2022 Tabemasho-Let's Eat! - Gil Asakawa - SaturdayNEW

"Tabemasho!  Let's EAT!"
Nikkei Traditions of San Jose Japantown is excited to announce a Bay Area Japantown author book tour for the new book:  "Tabemasho!".  "Tabemasho" means 'Let's Eat' in Japanese.
The event will begin at 1:00 p.m. on October 15 (Saturday) at Yu Ai Kai Japanese American Community Senior Services in San Jose.

Yu Ai Kai has hosted several programs devoted to food and Nikkei Traditions of San Jose Japantown is excited to partner with them to bring author Gil Asakawa for some enlightening discussions about Japanese food and culture. 

The program at Yu Ai Kai will be hosted by the Yu Ai Kai Sansei Lecture Series group who have hosted a number of events revolving around Nikkei food culture such as food demos around pickling, Oshogatsu (New Year's celebratory foods) and Instant Pot cooking.   
'Tabemasho' is a tasty look at how Japanese food has evolved in America from an exotic and even 'gross' cuisine to acceptable popularity with sushi sold in supermarkets and ramen restaurants available everywhere.  The acceptance of Japanese foods in mainstream diets has grown from trendy sushi and teriyaki, to the inclusion of "umami" as the fifth sense of taste.  The history of Japanese foods in America is also an exploration of the struggle of acceptance and understanding in society.

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 history and Asian American identity.  Born in Tokyo, to a Nisei father (who was born in Hawaii) and a mother from Nemuro, Hokkaido, Gil's family moved to the United States when he was 8 years old. His journalism experiences includes being the music editor for Denver's alternative weekly newspaper, Westword and entertainment editor for the Colorado Springs Gazette daily newspaper to managing the Denver.post.com website. He has written for Rolling Stone magazine and published in Newsweek Japan. 

Asakawa is the former president of the Mile High chapter of the JACL (Japanese American Citizen's League), and a longtime columnist of the JACL's national newspaper, the Pacific Citizen.  He is also a contributor to the Japanese Canadian national newspaper, Nikkei voice and to the the Japanese American National Museum's Discover Nikkei website.  Asakawa is the author of 'Being Japanese American" (a history of the Japanese n America) and has co-authored "The Toy Book" (a history of the toys of the Baby Boom generation) "Tabemasho!" is Asakawa's third book.

The program will include a book talk by the author, a Q & A and will be followed by a book signing.  Books will be available for purchase at each event.  Nikkei Traditions of San Jose Japantown will donate a portion of the book sales from each event to each organization.  While there is no charge for this event, please register to assure ample seating at each facility.  Yu Ai Kai (588 North 4th Street, San Jose):  staff@yuaikai.org. For more information, please contact Yu Ai Kai.