Okinawa Association of America

#ThrowBackThursday #TBT #VolunteerAppreciation WE MISS EVERYONE AND APPRECIATE YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! Uchinaaguchi Class volunteers working hard at the 2019 Okinawa Bazaar in Gardena, CA.... Photo (taken pre-pandemic) Beverly Toyama

We hope this post finds everybody safe and doing well. ! Your generous donations benefit the OAA Center in Gardena, California, where we host our annual cultural and educational events, senior-focused activities, community gatherings, and more! We couldn't do any of this without your support. We miss seeing everybody and we look forward to when we can safely host in-person activit...ies and events again. Let us know in the comments Which in-person activity or event do you miss the most?

Re-posting from The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz and The Okinawa Memories Initiative: "Fifty years ago this December, Okinawan protests against US military rule turned violent for the first and, so far, only time. On the anniversary, the Okinawa Memories Initiative will host a public discussion about the 'Koza Riots,' featuring an eyewitness photojournalist, an American army veteran who had been stationed in Okinawa and two Okinawan American scholars reflecting on ra...ce and the meaning of the event fifty years on in the days of Black Lives Matter." PLEASE REGISTER HERE: https://ucsc.zoom.us/web/register/WN_GdIcS0QwQ3WiUEfT1YCE3Q --- Note: This is not an OAA-hosted or -sponsored event

We hope that this post finds everyone safe and well. IPPEE NIFEE DEEBIRU (THANK YOU VERY MUCH) to everybody who donated to our #GivingTuesday fundraiser, purchased raffle tickets, bid in our first-ever online silent auction, and shared our fundraising campaign information with your family/friends! We are so very grateful for your generosity and dedicated support. ... --- Today is #GivingTuesday. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Okinawa Association in Gardena, California to help us continue our mission of preserving, promoting, and perpetuating Okinawan culture. Please donate here: facebook.com/donate/426615458505255 One of the organization's most valuable assets, the OAA Center, was purchased in 1999 and has since become a hub for the local Okinawan community. Members, relatives, and friends from near and far visit the OAA Center for a variety of functions. Here's a glimpse at all of the cultural, educational, social, and senior-focused activities (pre-pandemic) that we host every month! Note: All of the events pictured here took place before March 2020. 1. Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko - Los Angeles Branch performing at our Annual Kajimayaa Seniors Luncheon 2. Family, friends, and supporters lining up for Okinawan food, raffle tickets, and more at our Annual Okinawa Bazaar

Virtual performance TONIGHT at 9 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time! (Please note the time difference in your region) "The Ancient Lion and Modern Man: A 21st-Century Folk Performance' Streaming free on YouTube Live from Garaman Hall (Ginoza Village Cultural Center) for three days only #shishitohito... A whole new kind of folk performance for the contemporary age, fusing traditional lion dance with contemporary dance, live vocals and piano, and augmented reality --- Note: This is not an OAA-hosted or -sponsored event

Today is #GivingTuesday. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Okinawa Association in Gardena, California to help us continue our mission of preserving, promoting, and perpetuating Okinawan culture. Please donate here: facebook.com/donate/426615458505255... One of the organization's most valuable assets, the OAA Center, was purchased in 1999 and has since become a hub for the local Okinawan community. Members, relatives, and friends from near and far visit the OAA Center for a variety of functions. Here's a glimpse at all of the cultural, educational, social, and senior-focused activities (pre-pandemic) that we host every month! Note: All of the events pictured here took place before March 2020. 1. First holiday party for the newly-revived Young Okinawans of Southern California 2. Members gathering at our Annual Kajimayaa Seniors Luncheon

Sharing from WYUA USA - World Youth Uchinanchu Association:

: By the end of Thursday, November 5 (which is TOMORROW, November 4 in the U.S.) ():... To celebrate World Uchinaanchu Day, the World Youth Uchinanchu Association (WYUA) in Okinawa will be hosting an online event called World Youth Uchina Shinka Online on November 15 to connect Okinawa youth around the world. One of the projects for this event is to create a video with Okinawans from around the world showing their Okinawan pride. The organizers are asking for participants from around the world to create a short 5 second video and in that video on a piece of paper write a response to one of these four themes about Okinawa: Your feelings toward Okinawa. Your favorite things in Okinawa. Your favorite word or phrase in Uchinaaguchi (the native Okinawan language). The dream you want to achieve when you visit Okinawa. If you have any other questions please let us know. Let's show the strength of the youth in our LA Okinawan community!!! : https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSe7AL8g-xpG4j10G/viewform : https://youtu.be/F0ICmrOdfYs More information about the event itself will be provided closer to the event date. --- Note: This is not an OAA-hosted or -sponsored activity

(): To celebrate World Uchinaanchu Day, the World Youth Uchinanchu Association (WYUA) in Okinawa will be hosting an online event called World Youth Uchina Shinka Online on November 15 to connect Okinawa youth around the world. One of the projects for this event is to create a video with Okinawans from around the world showing their Okinawan pride. The organizers are asking for participants from around the world... to create a short 5 second video and in that video on a piece of paper write a response to one of these four themes about Okinawa: Your feelings toward Okinawa. Your favorite things in Okinawa. Your favorite word or phrase in Uchinaaguchi (the native Okinawan language). The dream you want to achieve when you visit Okinawa. If you have any other questions please let us know. Let's show the strength of the youth in our LA Okinawan community!!! : By the end of Thursday, November 5 (which is Wednesday, November 4 in the U.S.) : https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSe7AL8g-xpG4j10G/viewform : https://youtu.be/F0ICmrOdfYs More information about the event itself will be provided closer to the event date. --- Note: This is not an OAA-hosted or -sponsored activity

Make it a WORLD UCHINAANCHU WEEKEND! Watch (or re-watch) these livestream recordings from Argentina, Brasil, Hawai‘i and Okinawa! --- Livestream recording hosted by the Okiryukai - in Argentina... This event will be in Spanish Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGZDmIVDRac Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Okiryukai "Miny Live Especial" (Live Folk Music Special) Livestream recording hosted by the Ryukyu Minyo Kyokai - Filial do Brasil This event will be in Portuguese, Japanese, AND English Performances from Brasil, Okinawa, and Australia! Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EnR0MFAupuI Livestream recording hosted by the Hawaii United Okinawa Association (HUOA) Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzzoJ0RkOoo Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2597612007217968&ref=watch_permalink Livestream recording hosted by Okinawa Watch here: tinyurl.com/wud20 Event mostly in Japanese with English/Spanish/Portuguese subtitles during some of the segments 100in (Kuruchi no Mori) event recorded live from Yomitan, Okinawa: https://youtu.be/mlzupnYFRzw Kuruchi no Mori is a long-term project to plant and grow ebony trees ("kuruchi" in Uchinaaguchi) in Okinawa. Kuruchi wood is used for the necks and tuning pegs of the best, top-quality sanshin instruments. It takes OVER 100 YEARS for one kuruchi tree to grow large enough to make a sanshin (and it takes an additional 50 years or so for the wood to dry out and harden). --- NOVEMBER 2 (TOMORROW): "Shui Gusuku (Shuri Castle) Beyond the Sea" Documentary Screening Livestream hosted by Ukwanshin Kabudan/ Ryukyu Performing Arts Troupe in Hawai‘i 7 p.m. Hawai‘i Time (10 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time) Zoom Link: http://bit.ly/3jmb4VoSpecial The documentary will be in Japanese with English subtitles

LIVE from Brasil! https://youtu.be/EnR0MFAupuI (Note: This is not an OAA-hosted or -sponsored event)

LIVE from Argentina! https://youtu.be/xGZDmIVDRac (Note: This is not an OAA-hosted or -sponsored event)

Make it a WORLD UCHINAANCHU WEEKEND! Check out these upcoming livestreams from Argentina (3 p.m. Pacific) and Brasil (4 p.m. Pacific), and re-watch the recordings from Hawai‘i and Okinawa! --- TODAY AT 3 P.M. PACIFIC TIME:... Livestream hosted by the Okiryukai - in Argentina This event will be in Spanish Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGZDmIVDRac Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Okiryukai TODAY AT 4 P.M. PACIFIC TIME: "Miny Live Especial" (Live Folk Music Special) Livestream hosted by the Ryukyu Minyo Kyokai - Filial do Brasil This event will be in Portuguese with some Japanese and English Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EnR0MFAupuI NOVEMBER 2 (MONDAY): "Shui Gusuku (Shuri Castle) Beyond the Sea" Documentary Screening Livestream hosted by Ukwanshin Kabudan/ Ryukyu Performing Arts Troupe in Hawai‘i 7 p.m. Hawai‘i Time (10 p.m. U.S. Pacific Time) Zoom Link: http://bit.ly/3jmb4VoSpecial The documentary will be in Japanese with English subtitles Livestream (recording) hosted by the Hawaii United Okinawa Association (HUOA) Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzzoJ0RkOoo Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2597612007217968&ref=watch_permalink Livestream (recording) hosted by Okinawa Watch here: tinyurl.com/wud20 Event mostly in Japanese with English/Spanish/Portuguese subtitles during some of the segments 100in (Kuruchi no Mori) event live from Yomitan, Okinawa: https://youtu.be/mlzupnYFRzw Kuruchi no Mori is a long-term project to plant and grow ebony trees ("kuruchi" in Uchinaaguchi) in Okinawa. Kuruchi wood is used for the necks and tuning pegs of the best, top-quality sanshin instruments. It takes OVER 100 YEARS for one kuruchi tree to grow large enough to make a sanshin (and it takes an additional 50 years or so for the wood to dry out and harden).

TONIGHT at 7 p.m. Pacific Time! Let's celebrate World Uchinaanchu Day together with a short presentation and some talk story! Register here and we will email the Zoom link to you: https://forms.gle/X2q9sJo3Je8xVXAJ9

World Uchinanchu Day 2020 Spotlight I think to me World Uchinanchu Day is a great way to celebrate the wide array of places Uchinanchu have gone in the wor...ld, as well as a good time to reflect on where we come from. I think it’s really amazing to feel like I’m a part of a network of other Uchinanchu from all over the world; it’s incredible to connect with others from a shared heritage that come from vastly different backgrounds. I think to celebrate, I’ll reach out to my other Uchinanchu friends and family and try and stay positive. It’d be nice to reflect on memories of Okinawa; I wasn’t able to go back this year and I miss it a lot. Things are pretty hard all around right now and reminiscing on happy memories and sharing our experiences is a positive way to cope with the current stressful situation of the world. - Stephen Yogi, OMI Alumni #OMI #Okinawa # #okinawanculture #WorldUchinanchuDay

World Uchinanchu Day 2020 Spotlight Happy World Uchinanchu Day! To me, World Uchinanchu Day is an opportunity to think deeply about how we, Ryukyuans, are ...both unique and everywhere in the World. As a diasporic Shimanchu, the day makes me feel particularly connected to both the islands and also to my family and to our people, wherever we all may be. To celebrate I’m going to be filling out grant applications that will let me do research for my dissertation which is an unapologetically Shimanchu project. I also have an Orion saved, so I think I’ll have a solo karii with that. - Alexyss McClellan-Ufugusuku, OMI’s Policy Team Lead #OMI #Okinawa # #okinawanculture #WorldUchinanchuDay

Tomorrow night, let's spend World Uchinaanchu Day together! Please RSVP for the Zoom link: https://forms.gle/d7geihHcpPPXevym6