traci kato-kiriyama
@traciakemitraci kato-kiriyama, they+she, based on unceded Tongva Land, is a queer Sansei/Yonsei Nikkei inter/multi/transdisciplinary artist, poet, actor, educator, and cultural producer. They are principal writer/performer of PULLproject Ensemble; author of Signaling (2011, The Undeniables) and Navigating With(out) Instruments (2021, Writ Large Projects), Director/Founder of Tuesday Night Project, and an award-winning audiobook narrator. traci is a community organizer with Nikkei Progressives and the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition and a recipient of several distinguished lectureships, fellowships, and residencies. traci's writing, work, and commentary has been featured in a wide swath of publications including NPR, PBS, and C-SPAN. Hosts for tkk’s performance, storytelling, poetry, teaching/facilitation, and speaking include The Smithsonian, The Getty, Skirball Cultural Center, Hammer Museum, and many more.
tkk has been curating the Nikkei Uncovered: poetry column since its inception in 2016, and has recently been dabbling in a new passion with film (co-directing, dramaturgy, production). (Profile image by Raquel Joyce Fujimaki)
Updated December 2024
Stories from This Author
Feasting
Nov. 20, 2025 • Aaron Caycedo-Kimura , Syd Westley , Erica Isomura , traci kato-kiriyama
As a (pre)Holiday season treat, we are grateful to share a piece from each of the poets who will be featured in our annual Nikkei Uncovered poetry event, happening on Tuesday, December 9, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. (PST), in the virtual space through the Japanese American National Museum. We have a small feast here of text and visual poetics from Aaron Caycedo-Kimura, Erica Isomura, and Syd Westley. Enjoy! —traci kato-kiriyama * * * * * Aaron Caycedo-Kimura is a writer, visual …
Jackpots and Blurry Photos
Oct. 16, 2025 • Patricia Aya Williams , J. Lisa Oyama , traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we have the privilege of sharing poetry from the West Coast—a trio of pieces on her mother by San Diego-based, Shin Nisei, Patricia Aya Williams, and one from Bay Area-based, “Nisei-han,” J. Lisa Oyama, about her Dear Obaachan. Whether a blurry photo or a jackpot of memories, all the poems here contend with memory, curiosity, and the details we sometimes hang onto as the past lives on very deeply in the present. Enjoy... —traci kato-kiriyama * * * …
Moving Through
Sept. 18, 2025 • Risa Naomi-Mun Kurosaki , traci kato-kiriyama
This month, I am happy to present poetry from Risa Naomi-Mun Kurosaki, a queer Yonsei artist I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in beloved spaces we share in common, namely Descanso Gardens and Tuesday Night Cafe, both tied to the written word and then conversations about theater. Here Risa’s selections share a kind of wondrous navigation through introspection, action, and relations near and far, and necessary…enjoy. — traci kato-kiriyama * * * * * Risa Naomi-Mun Kurosaki is a queer …
Existence
Aug. 21, 2025 • Susan Kiyo Ito , traci kato-kiriyama
To exist is to remember. To exist is to resist. Susan Kito Ito’s poem (also featured in The Gate of Memory, edited by Brynn Saito and Brandon Shimoda, 2025) reminds us of the countless points and turns of a long, wild route to understanding and coming into self, or even into family and community. She reminds us of the infinite diversity within the Nikkei community and thankfully, includes us in her journey by sharing her words here. Enjoy! —traci kato-kiriyama …
Arrival
July 17, 2025 • Lauren Emiko Ito , traci kato-kiriyama
This month, we’re happy to feature two poems from San Francisco-based poet Lauren Ito. These poems are included in the recent collection edited by Brynn Saito and Brandon Shimoda, The Gate of Memory: Poems by Descendants of Nikkei Wartime Incarceration (Haymarket Books, 2025), and bring us to a moment of dedication to those before us, and contemplation for what we carry with us wherever we arrive and whether we “belong”, knowing “breath is never promised.” Enjoy… —traci kato-kiriyama * * …
Wishes and Ghost Guards
June 26, 2025 • D Hideo Maruyama , traci kato-kiriyama
This month, as we feel the burdens and responsibilities of the world’s weight all around us, poetry is oftentimes what we need to keep us grounded and lifted through the work, the calls to action, the collective strife. D Hideo Maruyama is an educator, editor, and writer based in Los Angeles and his recent collection, Taiko Quartz Beat (World Stage Press, 2025), lends us two pieces of poetic balm, Obakes by JANM and What I want is a routine—offering apersonal, …
Here
May 15, 2025 • Leesa Nomura , traci kato-kiriyama
We are honored to celebrate Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (APIHM) with the poetry of activist and creative, Leesa Nomura—of Samoan and Japanese descent and an inspiring abolitionist who I had the pleasure of meeting when she performed at the API RISE gala in 2024. This piece allows us to imagine the long journey of generations that brought us to this moment of community, here, now. I invite us all to seek out Leesa and continue to be lifted through …
Diminishing for No One…
April 17, 2025 • Patrick Shiroishi , traci kato-kiriyama
This month’s theme is derived directly from the first poem here from Patrick Shiroishi, a dynamic multidisciplinary artist and musician based here in Los Angeles—who I had the privilege of meeting at our recent celebration of The Gate of Memory anthology (eds. Brynn Saito and Brandon Shimoda). Patrick and his work, memories and ancestors are “diminishing for no one” and his poetry here carries us through the ways we remember, make declarations of being in this continuum, and dare to …
Surging
March 20, 2025 • Richard Hamasaki , Miya Iwataki , traci kato-kiriyama
It’s hard to believe that this month we celebrate the 100th edition of Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column! We wanted to feature two poets for this special milestone—Hawai‘i based poet & filmmaker Richard Hamasaki, and Los Angeles based writer & community leader Miya Iwataki. Each of their poems have a fight emerging through their phrases, urging us to remember, towards poetry that “ruptures imprisoned memories,” towards our “cultural soul,” towards action and community. Both Miya and Richard have poetry featured …
No Murallas
Feb. 20, 2025 • Erica Isomura , traci kato-kiriyama
Tkaronto/Toronto, Ontario-based writer-artist Erica Isomura lends us a moment of action captured in this month’s dynamic poem, “Haibun for February 19”—harkening back to efforts to shut down down detention centers in 2020, while cycling right to the present. This month, there are Day Of Remembrance commemorations all around the country and this selection reminds us to keep showing up now. The dream is still ahead of us—No Walls, indeed. This poem is featured in the forthcoming anthology, The Gate of …
Discover Nikkei Updates
Guest host Tamlyn Tomita chatted with actor Christopher Sean in the latest episode of Nima Voices about his background, acting, and community involvement.
WATCH NOW!
Tuesday, December 9
Hosted by traci kato-kiriyama. Featuring Aaron Caycedo-Kimura, Erica Isomura, and Syd Westley
