Wood Dragon and Watermelon Sushi

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Are you ready to leave 2023 behind while embracing the incoming Wood Dragon?

While we’re still over a month away from Lunar New Year, we can already feel the excitement of what the Wood Dragon year will bring.

Watermelon Sushi

For us, it’s all about Watermelon Sushi. In fact, our Executive Producer, Lowell Douglas Ing, is a Dragon!

We’re almost ready for editing all the footage that Doug is currently having digitized. Besides adding new hip hop tunes to our decades-old project, we will also be incorporating animation to complete the story.

Follow us and stay updated. We’re everywhere!

You can heck out our website here:

https://www.watermelonsushi.com/

And, you can also meet us here on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/watermelonsushi

There are so many folks to thank for their dedication to this project over the years. Some are no longer with us on this planet. But here’s a partial list:

b.r. Winfrey

Rob Lee

the late Derrick Holmes

the late Jaz Dorsey

Darlene Romero

Joe Calhoun

Mike Reed and friends

Mia Gonzalez

Johl Smilowski

Pearl, Jr.

Quie Bwoy

Miwa Lyric

Larry Gamell, Jr.

the late Eric Eugene Doboy Williams

Our late Facebook Friends Jeffrey Daniels and Correnna L. White

All of our Hapa*Teez t-shirt supporters, although this is an incomplete list:

Cassie Hayes

Eva Abram

Julia Baker

Teri LaFlesh

Ejiro

Z Enterprises

Lisa M. Corey

Leslie Morishita

Lola Mann Smith

Corinne D. Spector

Carol Harris

C.A. Harris

Aja Robinson

Tracy Hatico

Rob Lee

Eva Abram

Ejiro

Julia Baker

Carol Harris

Cassie Hayes

Our gratitude also goes out to all the high school, colleges, universities, newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, and internet websites and community organizations that have invited us to speak and/or featured us in their publications and other media.

See you at the end of March when The Dragon will be in full force.

Akemashite Omedettou Gozaimasu, Hau'oli Makahik Hou, Happy New Year!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Autumn Announcements

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Here’s to a Happy Hapa Fall making all of your Autumn dreams come true.

At long last, ours are starting to manifest, and it appears that we’ll be producing our ‘Watermelon Sushi’ film next year.

Our esteemed Executive Producer, Lowell Douglas Ing, has already begun the process of having our old 16mm reels scanned and digitized for editing. With a mix of animation and other new-fangled editing processes, we'll be releasing a uniquely artistic film. Initially shot 25 years ago, ‘Watermelon Sushi’ will definitely benefit from today’s wizardly technology!

As for Doug, his own film, 'Alan @ Work' has been making the festival rounds. Next up for a screening is HIFF, in Doug's hometown:

https://hiff.org/events/alanwork/

filmmaker and EP Lowell Douglas Ing

Watermelon Sushi's original cast

One of our early 'Watermelon Sushi' producers is no longer with us, and we’d like to acknowledge his major contributions while promoting us in Japan. Arrigatou gozaimashita, Derrick Holmes!

producer Derrick Holmes

Meanwhile, we’re still presenting the ‘War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory’ series at various colleges and universities. The topic of women marrying their former enemies during WWII is always a hot button issue. And, we’ve really enjoyed participating in discussions about interracial marriages and mixed-race kids, too.

You can learn more about those films at this link:

Gumroad

There are also Youtube channels for ‘Watermelon Sushi’ and ‘War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory’:

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

If you’d like to learn more about our film productions, please visit our websites:

Starwheels

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

Tokyo Lily

Besides working on ‘Watermelon Sushi’, we’’re also in preproduction for ‘Tokyo Lily’, a film about a Japanese war bride who became a notable artist. The website for that movie should be available early next month. A graphic novel, ‘Lily Wisteria’, will eventually be published, too. And, of course, promo items like t-shirts, stickers and posters will be created and offered.

blogger Yayoi

Here’s where you can read more about ‘Tokyo Lily’:

heARTwork

iAmArtistYuriko

Please stay warm and toasty while you’re out there raking leaves. Or better yet, our little mixie fans, curl up with a ‘War Brides’ film or two. We love having your support!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi 

Summer of Bon

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Summer will be here in a minute ushering in Obon season around the world. Yes; around the world!

bon dancers

Even though Obon (or Bon Odori) is a dance event honoring Japanese ancestors, it’s now found in some places where no Japanese expats even live.

Further, some of the music played these days includes modern tunes like the Electric Slide!

You probably know that Obon is held annually at Buddhist temples in commemoration of those who have departed. It’s believed that their spirits return every summer, and family members celebrate by dancing.

Generally, participants dance to old Japanese folk tunes played over a loudspeaker. Sometimes, local taiko (drumming) groups even perform live.

taiko

Anyone can join in the dancing, but there are usually groups of dancers who have practiced at their temple throughout the year. They’re the leaders inside the dance circle performing steps that others can follow.

The theme of Obon appears in our War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory films titled The Culture. In Tamales 4 Bon Odori, the interviewee laments that she was not welcomed at her neighborhood Obon as a child because she was not accepted by Japanese Americans due to her father being Mexican.

Well, times are changing. Today, a lot of people at Obon festivals celebrated in the U.S. have no Japanese ancestry at all.

You can watch Tamales 4 Bon Odori here on Gumroad along with our other 4 war brides’ films:

Gumroad

Meanwhile, we’re still working on our Tokyo Lily film and Lily Wisteria graphic novel. And, of course, our feature Watermelon Sushi. Come back  here for updates.

You can also subscribe to our two Youtube channels:

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

And, remember to visit our websites:

Starwheels

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

Happy Bon! Happy Summer!

Planting Watermelons And Making Sushi

 Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Spring is in the air and planting season has begun. 

It’s a good time to get those Watermelon seeds into the ground. And, it’s a good time to eat more Sushi, too, particularly the vegan kind. Norimaki rolled with veggies, anyone?

Of course, those words are not-so-subtle references to our Watermelon Sushi feature narrative turned animation.

As we announced in our last post, filmmaker Doug Ing has come aboard as our Executive Producer. This multi-talented man recently had one of his documentaries accepted by SIFF, a major film festival in Seattle.

Omedettou gozaimasu, Doug!

Doug Ing in Honolulu

Doug Ing films Yuriko in Tacoma Washington                      

We’d also like to congratulate Yuriko-san on her fake birthday today. This incredible artist was actually born a month later, but her father forged her birth certificate so she could enroll in school when the semester began in April--instead of waiting another year.

upcoming projects

Anyway, our documentary film about her, Tokyo Lily, will be accompanied by a graphic novel, Lily Wisteria. The documentary will feature her life story and artwork, while the novel will showcase illustrations of WWII and the Occupation.

btw, Yuriko means ‘lily’ in Nihongo and her clan name, Naito, has a mon represented by the hanging wisteria plant.

While we’re tackling all these projects, we’re pumping up our Youtube channels, so please subscribe:

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

And, for your edutainment pleasure, the five 'War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory' films are currently available on Gumroad:

Gumroad

If you need more details about any of our projects, please navigate to our main websites:

Starwheels

Watermelon Sushi

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

Or, you can drop us a line, too. We’re always on the look out for more mixies like ourselves to spotlight on this blog.

Lifting up our fans with love and gratitude!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi