Shows
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 13: Resettlement - Chicago StoryGuest: Jean Mishima, President, Chicago Japanese American Historical SocietyJean 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 st...2025-01-1827 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 12: Becoming OkinawanGuest: Susan Miyagi McCormac, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Japan Culture NYCAs 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 Japa...2025-01-0326 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 11: Increasing Visibility: From Incarceration Camp to the National Medal of the ArtsGuest: Joan Shigekawa, Arts and Culture PhilanthropistMany 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...2024-12-2027 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 10: The Last Japanese American FarmerGuest: Russell Tanita at Tanita FarmRusty’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 HigashtianiCh...2023-07-2824 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 9: A Long JourneyGuest: Fumiko Sally Matsumoto Adams at Japanese American Citizen League Arizona ChapterGrowing 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 HigashtianiCheck out other episodes and slide shows on our website.2023-07-2120 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 8: The Secret of LongevityGuest: Irene Tsukada Simonian at BunkadoThe 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 HigashtianiCheck out other episodes and slide shows on our website.2023-07-1424 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 7: The Strength of the CampsGuest: Dr. Patricia Allyn Biggs at National Park Service, Manzanar National Historic SiteEvery 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 HigashtianiCheck out other e...2023-07-0723 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 6: Being Asian AmericanGuests: Dr. Kathryn Nakagawa at Arizona State University / Baseline Flowers and Donna Cheung at Japanese American Citizen League, Arizona ChapterCat 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...2023-06-3022 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 5: Proud To Be MeGuest: Cindi Kishiyama Harbottle at Japanese American Citizen League, Arizona ChapterIn 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 overc...2023-06-2329 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 4: Asian Enough?Guests: Kathy Masaoka and Yasuko Sakamoto at Little Tokyo Service CenterTin’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 Sa...2023-06-1623 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 3: Where are you REALLY from?Guests: Dr. Brett Esaki at University of Arizona and Dane Ishibashi at BunkadoTin begins her journey as a biracial Asian American by traveling to Tucson to meet Dr. Brett Esaki, an assistant professor in the East Asian Studies Department at University of Arizona. Dr. Esaki – whose grandparents met in a Japanese American incarceration camp – shares his unique perspective on the camps, and along with insights on the power dynamics of silence in the Japanese-American community. She then travels to Little Tokyo in Downtown LA to meet Dane Ishibashi, the manager of legacy gift s...2023-06-0924 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 2: Pride In My HeritageGuests: Michael Komai and J.K. Yamamoto at Rafu ShimpoTo explore how Japanese Americans redefine their experience through community storytelling, Cat visits Rafu Shimpo, a 120-year-old Japanese-English bilingual newspaper operating in Los Angeles. Together with a group of ASU students, Cat talks to President and Publisher Michael Komai, and their longtime journalist, J.K. Yamamoto. Komai shares the story of his grandfather who was arrested by the FBI after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and how they hid Japanese-language letterpress print types to prevent confiscation by the FBI. As print businesses struggle to...2023-06-0222 min
Chasing Cherry BlossomsEpisode 1: BananaGuests: Dr. Mitchell Maki at Go For Broke National Education Center and Carolyn Sugiyama Classen at Southern AZ Japanese Cultural CoalitionAn Arizona native, Cat often feels pressure to be a picture-perfect Asian despite her unfamiliarity with her heritage. She meets Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, President and CEO of the Go For Broke National Education Center in Los Angeles, an organization that promotes equality by preserving the legacy of World War II American veterans of Japanese ancestry. Dr. Maki discusses how many Japanese Americans who were incarcerated by the...2023-05-2625 min