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Kyoko Takenaka


Kyoko Takenaka (Jinjabrew) is a Shin Nikkei queer multi-media artist, singer-songwriter, filmmaker, and actress based in Los Angeles; recently their interest lies in combining all of these mediums. Their name Kyoko (響子) means “vibrations of sound child” in Japanese. Heavily influenced by artist-activists such as Fred Ho and Nina Simone, Kyoko believes in artistic expression as a conduit for personal and collective liberation. Their work centers on the hyphenated identity. Kyoko's work has been featured on the Bruce Lee podcast, performed at JANM, exhibited at Autograph ABP gallery in London (Chop Sueyism, 2016); and they premiered their first multi-media performance art show, ROOTED LOVE at Human Resources in Los Angeles. Their self-directed music video, Prince, was recognized by the Voiceless International Film Festival.

Updated May 2018


Stories from This Author

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Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column
Inspiration

May 17, 2018 • Kyoko Takenaka , Patty Ito Nagano , traci kato-kiriyama

From Shin Nikkei Kyoko Takenaka (aka Jinjabrew) and Sansei Patty Nagano, we have pieces that span various themes of inspiration. From Kyoko we have lovely and fierce words on “femme” themes, from mothers to sisterhood. And knowing that Patty had just returned from Japan, I asked her if she would graciously oblige by quickly putting something together from the inspiration that abounds in the springtime—so thankful that she did. Enjoy! —traci kato-kiriyama * * * * * Patty Ito Nagano …

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