
Nima-kai
Nima-kai Search



Lauren (Ren) Markle is the Human Resources and Finance Assistant for the Japanese American National Museum. Ren is from the island of O’ahu and relocated to Los Angeles in Spring 2023. They are a mixed Native Hawaiian, 5th generation Nikkei, and 3rd generation Taiwanese diaspora.



Peruvian-Japanese Born in Peru, Living in Japan. My Grand grand father was from Niigata and from the first group of japanese migrants to Peru.

Husband of sansei woman. We met in college Japanese language class and married


Hi! I'm Roxsy a Latinx author/illustrator. I grew up in Merida, a tiny little town in Venezuela. My grandpa, his faithful Dachshund dog, and I enjoyed going to the Farmers Market almost every day. The endless colors of the market amazed my little girl’s heart, and I remember using my crayons until there was nothing but a chubby stump as I kept trying to sprinkle my drawings with the shops’ vibrancy. I live and breathe Children's Books because I believe they can foster community, empathy, and compassion, bringing light to the most challenging times. You can visit me at: www.roxsylin.com @roxsylin





- senior citizen - born and raised in San Francisco, CA - San Francisco State College & University of Southern California - enjoy most sporting events, landscapes/horticulture...



I am a Seattle based, hafu Shin Issei with a strong interest in JA history and literature.


I am an Okinawan Nikkei from Mexico, I am doing my master's degree in anthropology and doing research on the Obon festival and its parallelism with the Day of the Dead.

Hello i'm masumi. i'm a japanese-brazilian, born and raised in america, and i'm trying to be more proud of myself.


Marsha Takeda-Morrison is a third-generation Japanese-American writer living in Los Angeles with her husband and two teenage daughters. She chronicles her family’s life on her personal blog, Sweatpantsmom, writes about parenting for Mom.me and dishes on teen celebrities for Celebrity Teen Scoop. She frequently covers pop culture and has interviewed the likes of Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, Kim Kardashian and Mila Kunis. While she spends a lot of time in Hollywood she has never had plastic surgery, given birth to an actor’s child or tried out for the cast of ‘Glee.’ Yet.



20 years old, currently living in Guarulhos, São Paulo. Son of Marlon Miyazato and Patricia Vidal.
Nima of the Month
Learn about some of our favorite Nima and what they like about Discover Nikkei.

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.
Are you a Nima*?
*The term “Nima” comes from combining Nikkei and nakama (Japanese for “colleagues”, or “fellows”, or “circle”).
Discover Nikkei Updates

Join us for a book talk, reception, and panel discussion on Japanese Canadian history. The panel discussion will also be live-streamed via Zoom!

