HAPA Summer!

 Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Can you believe that it’s been 20 years since we launched this blog?

In the beginning, there was so much HAPA-ning!

In 2020, for the first time in history, the U.S. Census allowed its citizens to choose more than one racial category to identify themselves. Those of you old enough to remember will recall previous nail-biting days filling out forms and trying to decide whether you were the same race as your mother or your father.

Up to that point, most of us had been told all of our lives what we were by other people who were nothing like us.

A few of us reluctantly chose the parent we most resembled in appearance which made no sense if you embraced both parents and their cultures. And, if you had one Black parent, you were considered Black, period, due to the One Drop Rule. It didn’t matter whether or not you were accepted or recognized as being Black by the Black Community. 

Even if your parents shared the same culture, i.e., being American, they still had different backgrounds due to their ethnicities. So, how to choose?

In those early days, we began rebelling and calling ourselves mixed-race, multiracial, multicultural, hapa, blasian, wasian and some even referred to themselves as being mulatto—a word that was once synonymous with mix-bred animals. 

Based on our personal experiences of being mixed, we wrote books, made films and organized conferences and festivals all honoring the mixed-race agenda.

Our film, Watermelon Sushi, has been in the works now for 28 years. Well, it’s been in existence, but only worked on sporadically. That is, until we acquired our executive producer, Doug Ing, who a few years ago, had all of our footage digitized. Now, we’re editing and utilizing AI for enhancements.

Please stand by. 

Juggling three films (including Tokyo Lily and Vegan Jin) seriously cuts down on our time. Therefore, we are directing you to our Hip Hapa Homeez group page on Facebook to discuss any issues surrounding multiculturalism.

Hip Hapa Homeez

We won’t be updating this blog until the end of 2026.

You can also check out these links for any news:

https://watermelonsushi.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/WatermelonSushi/videos

https://yayoiclanart.com/

https://www.redbubble.com/people/yayoiclanart/shop

https://www.teepublic.com/user/yayoiclanart

Here are our Facebook links:

https://www.facebook.com/watermelonsushi

https://www.facebook.com/hapateez

Enjoy a HAPA summer!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

HAPA New Year

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

your hip hapa

A serious question: Do you think that the mixed-race agenda has become obsolete?

Recently, a Moderator posted an article on Hip Hapa Homeez, a Facebook group that is for “…anyone who is biracial, blended, mestizo, mixed-race, multiethnic, transracially adopted, or who crosses cultures…” 

The posted video featured a young mixed Asian-white man complaining about not being accepted by both sides of his family.

Yawn. 

Seriously. I wondered how long this particular complaint has been around because about 25 years ago, I began writing for a plethora of publications that featured stories about the so-called “mixed-race experience”.

You might remember some of them—the pioneering Mavin magazine started by a young Korean-Irish American man in Seattle. 

There was also a fabulous internet website out of New York called SWIRL.

Additionally, there were group get togethers galore on campuses, museums and other venues. 

I believe the first mixed-race conference I attended was Hapa Issues Forum in Northridge. What an eye opener!

Later, I organized a panel for one of the annual Mixed Chicks Film and Literary Festivals in Los Angeles. That event featured numerous books and movies by and about mixed-race folks. 

One year, I traveled to Berkeley for the Hapa Japan Conference festivities where nearly every participant was half Japanese.

There seemed to be so much electricity in the air back in those days. We were all exploring our newly discovered mixed-race identities, and we were excited to share them with the world.

But over the years, it seems that we have moved on. Perhaps most mixed-race people no longer feel the need to search for validation of their identity. In fact, the young man in the video referenced above struck me as being outdated. It’s as if being mixed-race now is so common that it’s no longer a "thing".

Soon this blog, which was started in 2007, will also go the way of the dinosaur—which is not a bad thing. It just shows that we’ve progressed to no longer needing to proclaim our mixed-race heritages now that there are so many of us.

If you check out previous blog posts, you will note that there were many interviews with mixed-race actors, artists, authors, chefs, dancers, filmmakers, musicians and more. But these days, not many are promoting products exclusively for the mixed-race community.

Yayoi Clan Art banner

However, we at Watermelon Sushi World are still promoting ours. You can check us out on Redbubble and TeePublic where we offer buttons, mouse pads, phone covers posters, stickers and t-shirts.

Redbubble

Teepublic

Most of our current artwork is based on two of our films—"Tokyo Lily" and "Watermelon Sushi".

Tokyo Lily website

donor page

Watermelon Sushi website

Watermelon Sushi on Youtube

Watermelon Sushi on Facebook

Meanwhile, our “War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory” films are still available on Gumroad:

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/

War Brides of Japan website
War Brides of Japan on Youtube

War Brides of Japan on Facebook

And, recently, we learned that two of our photos will participate in the Smithsonian Japanese war brides traveling exhibit:

https://www.sites.si.edu/s/topic/0TO4z000000nTALGA2/japanese-war-brides-across-a-wide-divide

Additionally, we are the lucky recipients of a “spark” grant to complete a film about veganism called “What’s on your Palate?”

What's on Your Palate?

Stay with us, kids, and have a very HAPA new year!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

A New Year, A New Logo, A New (Old) Film

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! Akemashite Omedettou Gozaimasu! 

Best wishes for the happiest of new years to all of our loyal fans.

In our last post, we mentioned having an executive producer onboard to help complete Watermelon Sushi—first shot in 1998. Arrigatou! to the fabulous filmmaker Doug Ing for having our old footage digitized for easy editing.

Since Watermelon Sushi was not completed the first time (and the performers are now more than 20 years older), we will create an animated version of it. The story is still the same; still about two mixed-race sisters framed by nostalgic 1980’s rap and hip hop.

Please stay tuned as we produce a new logo in the next few weeks that will spearhead our crowdfunding efforts.

Speaking of new logos, we’re also working on another film, Tokyo Lily, which is a biopic of a Japanese war bride who married a Black American soldier and moved to segregated Texas in the 1950’s. Eventually, her family settled in another state where she studied traditional Japanese dance (playing male roles), became a painter and wrote haiku.

Additionally, we will have a graphic novel about the same bride titled, Lily Wisteria. 

Meanwhile, please subscribe to our two Youtube channels:

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

You can also view the 5 War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory films on Gumroad:

Gumroad

For more detailed information, please visit our main websites:

Starwheels

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

Here’s to peace and prosperity in 2023!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Falling Forward

 Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Here we are again, preparing for Fall. But the darker days and longer nights are actually a blessing. It will keep us in our studio where we will spend more time working on our creative endeavors.

For one, Watermelon Sushi (the movie) now has an Executive Producer. In the posts to come, we will name that person and the work they are doing for our film. Soon, we’ll be starting our fundraising campaign!

Yayoi introduces her family 

We also have our yet untitled documentary and graphic novel about a Japanese war bride artist. 

a war bride and an artist

And, we’ll be licensing artwork for both films in the very near future.

Have you stayed updated on our two Youtube channels?

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

While you’re there, please subscribe. 

You can also view the 5 War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory films on Gumroad:

Gumroad

Finally, here are the links to our films’ main websites:

Starwheels

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

As always, we’re open to interviewing mixed-race, multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial folks who are making a difference. Please drop us a line!

Meanwhile, our deepest mahalo to you—our fans since 2006—for your continuing support.

Have a beautiful autumn!

Your Hip Hapa, 

Yayoi

Summer Sun and Fun

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez! 

HAPA sunshine! 

cocktail, anyone?

Summer is here, but we won’t be lazing around in the sun sipping on a Watermelon Sushi cocktail, or munching on Watermelon and Sushi salad either. 

Nope. We're going to be too busy creating content for you, our mixie friends. 

First off, we have finally completed our short film, Native Vegan. This project was funded by a grant via VeganFlix Studios, and we are eternally grateful for that. 

You’ll be able to view it at our Watermelon Sushi Youtube channel, once it’s posted early next month:

https://www.youtube.com/c/WatermelonSushi/featured 

or watermelon sushi salad?

While you’re on Youtube, please check out our War Brides of Japan channel, too:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPemluw0stoTsx8yvz2tCrg/featured 

The 5 films that make up the series are currently available for (cheap) rent on Gumroad:

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com 

Finally, we have onboard an executive producer for the narrative, Watermelon Sushi. This film is about you and me, Dear Hip Hapa, so please stay in touch. 

You can see our updates at our website: https://www.watermelonsushi.com 

And, at our Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/watermelonsushi/ 

Or, Twitter: https://twitter.com/watermelonsushi 

We can’t thank you enough, our devoted supporters, for your financial and spiritual encouragement throughout these decades! 

cool rules!

Watermelon Sushi, the movie

We also have other projects on our plate, like the story of a Japanese war bride artist which will be both a documentary film and a graphic novel. 

https://lenastarwheels.wixsite.com/iamartistyuriko

http://heartworkbyyuri.blogspot.com

And, we’re in talks with a producer for a documentary film about the enslavement of African people in the U.S. Please enjoy your multi-culti summer, and drop us a line if you or someone you know would like to be featured on our next blog post. We’re always looking to write about interesting mixies like yourself. 

See you again this Fall. Meanwhile, stay cool because cool rules! 

Your Hip Hapa, 

Yayoi