmomohara.com
https://www.instagram.com/ehmomohara/?hl=en
"NAMBA - A Japanese American’s Incarceration and Life of Resilience"
Minidoka National Historic Site I National Park Services
