Discover Nikkei Presents a Multilingual Virtual Program on Okinawan Drumming

LOS ANGELES, CA – Discover Nikkei, a web project of the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), will present the free virtual program Yeisaa nu Chimu-Don-Don: Exploring Cultural Identity through Okinawan Drumming on Saturday, March 9, 2024 at 3 p.m. PST. The program will be simultaneously translated in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The registration deadline is Friday, March 8 at 10 a.m. PST. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.

Eisa is a traditional Okinawan folk dance and musical performance to honor the spirit of Okinawan ancestors. Lisa Tamashiro Maumalanga (Chinagu Eisa Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi), Rentaro Suzuki (Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko in Los Angeles, California), John Azama (Ryukyu Damashii in Dallas, Texas), Cecilia Nue (Seiryu Eisa Kai in Lima, Peru), and Toshiyuki Yamauchi (Yuriki no Kizuna Eisá Daiko in São Paulo, Brazil) will discuss how eisa connects them to their cultural heritage and identity. Optional interactive tutorials will follow the program. The tutorials are Yubibue—Eisa Whistling, Heishi, Eisa Dance Steps, Kachashii and Uchinaaguchi Lessons, and Taiko 101.

This program is supported by The Nippon Foundation. Community partners include the Okinawan Association of America, Inc.; Hawaii United Okinawa Association; Associação Okinawa Kenjin do Brasil / Centro Cultural Okinawa do Brasil; Asociación Okinawense del Perú.

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a center for civil rights, ensuring that the hard-fought lessons of the World War II incarceration are not forgotten. A Smithsonian Affiliate and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories. JANM is a center for the arts as well as history. It provides a voice for Japanese Americans and a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over 100 exhibitions onsite while traveling 40 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday–Sunday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and on Thursday from 12 p.m.–8 p.m. JANM is free every third Thursday of the month. On all other Thursdays, JANM is free from 5 p.m.–8 p.m. For more information, visit janm.org or follow us on social media @jamuseum.