Literary Little Tokyo

Scenes from the inaugural Nisei Week Book Fair, held Aug. 15 and 16 at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo.

Kathryn Otoshi, author/illustrator of books for kids, including “One,” “Two,” “Zero,” “Simon and the Sock Monster,” and “What Emily Saw.” She also illustrated “Beautiful Hands” by Bret Baumgarten, “Maneki Neko: The Tale of the Beckoning Cat” by Susan Lendroth, “Marcello the Movie Mouse” by Liz Hockinson, and “The Saddest Little Robot” by Brian Gage.

Traise Yamamoto of UC Riverside, who wrote the introduction to a new edition of the late Yoshiko Uchida’s “Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family.”

Leonard Chan of San Mateo-based Asian American Curriculum Project, who discussed Yoshiko Uchida’s “Uncle Kanda’s Black Cat”; Debbie Yamada, author of “Echoes from Gold Mountain”; Naomi Hirahara, author of the Mas Arai mystery series (including “Strawberry Yellow”) and the Officer Ellie Rush mystery series (including “Grave on Grand Avenue”).

From left: Kerry Yo Nakagawa of the Fresno-based Nisei Baseball Research Project, author of “Japanese American Baseball in California: A History”; Shig Yabu and Willie Ito, author and illustrator of “Hello, Maggie!” Ito also illustrated “A Boy of Heart Mountain,” written by Barbara Bazaldua and based on Yabu’s experiences in camp.

Children’s author Sunny Seki (“The Tale of the Lucky Cat,” “The Last Kappa of Old Japan,” “Yuko-chan and the Daruma Doll,” “The Little Kokeshi Doll from Fukushima”) discussed Japanese toys and folklore.

Poet Genie Nakano (“Storyteller”) performed with sanshin accompaniment by Joey Kamiya.

From left: Margaret Dilloway (“Sisters of Heart and Snow,” “How to Be an American Housewife,” “The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns”), Carolyn Sanwo of Heritage Source, and Takiko Morimoto (“The Haiku Master”).

San Francisco poet, playwright, essayist and actor Hiroshi Kashiwagi (“Swimming in the American,” “Ocean Beach,” “Starting from Loomis”).

Patricia Takayama (right), author of “The Winter of Melancholy,” a short story collection focusing on Japanese American women, with sister-in-law Kathy Takayama (center) and sister Nancy Takayama.

Poet Amy Uyematsu (“The Yellow Door”) performed with Taiji Miyagawa on bass.

From left: Photographer (and former district attorney) Gil Garcetti (“Japan: A Reverence for Beauty”); artist Linda Shimoda and writer Todd Shimoda, whose joint projects include “365 Views of Mt. Fuji: Algorithms of the Floating World,” “Oh! A Mystery of Mono no Aware,” and “Why Ghosts Appear.”

Valerie Matsumoto of UCLA (“City Girls: The Nisei Social World in Los Angeles, 1920-1950”).

Cartoonist Stan Sakai signed copies of his “Usagi Yojimbo” series, the saga of a samurai rabbit.

Author, columnist and lecturer Richard Reeves discussed his latest book, “Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II.”

LGBT rights activists Aiden Aizumi and Marsha Aizumi (“Two Spirits, One Heart: A Mother, Her Transgender Son, and Their Journey to Love and Acceptance”).

Steven Doi of San Jose-based Steven G. Doi Books and Naomi Hirahara discussed “Collecting Our Stories: Launching Them Out Into the World.”

Cartoonists/memoirists Yumi Sakugawa (“Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe,” “I Think I’m in Friend Love with You,” “There Is No Right Way to Meditate and Other Lessons”) and Marinaomi (“Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories,” “Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22”).

Photos by J.K. YAMAMOTO/Rafu Shimpo