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Mitch Homma @mhomma

My name is Mitch Homma. I’m a sansei who grew up and still resides in Southern California. In addition to working as a software and aerospace engineer for a small Chantilly, Virginia based company, my interests include Japanese history and Christianity in Japan. In my spare time, I work on publishing some family items that I believe are important to history and hope it inspires other to do the same. I contribute to three different Discover Nikkei albums which are based on my family’s photo albums, documents, and stories. My current albums contain items from Amache and Heart Mountain Internment Camps as well as Gardena Valley Baptist Church, which 4 generations of family attended. The Amache and Heart Mountain albums are being updated as I come across related photos while still searching through hundreds of photos in boxes. I am also working on two other albums which may be published in the future. Both albums are based on recently uncovered photos and documents. One collection is based on Christianity in Japan (1890-1930) and the pre-WWII Southern California Japanese Christian Federation of churches. The second documents my 2008 trip back to Japan and Amache to see my family history first hand. This album includes pre-WWII and today’s photos of my family’s sites, Japan relatives, and finally my father and his sibling’s emotional closure when visiting Amache during JANM’s Enduring Communities Conference field trip.

Torrance, California, United States of America Nima since 2006 last login 4 months ago

Nima of the Month

Learn about some of our favorite Nima and what they like about Discover Nikkei.

Manuel Okata @ManuelOkata

Miami, Florida, United States of America

Manuel Okata was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba. He studied visual arts at the Benny Moré Arts Academy and the Cuban University of the Arts in Havana, where he graduated from the Scenic Design program in 2020. Since he was a child, his family was always very connected to the Nikkei community. In 2017, Manuel had the honor of meeting the former prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, which sparked him to take on a more active role in the community. In 2019, he traveled to Japan to study Japanese language and culture through the MEXT program, and had the opportunity to reconnect with several family members.

Manuel became a Discover Nikkei volunteer in 2024. He has lent his illustration and graphic design skills to our site and our social media accounts, including creating an Oshogatsu illustration for our email newsletter and Instagram and revamping our Nikkei Uncovered poetry column logo. We are so grateful for Manuel’s creative contributions to making our site a more vibrant and colorful place, and we’re excited to share more of his work in the coming months!

How did you learn about Discover Nikkei and why did you decide to become a volunteer?

After returning from Japan, I continued my activities within the Comité Gestor of the Japanese colony in Cuba, in charge of areas related to education and culture, alongside Susana Oye. Through her, I learned about the project called Discover Nikkei. A year ago I arrived in the United States, and I wanted to find a way to stay connected with the Nikkei community here, which is why I decided to offer myself as a volunteer and collaborator with Discover Nikkei through illustration and design. I hope in the future to remain connected and connect further with all the Nikkei here and around the world.

How do you connect to your Nikkei identity?

I think I connect with my Nikkei identity through my day-today, even in my projects. It’s part of who I am and I feel proud. In my work, I try to fuse my cultural roots, like I myself am: a mix of various nationalities and identities.

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*The term “Nima” comes from combining Nikkei and nakama (Japanese for “colleagues”, or “fellows”, or “circle”).
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July 12 • Burnaby, British Columbia
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NIKKEI CHRONICLES #14
Nikkei Family 2: Remembering Roots, Leaving Legacies
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