Asian Descent > Japan Archives

Mary Yamashita Nagao

As a Japanese-American woman living through World War II, Mary Yamashita Nagao (1920-1985) was interned at the Manzanar Relocation Center in Owens Valley, California under Executive Order 9066.

Yuri Kochiyama

Japanese American activist who dedicated her life to the pursuit of social justice, not only for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, but all communities of color.

Mara Huling Langevin

The first minority female aviator in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Lynne Yoshiko Nakasone

Lynne Yoshiko Nakasone dedicated her life to Okinawan dance through teaching, performing, and choreographing original dances to enrich the art form’s repertoire.

Sosei Shizuye Matsumoto

The US’s most influential teacher and accomplished master of chado tea ceremonies

Sakata has been a professional actress since the early 1980s and has performed in film, television, and theater. She made her playwriting debut with Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi in 2007.

Gertrude Yukie Tsutsumi

Gertrude Yukie Tsutsumi, also known by her stage name Onoe Kikunobu, is one of the premier nihon buyo (Japanese classical dance) artists in Hawaii and has been studying the tradition for more than 50 years.

Hua Wenyi

Internationally renowned kunqu (Chinese opera) singer

P J Hirabayashi

The founders of San Jose Taiko, Roy and PJ Hirabayashi have helped to create a new Asian-American art form by infusing the traditional rhythms of Japanese drumming with musical and cultural influences from around the world.