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Hiroshi Kashiwagi

カシワギ ヒロシ

Hiroshi Kashiwagi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1922-11-08 （Sacramento, California, United States）
Died
2019-10-29 （San Francisco, California, United States） age 96
Nationality
United States
Languages
English, Japanese
Religion
Buddhism
Residence History
Loomis, California, United States → Sacramento, California, United States → Los Angeles, California, United States → San Francisco, California, United States

Career

Occupations
author, playwright, poet, actor, librarian, translator, editor
Active Years
1949-2019
Affiliations
Dramatists Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), East West Players (associated award)
Memberships
Dramatists Guild, Screen Actors Guild
Influenced By
Japanese American community and postwar literary movements
Influenced
Later generations of Asian American theatre practitioners

Education

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Department of Oriental Languages
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1949–1952
Year of Graduation: 1952
Country: United States
Attended UCLA after WWII; received B.A. in Oriental Languages in 1952.
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
Library Science
Degree: M.L.S.
Period: 1964–1966
Year of Graduation: 1966
Country: United States
Received a master's degree in Library Science.

Awards

American Book Award
2005
Work: Swimming in the American: A Memoir and Selected Writings
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
Made in America Award
1999
Organization: East West Players
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Plums Can Wait

1949 play

A one-act play addressing Japanese American experiences; noted as one of Kashiwagi's earliest theatrical works.

identityJapanese American life

Laughter and False Teeth

1975 play

A play mixing comic elements with social themes.

humorcommunity

Swimming in the American: A Memoir and Selected Writings

2005 memoir / selected writings

A memoir and collection of writings recounting internment during WWII and life as a Japanese American.

internmentmemory and reconciliationcitizenship

Starting from Loomis and Other Stories

2013 short stories

A short story collection centering on childhood in Loomis and family history.

familylocal community

Bibliography

  • The Plums Can Wait (1949)
  • Laughter and False Teeth (1975)
  • Mondai wa Akira (1977)
  • Window for Aya (1979)
  • Live Oak Store (1982)
  • Blessed Be (1986)
  • Kisa gotami (1991)
  • The Betrayed (1993)
  • Swimming in the American: A Memoir and Selected Writings (2005)
  • Ocean Beach
  • Starting from Loomis and Other Stories (2013)

Adaptations

  • Black Rain (appearance)
  • Hito Hata: Raise the Banner (appearance)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical yet restrained voicerealist depiction reflecting Japanese American community experiences
Recurring Motifs
Japanese American identity in the U.S.memories and impacts of wartime incarcerationfamily and community

Legacy

Kashiwagi is regarded as an early pioneer of Asian American theatre as a poet, playwright, and actor. His works addressing wartime incarceration contributed significantly to discourse on memory and Japanese American identity.

Archives

  • Densho (oral history / interview archives)
  • Materials referenced by the Japanese American Museum of San Diego

Quotes

  • (Dedication) To the one who rescued me as an American and restored my faith in America
    Source: Dedication in Swimming in the American: A Memoir and Selected Writings (2005)

Trivia

  • During WWII he was incarcerated at Tule Lake and was classified as a 'No-No Boy'.
  • His U.S. citizenship was restored in 1959.
  • At the Western Addition Branch of the San Francisco Public Library he helped build one of the largest Japanese-language collections on the West Coast.
  • Received East West Players' Made in America Award in 1999 and has an association with the American Book Award for his 2005 memoir.