The Amazing Tashiro Family
This is the story of the Tashiro clan of Cincinnati, New England, North Carolina, and Seattle. Though oddly unheard of today, the Tashiros rank high in the category of diverse and accomplished Japanese American families, whose members distinguished themselves in medicine, science, sports, architecture, and the arts.
Stories from this series
Part 4 (2): Aiji Tashiro—Architect
March 5, 2024 • Greg Robinson
Read Part 4 (1) >> In 1938, Aiji Tashiro was recruited as a faculty member at Appalachian State Teacher’s College (today Appalachian State University) in Boone, North Carolina. He was one of the first Nisei engaged as a regular faculty member by an American university. He was assigned to teach History of Western Civilization and creative writing. In addition to his teaching duties, he was engaged as Landscape Architect. He would eventually design several buildings on campus, including what is …
Part 4 (1): Aiji Tashiro—Writer and Athlete
March 4, 2024 • Greg Robinson
The most eminent of the five children of Aijiro and Nao Tashiro was certainly their son Aiji (pronounced “I. G.”). A writer, athlete, architect, and landscaper, he spent the better part of a half-century pursuing his work. Unusually for a Nisei, he spent almost his entire career living and working in the American South, far from the centers of Asian American population. Aiji Tashiro, known as Tash, was born on July 6, 1908 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and spent his …
Part 3: Aiko Tashiro—Writer, Musician, and Activist
Dec. 11, 2023 • Greg Robinson
Among the five accomplished children of Aijiro Tashiro, daughter Aiko was perhaps the one who had the most disparate and far-flung career, as musician, journalist, and activist. Aiko Susanna Tashiro was born on July 2, 1911 in New Haven, Connecticut. As a girl, she moved with the rest of the family to Seattle, where she graduated Broadway High School in 1927. Later that year, she enrolled at Keuka College, a women’s college in upstate New York (where she was apparently …
Part 2: Ken Tashiro—Journalist
Oct. 20, 2023 • Greg Robinson
Read Part 1 >> Aijiro and Nao Tashiro had five children who had distinctive (and distinct) careers. Today I will speak of the eldest child of the family, Kenji Munn Tashiro, known as Ken. I will go on to explore the particular contributions of the other Tashiro children in separate columns. Ken Tashiro was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on April 17, 1906. The news of his birth was widely publicized in the mainstream press, as it was reportedly the first birth …
Part 1: Aijiro Tashiro—The Founder
Oct. 13, 2023 • Greg Robinson
One aspect of Japanese American history that I have been fascinated to uncover is that of family dynasties—the sagas of clans with multiple members who made outstanding commercial, scientific or artistic contributions. One such clan is the Tajiris, a family whose members included the journalists Larry Tajiri and his wife Guyo; the sculptor Shinkichi Tajiri; the photographer Vince Tajiri; and the writer/newspaperwoman Yoshiko Tajiri Roberts, as well as their multiple generations of creative descendants (such as the artists Giotta and …
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