2024 Story Circle of the Japanese Diaspora: Why Story — Online, Saturday, July 27, 2024, 10am – 12pm PDT
— a free international zoom event by storytellers, musicians, poets, & spiritual leaders and people like you
First Voice presents the 4th annual Story Circle of the Japanese Diaspora: Why Story, created and conceived by America’s first nationally recognized Asian American storyteller, Brenda Wong Aoki and Asian American jazz pioneer composer Mark Izu.
The Story Circle is a gathering and celebration of life, a place where our people can connect to one another, find solace and continue.
This year’s story circle features host Eryn Kimura (Hapa Gosei filmmaker & multimedia artist, San Francisco), Hafez Modirzadeh (Persian composer/musician, San Francisco) Kenny Endo (Taiko Master, Hawaii), Mas Koga (Shin-Issei musician/composer, New York), Derek Nakamoto (Hapa Sansei composer/musician Los Angeles), Sara Sithi-Amnuai (Hapa Nisei musician, Los Angeles) devorah major (3rd poet laureate of San Francisco), Alton Takiyama-Chung (master storyteller Hawaii), Eshu Bumpus (master storyteller Massachusetts), Motoko (Master storyteller, Massachusetts), PJ Hirabayashi (movement), Jason Finkleman (musician and professor of ethno musicology) and a digital collage designed by Andi Wong.
Facilitators are from all over the U.S., Hawaii, Canada, and Brazil.
Sharing our stories helps us to understand our history, its impact on our lives and lights the way to make future together.
The purpose of the annual Story Circle is to bring together the lost tribe of people of Japanese descent who were forced to scatter during the incarceration, embrace our mixed-race children, our new immigrants and our extended families in order to heal, comfort, & strengthen through the power of personal story.
All presenters and facilitators are artists, healers or spiritual leaders.
Story Circle of the Japanese Diaspora is produced by First Voice and commissioned by: The San Francisco Arts Commission, Supervisor Preston & District 5, Grants for the Arts, The Hewlett Foundation, the Office of Economic Workforce Development City and County of San Francisco.