Clarence Moriwaki

Clarence Moriwaki is founder and past president of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial in Washington State. It is the site where the first Japanese Americans were taken from their communities and put into concentration camps during World War II. In total, 120,000 people of Japanese descent were placed in concentration camps on U.S. soil when the Pacific War broke out. The first 227 … Continue reading Clarence Moriwaki

Big Plans

It’s either the most ridiculous or the most brilliant thing we’ve ever planned. It’s Karen’s idea (Karen is my wife, if you’re just starting to follow), but it didn’t take me long to agree. 2019 was a busy year. I slept somewhere other than my own bed roughly 160 nights, so Karen and I were apart more than we cared to be. It’s all a … Continue reading Big Plans

Cultural diplomacy

In the autumn of 1990, Karen and I were in Europe. It was a three month no-frills backpacking tour and most of our entertainment consisted of wandering the streets and countryside and people watching. Tickets to just about anything were out of our budget. But in Prague, we made an exception. There was an evening concert by an Iranian folk ensemble. At the time, the … Continue reading Cultural diplomacy