Chasing Cherry Blossoms: Recent Episodes
@reina.unnun
A series featuring conversations with Japanese American women and beyond. While diversity and inclusivity are celebrated, how do people create community and build solidarity with others? Through an intimate look at their personal journeys and history, the series explores what it means to be Asian and American today.
Guest: 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 Higashtiani
Guest: Fumiko Sally Matsumoto Adams atJapanese 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
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
Guest: Dr. Patricia Allyn Biggs atManzanar 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 Higashtiani
Guests: Dr. Kathryn Nakagawa atArizona State University / Baseline Flowersand Donna Cheung atJapanese 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
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
Guests: Kathy Masaoka and Yasuko Sakamoto atLittle 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
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 parents 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 shop Bunkado. Dane talks about his experience as a fifth-generation Japanese American and the recent changes happening in Little Tokyo.
Produced by Tinnley Sawan Subsin
Guests: Michael Komai and J.K. Yamamoto at Rafu Shimpo
To 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 transition to the digital era, Rafu Shimpo survives by exploring partnerships and adapting to new reader demographics.
Produced by Catherine Jie Baxter
Guests: Dr. Mitchell Maki and Carolyn Sugiyama Classen
An 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 U.S. government during WWII experienced shame that drove them to reject their Japanese heritage.
Their discussion leads to Tucson, Arizona where Cat participates in a presentation by Carolyn Sugiyama Classen, former legislative aide for U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye. Carolyn details her contribution to the 1980s redress movement, for which she drafted a bill that led to an unprecedented apology and monetary redress from the government. She also shares the story of her father, who was expelled from USC due to his ancestry during WWII.
Produced by Catherine Jie Baxter
"Chasing Cherry Blossoms" is a podcast series featuring conversations with Japanese American women and beyond. While diversity and inclusivity are celebrated, how do people create community and build solidarity with others? Through an intimate look at their personal journeys and history, the series explores what it means to be Asian and American today.