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Find the Uchinaaguchi in this article! • _____ nu hanashi • Chichibusan/chichibusaibiin • Yeisaa nu chimu-don-don  Stephanie Ajifu, Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Los Angeles (RMDLA) Branch Leader and a longtime OAA volunteer, recently participated in an online event, “Yeisaa nu Chimu-Don-Don: Exploring Cultural Identity through Okinawan Drumming” ("Heartbeat of Eisaa") hosted by the Japanese American National Museum’s Discover Nikkei.  Stephanie was also interviewed by Discover Nikkei's Karen Kawaguchi and talks about her family, growing up surrounded by culture, her identity as Okinawan and Nikkei, and performing traditional Ryūkyūan dance (which she has studied since the age of four!). She also introduces the origins of Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko, the formation of the L.A. branch, and her role as the current L.A. branch leader. Read the interview here: tinyurl.com/discovernikkei-ajifu Discover Nikkei is a community website about Nikkei identity, culture, and history. The goal of this project is to provide an inviting space for the community to share, explore, and connect with each other through diverse Nikkei stories, experiences, and perspectives. The DiscoverNikkei.org site is a cornerstone program of the Nikkei Legacy Project, a project of the Japanese American National Museum, with major funding by The Nippon Foundation.  OAA Executive Director Yuko Yamauchi was recently interviewed by Laura Dux, a fifth generation Okinawan journalist from Hawai‘i, as part of NPR's Next Generation Radio mentorship program. The mentorees' articles, audio recordings, and corresponding webpages premiered on March 15th at the University of Southern California (USC)'s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and are now available online and as a downloadable magazine.  In the audio segment produced by Dux, Yamauchi talks about reconnecting with her Ryūkyūan identity through traditional music, the sanshin, and OAA as a place to call home. The accompanying article (also written by Dux) dives deeper into exploring Yamauchi's family and identity journey, her experiences in Okinawa, and a little bit about the OAA's history. Yuko nu hanashi (Yuko's talk) chichibusan/chichibusaibiin (I want to hear)! Read Laura's article and listen to Yuko's interview here: tinyurl.com/nextgenradio-yamauchi Download the magazine (PDF): tinyurl.com/nextgenradio-yamauchi-zine The Next Generation Radio Project is a week-long digital journalism training project designed to give competitively selected participants, who are interested in radio and journalism, the skills and opportunity to report and produce their own multimedia story. Those chosen for the project are paired with a professional journalist who serves as their mentor for that week. If you're an OAA member and have been recently interviewed or featured in the news, newspaper, etc., please contact us to be included in a future blog post!
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by Joseph Yoshimasu Kamiya  Monthly selections of Ryūkyūan music – past and present, from the islands and in the diaspora! Curated by OAA members and special guests, we’ll share songs inspired by themes like personal connections, significant seasons, specific islands and regions, and more. If you don't know many traditional songs or modern songs by Ryūkyūan performers, we hope that these informal recommendations will help with building your library! If you're already aware of many of the songs featured, we hope you will enjoy the personal connections and curated themes!
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