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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! In April 2023, three young folks from Okinawa who call themselves “Tabinchu” (meaning “travelers” in Uchinaaguchi) visited Southern California to volunteer at the OAA and connect with local Okinawans! One year later, they shared their favorite Okinawan songs with us. Check out their Instagram page to follow their international adventures (click here). Here are some pictures from their Southern California visit:
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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! 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!
 MONTHLY NUCHAASHII GATHERINGS LAST SATURDAYS • 4 - 6 p.m. In-Person Potluck – Every Month Online via Zoom + Presentation/Sharing – Every Other Month OAA Center's Yamauchi Bldg. (Gardena, CA) RSVP: tinyurl.com/nuchaashii24 Free admission with 1 potluck dinner dish 「ぬちゃーしー」毎月の集まり会 月の最後の土曜日 • 午後4時〜午後6時 毎月は持ち寄り、隔月はハイブリット (対面やオンライン) 県人会会館の山内ビル (カリフォルニア州、ガーデナ市) 予約：tinyurl.com/nuchaashii24 Our first gathering of 2024 will be on February 24 (Saturday) and it will be HYBRID (in-person + online)! 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!  At our 2023 General Membership Meeting, current OAA Vice President Victoria Oshiro Nishiuchi was nominated and elected as the OAA's next President! She was nominated by OAA Uchinaaguchi Instructor, Advisor, and Past President Chogi Higa, who read a long list of Victoria's past achievements and leadership roles (including but not limited to board member, secretary, chairperson and member for numerous event planning committees, and past treasurer). In 2018, Victoria was one of the Women of the Year awarded by the Downtown Los Angeles Chapter of the Japanese American Citizen League and the Japanese Women’s Society of Southern California (read article).
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