Nikkei Australia is proud to be partnering with Discover Nikkei and the Japanese American National Museum for a free virtual program on February 27 exploring the food of the Japanese diaspora.
Join people from around the world for a presentation and discussion about what differentiates “Nikkei food” from “Japanese food”. Is it how Nikkei families and communities combine traditional foods with local ingredients (think: using Vegemite in place of miso)? How does the food you eat express your cultural identity? How does food help to connect your community and bring people together? What kinds of recipes have been passed down from generation to generation in your family?
This is a rare opportunity for Australian/NZ Nikkei to connect with other Nikkei across the globe. Come prepared to learn, reflect and share your story if you wish.
The program takes place via Zoom at the following times on Sunday February 27:
7am Perth
8:30am Darwin
9am Brisbane
9:30am Adelaide
10am Sydney/Canberra/Melbourne
12pm Auckland
Japanese-American writer, Gil Asakawa, will introduce and moderate the program. Shigeru Kojima, researcher at the Japanese Overseas Migration Museum in Yokohama, Japan, will make a presentation about Nikkei food. Participants will then have the opportunity to participate in facilitated small group discussions about the topic.
The main presentations will be in English with simultaneous translations available in Spanish and Portuguese. Small group sessions will be led by facilitators in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. In addition to the breakout sessions, the virtual rooms will be kept open for an hour following the formal program for an optional networking opportunity.
This program is FREE, but registration is required using the form below. Limited space is available, so sign up now!
REGISTER HERE (by 12pm Sydney time on Saturday, February 26).
Fore more information, see: www.discovernikkei.org/en/events/dn-programs/
Gil Asakawa is a journalist, editor, author and blogger who covers Japan, Japanese American and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) culture and social justice issues in blogs, articles and social media. He is a nationally-known speaker, panelist and expert on Japanese American and Asian American history and identity. He’s the author of Being Japanese American (Stone Bridge Press) and his next book, Tabemasho! Let’s Eat! (Stone Bridge Press), a history of Japanese food in America which will be published in 2022. His blog: nikkeiview.com.
Shigeru Kojima taught at Tokyo Gakugei University and helped establish the JICA Yokohama Japanese Overseas Migration Museum. He is a researcher (on call) at the Advanced Research Center for Human Sciences at the Waseda University. Some of his publications include Nikkei community no shorai to matsuri (The Future of Nikkei Community and Matsuri) in The Nanboku America no Nikkei bunka (Nikkei Culture in North and South America); “Nihonjin imin no rekishi kara zainichi nikkeijin wo kangaeru – Brazil ijyu 100 shunen to nikkei no shosou (Thinking about the Nikkei in Japan from the History of Japanese Immigrants – the 100th Anniversary).
