Nima-kai
Nima-kai Search
Docent at the Japanese American National Museum since 2010, The Gamble House in Pasadena, and The Shoya House of The Huntington Library. Jazz Musian / The Jazz Compass Band San Jose State University / Advertising Major / worked in Advertising agencies
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Edson A. Kodama is Architect graduated at Mackenzie University and held scholarship at Kagoshima University at the prefecture of his ancestors. Alumni of AOTS-Association of Overseas Technical Scholarship, Kodama worked at Nikken Sekkei LTD in Osaka as architect before returning to his home town to join as partner at an architectural project and construction office, Sekkei Arquitetura e Construção Ltda. Former member of Brazil Baseball National Team, in 1993 he was elected president of JCI Brazil-Japan in São Paulo, he then held several positions at JCI-Junior Chamber International World Headquarters in Chesterfield, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA, holding the position of the Secretary General of the worldwide organization from 2004 until 2013. Kodama is member of the Board of Directors of St. Louis Japanese Language School and member of International Council at University of Missouri, St. Louis. Former Counselor of International Development at Saraya Co. Ltd and worked in the expansion of the group through Latin America and the group relations with WHO-World Health Organization, United Nations and its agencies. He lives in White Plains, New York, USA with his wife Cristina (Brazilian Nikkey Sansei) and have a daughter Naomi who lives in Brooklyn, NY (Nikkey, born in Miami, FL, USA). Currently he is the representative of SARAYA Co. Ltd/Japan for Brazil and Director of 3JP Solutions in São Paulo, Brazil.
Argentian-Japanese from La Plata (Argentina). Living in Sapporo (Japan) since 1996. Criminalist (BA@UBA), Ergonomics (M.Sc.&Ph.D.@HOKUDAI), Former Police Inspector (@Provincia de Buenos Aires), Former Senior Researcher (@CERI), Freelance Consultant, and President of Argentinian Nikkei Association in Hokkaido.
Peruvian sansei with Okinawan background. Now she works as a freelance translator (English/Spanish), freelance writer and designer for Chimujusan (“courageous” in uchinaaguchi), a brand developed together with her boyfriend. She writes for her blog Jiritsu.
My name is Roberto Oshiro Teruya, I am an electronic engineer by profession, but I am also a trader. I live in Lima, Peru. My grandparents came from Okinawa. My interest is to find out about my roots.
Yonsei living in Japan. Working as Engineering Manager for Google Maps full time, volunteering for Discover Nikkei as a technical consultant. Member emeritus of organizing committee for Copani San Fransisco 2019, and regular attendee of Copani and Kaigai Nikkeijin Taikai. Past lives include bio researcher, teaching, consumer science, startup engineering. linkedin.com/in/momoto
Fernando Nakasone Nozoe, Nikkei Yonsei born in Lima (1965), is a systems engineer with a Master's degree in Marketing and Business Management, an MBA and Applied Neuroscience. He is currently a professor at the UTP Graduate School. He has been President of Nishihara Chojinkai for 10 years, Vice President of the Okinawan Association of Peru and Director of Organization of the Peruvian-Japanese Association. He is currently President of the Nishihara Chojinkai Centennial Commission of Peru.
Ana Karina Martinez Lorenzo is a graduate of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana with a degree in History, with an interest in Japanese immigration and military history. She has researched the Japanese internment camps in the U.S. and participated in academic colloquia on migration, allowing her to delve deeper into topics related to Japanese history and culture. She is passionate about historical outreach and seeks to contribute to knowledge about the history of the Nikkei community through research and writing.
Vice President of the Management Committee of the Association of the Japanese Colony of Cuba
OUR MISSION私達の使命 A space to engage, share, and embrace the Nikkei experience and culture.日系の経験と文化に関わり、共有し、受け入れる空間 OUR VISION私たちのビジョン The GVJCI envisions a vibrant network and a welcoming space for all persons interested in Japanese heritage and culture where history and tradition are honored, people are inspired to create action and change, and cultural pride and respect for all humanity are promoted.ガーデナバレーJCIは歴史と伝統が尊重され、日本文化と伝統に興味のある全ての人々のために活気に満ちたネットワークと親しみやすい空間を理想としており、そして歴史と伝統が讃えられ、人々が行動と変化を起こすよう鼓舞され、全人類に対する文化的誇りと尊敬が促進されることを理想としています。 Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (GVJCI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community center providing various classes, services and programs for seniors, non-senior adults and youth in the South Bay of Los Angeles County for over 50 years. Our mission is to create a space to engage, share, and embrace the Nikkei experience and culture. We are a hidden gem located on the border of the cities of Gardena and Torrance, and the beautiful Southern California beach cities.ガーデナバレーJCIは50年以上に渡って住宅、多種のクラス、サービス、シニアから子供達までいろいろな年齢の方々のためのプログラムをサポートする非営利団体です。私達の使命は日系コミュニティのニーズに応えることです。教育、文化、社会プログラムを通して、日本文化そして日系社会の文化を分かち合うことです。私たちはガーデナ市とトーランス市、そして南カリフォルニアの美しいビーチ街との境界に位置する隠れた名所です。
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.
Fourth generation Nikkei, fluent in both English and Japanese after living in Tokyo for about 6 years. Living in Japan was an amazing experience, but it's definitely too hot during the summer. Glad to be back in CA. Now happily married to my wife that I met in Tokyo, working as an interpreter/designer, and addicted to coffee.
Chase Hastings currently assists with uploading and setting up articles at Discover Nikkei. He was drawn to Discover Nikkei by his interest in Japanese American history. He currently enjoys reading articles about Japanese-language media in Japanese diaspora communities. In his freetime you can find him drinking coffee, learning how to contra dance, or reading.
I write and currently live in the Los Angeles area with my husband. My mother was from Kamakura, my father is a New Englander of French Canadian ancestry, and I was born in Kobe and raised in SoCal, Guam, and Japan. You can read more about my writing at www.marilesperance.com. よろしくお願いします!
KATSUO HIGUCHI, a Brazilian Nisei, was born in the city of Pompéia, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, but spent his childhood until he was 12 years old in Tupã, another city in the same state. He has lived in the capital, São Paulo, for many years, where he graduated in Law, married a Nisei, and has 3 children and 2 granddaughters. Practically his entire professional life has been focused on the area of Human Resources, where he specialized in dealing with “people”, his passion. He was an executive, director and businessman. Another passion he has always had was “writing”. Since he was young, he contributed to school and company newspapers and, sometimes, he dared to send articles to newspapers in the Japanese community of SP, which were published daily. He has been contributing to the newspaper NippoBrasil for some time now and, recently, he had the pleasure of being accepted as a Contributor to Discover Nikkei.
Nima of the Month
Learn about some of our favorite Nima and what they like about Discover Nikkei.
Matthew Sueda is a Yonsei based in Hawaiʻi. Matt began volunteering for Discover Nikkei in late 2024 and has written stories about Issei photographer George Masa, an exhibition about ceramicist and educator Minnie Negoro, and Amy “Emiko” Hever, the Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Trust.
Matt works in tourism management with a focus on destination stewardship. He holds degrees from the University of Tokyo and from Swarthmore College, where he majored in Japanese. He also volunteers with the Hawaiʻi Japanese Center, supporting its archival and exhibition efforts.
What do you like most about Discover Nikkei?
Discover Nikkei provides a thoughtful space for voices from across the global Nikkei community. I appreciate the platform’s attention to context and the way it highlights both shared heritage and individual journeys. Interviewing people from different walks of life and learning from their stories has been a privilege, and I look forward to contributing more in the future.
How do you connect to your Nikkei identity?
I connect to my Nikkei identity through language and the community histories around me. Volunteering with the Hawaiʻi Japanese Center has given me a chance to work with documents and artifacts that reflect the everyday lives of Hawaiʻi’s Nikkei families. Many of these materials are in Japanese, and engaging with them has helped me better understand the challenges and hopes of earlier generations. It’s been a grounding experience and a reminder that our stories are interconnected.
Are you a Nima*?
*The term “Nima” comes from combining Nikkei and nakama (Japanese for “colleagues”, or “fellows”, or “circle”).
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