Enter the Dragon with War Brides, Watermelon Sushi and Tokyo Lily

 Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Welcome to the New Year of the Wood Dragon (as of February 10). So far, the charming and fiery creature has propelled us forward—and, fast.

dragon time

For one, we are now in possession of our original ‘Watermelon Sushi’ reels converted to 8K! The footage is just gorgeous, subtly vintage, and with an authentic 1980’s look.

watermelon sushi

Thanks to our Executive Producer, Lowell Douglas Ing--a Dragon himself, we will now complete the film that’s been languishing for decades!

dragon Doug Ing

Currently, we’re busy editing, but we’ll soon be recruiting animators, composers and voice actors for some scenes that weren’t shot the first time around. If you fit any of those talent and crew categories, please get in touch with us.

Meanwhile, we’re also working on ‘Tokyo Lily a war bride docu*memory’. This film is a continuation of the ‘War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory’ five-part series that was released in 2019. But the focus of ‘Tokyo Lily’ is on one war bride who eventually became an artist.

Tokyo Lily

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

Ironically (or not), today is ‘Tokyo Lily’s’ fake birthday. Unbelievably, she celebrated two. Since the cut off date for the birthdays of kids starting school in Japan is April 1, 'Tokyo Lily’s’ father reported her birth as March 31. So even though ‘Tokyo Lily' was really born on Buddha’s April 8 birthday, she commemorated both. Otanjoubi omedettou gozaimasu, Yuriko-san!

Since we’re using some of the same sources for both ‘Watermelon Sushi' and ‘Tokyo Lily, a war bride docu*memory’, we’ve made a slight change in our donation link. Please note that any contributions you make may be marked either for ‘Watermelon Sushi’ or ‘Tokyo Lily’. 

Additionally, ‘Tokyo Lily’ has her own crowdfunding page here:

https://crowdfundr.com/tokyo-lily?ref=ab_bCoUv9_ab_3e8AhlTqLsY3e8AhlTqLsY

It goes without saying that none of these projects could exist without you, our generous supporters. We truly appreciate you!

Please visit our December post below to learn about some of our most ardent contributors.

Here are some links to where you can stay updated:

Watermelon Sushi website

Watermelon Sushi on Youtube

Watermelon Sushi on Facebook

Tokyo Lily website

War Brides of Japan website
War Brides of Japan on Youtube

War Brides of Japan on Facebook

Let’s meet again in June, mina-san! have a Hapa Haru (spring)!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Celebrations, Commemorations And Birthdays

I was born between May Day and Cinco de Mayo--both holidays with rebellious significance.

Celebrated on May 1, May Day was originally a pagan commemoration of summer (back when February 1 was considered to be the first day of spring). Later, May 1 was chosen as the day to honor laborers internationally--although it originated in America in the 1880's when workers demanded an 8-hour work day. There's quite a history attached to May Day, and the deadly events that took place at Haymarket Square in Chicago resulting in anti-Communist hysteria, but I won't go into the details here--not on a blog that's supposed to focus on mixed-race issues.

As for Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May is celebrated as Mexican Independence Day, but is really in recognition of the Battle of Puebla which Mexicans won over the French in 1862.

Then, there's Boys Day in Japan which is also celebrated on May 5. Although there's not necessarily rebellious behavior connected with it, Boys Day is still about boys and you know how combative they can be. Called Tango no Sekku, Boys Day originated in China and was renamed Kodomo no Hi when it became a national holiday in Japan and incorporated Girls Day (Hinamatsuri, held March 3). On May 5, koinobori (carp windsocks) are flown for each child in a family. Considered to be a courageous fish because they swim upstream, the carp symbolizes strength that parents hope their children will inherit. Families also display samurai dolls, helmets and swords, and serve mochi in celebration of the fifth day of the fifth month.

Because those first few days of May are jam-packed with celebrations, commemorations and festivals, I'm honored that people still remember to send me birthday greetings. Thank you, my dear friends and family!

Oh, and HAPA birthdays to Miwa Lyric and Kimora Lee Simmons who share my May 4 day of birth. What are you ladies doing to celebrate this year?

That's a pix of me celebrating birthday number 25, I think.

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

P.S. Soon after my last post about Haruo McKinley, I googled his name and found an ex military man who is also looking for him. Evidently, they were stationed at a few Army posts together. Stay tuned, and maybe there'll be some interesting news up ahead.