summer bloom: toyko lily

here’s our hope for a most joyous upcoming summer to you, dear heARTists and heART lovers!

it’s the 8th day of the 6th month, and time to catch up with our favorite heARTist, Yuriko.

if you’ve been following this blog, then you know that we’ve been in the process of making a film about her called ‘Tokyo Lily, a War Bride docu*memory'.

here’s the trailer we created with some images that will be featured in the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qW3S8xr-eQ

and, yes, we’re still fundraising. 

https://crowdfundr.com/tokyo-lily

although our dedicated donors have been so instrumental in getting our super 8mm and miniDV tapes digitized for editing, we could always use more donations. 

besides paying for music licensing, we also hope to hire an animator for scenes that lack images.

fortunately, we do have the assistance of a researcher who's locating WWII Japan footage and stills. not only is she incredibly knowledgeable, but she's made her own unique story known in the book she's published:

https://www.amazon.in/Becoming-Misako-Kikuchi-Lynn-Hammonds/dp/1537745956/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pl_foot_top?ie=UTF8

Lynn Hammonds was also instrumental in the production of our 5 films that collectively became ‘War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory’. 

those films are still available on Gumroad:

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

please subscribe to our YouTube channel below:

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

you can also check us out at our websites:

https://hapateez.wixsite.com/tokyo-lily

https://warbridesofjapan.com/

and, at our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/WarBridesOfJapan/

arrigatou to our supporters for all your encouragement!

until we meet on September 8, please enjoy your summer!

Yuri’s Fans Forever

'tokyo lily' and 'lily wisteria' on international women’s day

Yuri painting in her studio

konnichi-wa, heARTists and heART lovers everywhere!

it’s the 8th day of the 3rd month and, once again, we’re celebrating International Women’s Day by honoring Japanese war brides alongside their sisters around the world.

as you know from reading this blog, Japanese war brides were amazing women. in addition to marrying their former enemies (American military men), these ladies arrived in the U.S. during racial segregation and shortly after Americans of Japanese ancestry were imprisoned behind barbed wire. 

besides having to learn a new language and culture, Japanese war brides also raised mixed race children in environments that were often hostile towards them, and sometimes in isolated areas of the country.

we created our ‘War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory’ films to celebrate these amazing women. all five movies are currently available on Gumroad:

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/ 

meanwhile, we’ve been busy cataloging Yuri’s incredible heARTwork for a film, ‘Tokyo Lily’. we also have a graphic novel in the works, ‘Lily Wisteria’, which is all about her life.

'Tokyo Lily' will feature Yuri’s numerous paintings, wood carvings, quilting, crocheting and sewing projects, as well as her traditional dance performances and haiku (Japanese poetry). 

Yuri dancing in a male role

we hope to have both projects completed by early next year.

you can learn more about Japanese war brides at our two Youtube channels:

https://www.youtube.com/@warbridesofjapan/videos 

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

here's our 'War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory' website:

www.warbridesofjapan.com

and, Yuri’s heARTwork can be seen here:

https://lenastarwheels.wixsite.com/iamartistyuriko 

along with our two projects about Yuri, we’re also reworking ‘Watermelon Sushi’ as animation. this story of two AfroAsian sisters showcases their Japanese war bride mother, and how they discovered their identity through her. check it out here:

www.watermelonsushi.com

stick around as we’ll be announcing our crowdfunding campaign this summer.

happy International Women’s Day!

Yuri’s Fans Forever

falling forward

Yuri in Japan

greetings to all you heARTists and heART lovers everywhere!

as heat waves explode across our globe, many of us look forward to fall. and, with cooler temps urging on home-centered activities, we’ll be spending more time working on our future film about Yuri.

we now have all 5 episodes of 'War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory' completed and available on Gumroad:

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/

and, our 'Native Vegan' project (funded with a grant by VeganFlix) is viewable on our Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byMMjdjj9CU

now, our attention is focused on a graphic novel and documentary film about the incredible artistry of Yuriko. we’ve been busy uncovering old footage, slides, and still photos showcasing her many art projects that we’ll be sharing in the film. 

here’s one of the many quilts that she created and sewed.

please enjoy the cooling breeze of falling autumn leaves, and we’ll reconnect at the end of this year. 

Yuri’s Fans Forever

summer fun!

happy summer to all heARTists and heART lovers everywhere. 

it’s the 9th day of the 6th month, and we are shamefully a day late in getting this post up! 

the looming summer is looking hectic as we juggle several arts projects. paramount, of course, is the film and graphic novel about our favorite heARTist, Yuriko. 

our research begins next month with a thorough inventory of all of Yuri’s oil paintings, silk paintings, wood carvings and other heARTwork. we hope to gather enough material by fall to begin this long delayed project. 

here are some samples. 

this is noren, or Japanese doorway banner, that Yuri sewed many years ago:

 

Yuriko's noren

Yuriko's painting

and, above is one of her paintings: 

meanwhile, all five parts of ‘War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory’ is now available on Gumroad: https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com 

enjoy your summer. watch our films. and, we shall meet again on September 8. 

Yuri’s Fans Forever

international women's day celebrates Japanese war brides!

greetings heARTists and heART lovers everywhere!

it’s the 8th day of the 3rd month of the new year—time for more heARTwork by the incredible heARTist Yuri.

but wait. we have a surprise for you. 

we’ve recently made the 5 “War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory” series available online again. you may have already known about Yuri’s life as a Japanese war bride. and now, you have the chance to learn about other women like her.

in “Herstory”, two historians discuss how these women ended up married to their former enemies.

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/l/HERSTORY

historian Lily

women like Asako-san, who married a white Marine, and Fumiko-san, who married a black soldier, are featured in “The Brides”. check it out to see how their lives differed.

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/l/theBRIDES

Asako-san and Margie

Diane, Fujiko-san and Myokei

in “The Kids”, adult children tell their mothers’ stories—like Roleta, whose mom was an entertainer; and, Jean, whose mother hid a major secret from her family. a group of hapa blasian kids also discuss their moms, while eating lunch at a Japanese restaurant.

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/l/theKIDS

Joe, Yayoi and Roleta

Joan, Elaine and Naomi

Andy

Jean

meanwhile, the kids in “The Culture”, talk about their mothers’ influences on them. M Fumie demonstrates origami and prepares several Japanese dishes. Diana talks about obon. and, Yoshi shows off her Japanese decor while preparing ramen.

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/l/theCULTURE

M Fumie, Michelle and Steve

Yayoi, Ed and Diana

Yoshi

“BFF’s; Buddhist Friends Forever” features three families with Buddhist beliefs, thanks to their mothers.

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/l/BUDDHISTFRIENDSFOREVER

Mike, his wife, Doris, Alana and their cousin

Doris and Cassie

Kim, Cassie and Mr. Farrison

you can stream the episode that most resonates with you, or you can stream all of them. watching all 5 will only cost you a total of $7.

meanwhile, we’re also in the process of creating a film and graphic novel about Yuri. they should be done by the end of this year.

please stay tuned at this blog where we’ll return on June 8 with more heARTwork by Yuri.

International Women's Day, omedettou gozaimasu!

Yuri’s Fans Forever

Yuriko's heARTwork contributions to international women's day

happy International Women’s Day to heARTists and heART lovers around the world!

an old woman reflects on her life's past

a young woman reflects on her life to come

it’s the 8th day of the 3rd month and time for more heARTwork by Yuri.

interestingly, Japanese war brides like Yuriko contributed to global awareness of women’s issues without even realizing it.

when they arrived in the US for the first time (along with their American military husbands), Japanese war brides had experienced very little contact with western culture—outside of what the US military brought to Japan during the Occupation.

even Empress Michiko designated the war brides as ‘cultural ambassadors’ for Japan.

obon dancers by Yuriko

besides their beliefs in Shinto and Buddhism, the brides also perpetuated obon (ancestral celebrations) with bon odori (obon dances), ikebana (flower arranging), sumi-e (calligraphy), and the introduction a variety of foods. everything—from sushi to tempura to sukiyaki—eventually became popular in US specialty restaurants. 

war brides innocently brought their practices of Japanese culture to a country that had been so hostile towards Americans of Japanese descent that they had imprisoned them during WWII. 

by naively clinging to their native beliefs and arts, war brides were able to keep aspects of Japanese culture alive while Japanese Americans had been forced to destroy many elements of it.

through her love for painting, Yuriko imparted messages of peace and hope. even though she preferred to paint landscapes and seascapes, she also created paintings that featured Japanese motifs as well purely American ones.

Yuriko's koi painting is very Japanese

while her eagle woodcarving is totally American

some of her heARTwork appear on this blog page while others can be viewed at iAmArtistYuriko.com

Yuriko won many prizes for her heARTwork

a Wordie by Jason

also, you can stay updated about the 'War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory' series at our website: www.warbridesofjapan.com

until June 30, I will always remain one of...

Yuri’s Fans Forever