Marvel at the amazing and creative ways that writers can imagine Little Tokyo and expand the fictional boundaries of the Japanese American experience. This was the 10th anniversary of the Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest and the first time the ceremony was held in person since 2019.
In this celebration emceed by Tamlyn Tomita, Kevin Awakuni (English, Youth), Yuko Kaifu (Japanese language), and Iris Yamashita (English, Adult) represented their respective judges panels to present remarks and introduce the winning stories—“The Last Days of The Dandy Lion” by DC Palter (Adult); “One Thousand Cranes” by Jocelyn Doan (Youth); and “Color” by Miho Hirayama (Japanese). The stories were showcased with dramatic readings (pre-recorded) by actor Mika Dyo (Youth) and Mayumi Saco (Japanese). Actor Greg Watanabe read the Adult category winning story live.
All of the winning stories and honorable mentions can be read on Discover Nikkei:
https://discovernikkei.org/en/journal...
*The Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest heightens awareness of Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo by challenging both new and experienced writers to write a story that captures the spirit and essence of Little Tokyo and the people in it. Each category winner was awarded a cash prize. The contest is presented by Little Tokyo Historical Society in partnership with JANM’s Discover Nikkei project. For more information, go to https://littletokyohs.org.
* * * *
ABOUT DISCOVER NIKKEI
Beyond just a website, Discover Nikkei is an international network that celebrates cultural diversity and explores both global and local identities. The project connects generations and communities by sharing stories and perspectives of the Nikkei, people of Japanese descent who have migrated and settled throughout the world.
For more information about upcoming and past Discover Nikkei programs: https://discovernikkei.org/en/events/...
Support Discover Nikkei: https://discovernikkei.org/about/support
Discover Nikkei is a project of the Japanese American National Museum (https://janm.org), with major funding from The Nippon Foundation.
https://DiscoverNikkei.org