“Some people aren’t going to know they’ll miss us until we’re gone.”

– Michael Komai, publisher of Rafu Shimpo

For 113 years, the Rafu Shimpo newspaper has endured. It has devotedly told the story of the Japanese American community in Southern California. 

It even survived World War II, despite its writers and editors being forced into incarceration camps. Eldest son Akira Komai took over the paper when his father, Toyosaku Komai, was arrested by the FBI with others labeled “enemy aliens” hours after Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor. Just before he, too, was forced to go, Akira hid the newspaper’s Japanese lead type in hopes that the Rafu could one day restart.

Below, you can see the last issue published before they left. There’s a letter to readers on the front page in that April 4, 1942 issue, headlined, “We’ll meet again.” On Jan. 1, 1946, the paper resumed publishing.

Now, there’s one force it might not survive: the economy. 

The paper has lost $750,000 over the last three years, and it’s expected to lose $350,000 this year.

Now if the paper doesn’t raise about $500,000 in revenue — by more than doubling its subscribers — it could close in December. This would be the end of one of the last English-Japanese dailies in the U.S. – and the oldest. Rafu Shimpo which literally means Los Angeles newspaper, started in 1903 as a mimeographed sheet put together by three USC students. 

To this day, only the Rafu covers every single summer Obon festival, the annual Nisei Week celebration in Little Tokyo, and numerous community events from awards dinners to bazaars. It marks the triumphs and transitions of Japanese Americans in our area, from graduations to deaths. 

“Those kind of successes in the community are only going to be here,” said Gwen Muranaka, the paper’s English editor-in-chief.

Times’ reporter Samantha Masunaga recently wrote about the paper’s plight. You can learn more about the community’s response so far and see other front pages in her story. 

Photos by Los Angeles Times

”One of the biggest tools for getting people ‘woke’ is art. You can move people with art, and once you move them, you can create consciousness, and change. You can’t just tell people to register to vote and be done with it.”

– Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed, an activist and host of the Good Muslim Bad Muslim podcast

These three Angelenos were among 10 people the White House honored as “Champions of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.” With Taz are Jason Fong, a high school student and creator of the #MyAsianAmericanStory hashtag, and Jenny Yang, a writer and stand-up comedian.

@dex​ spoke with them recently about comedy, community, the impact of whitewashing in Hollywood, the Peter Liang trial and other timely topics. You can check that out here.

Photo by Jenny Yang

Must-Read Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

[via Penguin Random House]

This Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, celebrate the many cultures and stories within the AANHPI community with books by authors of Asian, East Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage and cultures. #RepresentAsianStories

1. The Farm by Joanne Ramos
2. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
3. Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
4. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
5. When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry
   
6. Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
7. A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
8. Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
9. Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
10. Exhalation by Ted Chiang
11. The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
12. America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
13. Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian
14. Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
15. The Fervor by Alma Katsu
16. If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
17. How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang
18. Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
19. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
20. Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
21. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

…

Click through to see more titles.

Another pic of Hemite from my webtoon “Match Undone”. Ep 3 is up to read now!

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/match-undone-h/list?title_no=442472

Here’s a pic of Hemite from the first ep of my Webtoon “Match Undone”. The first two eps are up now to read!

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/match-undone-h/list?title_no=442472

Did I give him an emo haircut to avoid drawing the other eye? Maybe…..

I’d originally had a different color palette for my Webtoon and then decided to change it, luckily after I’d only done 2 panels and not more. I have to say I love what it is now. It’s like Neapolitan ice cream and navy. 

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/match-undone-h/list?title_no=442472

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/match-undone-h/list?title_no=442472

The Webtoon short story is up!! It’s called “Match Undone” 

“ Wayru makes a deal with a god of love: he gets to know everyone’s future matches to make his work with the town soothsayer easier, but no one will ever deeply love him. No biggie right? He isn’t concerned with someone falling for him as long as he’s making some big bucks and catching girls’ attention in other ways. That is, until Rayena comes into town and for once, Wayru is hoping she falls for him, because he’s fallen for her. Will there be a way to break the deal or are there consequences? “

It’s chibi Wayru! A character from my Webtoon. Really love his lil legs.

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/match-undone-h/list?title_no=442472

archivesofamericanart:

In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we’re reading this illustrated poem by landscape painter Reuben Tam (1916-1991). Tam’s work was deeply influenced by coastal landscapes both in Maine and in his native Hawaii. 

This 1939 poem, “Converted Native” was found amidst his diaries, which often include unpublished writings, poems, and sketches. Browse the papers at http://s.si.edu/2prX1lG