Cultural Brand Strategist: Managing expectations across borders. Bridging the gap between Western brand identity and Japanese cultural reality, backed by three decades of technical, creative, and marketing leadership.
My first SEMA Show, the automotive aftermarket’s premier trade-only convention held annually during the first week of November at the Las Vegas Convention Center, was in 1994, and it was a total sausagefest, cuz can't dudes have a hobby? For me, it turned into a career. Also, one assumption I want to get out of … Continue reading A Three-Decade Sausagefest of Car Dudes and Fanboys
Do you know why my Nihongo (Japanese language) skills suck? It’s partially due to Godzilla. I remember one time I went to a doctor due to an issue which I will not give details on (cuz I’m HIPAA’ng myself), and the doctor asked me which antibiotic I needed. In my head I was like, isn’t … Continue reading Greg, Gaijins, and Gojira (aka Godzilla)
Dave Chappelle grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland (which was roughly 77% White), while commuting into Washington, D.C., to attend the Duke Ellington School of the Arts (where the student body was about 85% to 90% Black). That background enabled him to act as a cultural bridge between two worlds. A similar dynamic applies to … Continue reading From White Bread to the Asian Buffet
Yes, I know you got the Range Rover or the lawn sign and matching flags, but say it ain't so bro that this is how simple we are. Sorry to inform my present self, but it is true. Aside from not getting carded as much, my hair is possibly thinning (not balding), and who knows … Continue reading Is Everyone’s Goal in Life to Prove: “I’m Smarter than You,” or “I’m the Most Virtuous”?
Yes, that title is a play off of LL Cool J. Working as a cultural brand strategist and being back in Hawaii this September, I got served a Pacific Business News headline courtesy of the algorithm: “L&L Hawaiian Barbecue hires national PR firm as plate lunch competition heats up on Mainland.” It’s a brand I … Continue reading I’m Old School, so I Think L&L Is Actually “Ladies Love Hawaiian Barbecue”
I would not call them pods or capsules, and I think of them more like kennels, ruff (shhhhh, sorry, no barking or growling). Even though I am Japanese American and have been to Japan and experienced everything from regular hotels to numerous love hotels, capsule hotels were a completely new experience to me, so I … Continue reading A Quiet Place: First Cabin International (Capsule Hotel, Waikiki, Hawaii)
Having worked a short stint as a sushi chef, I wanted to talk to Seigo Tamura about his path from Japan to the U.S. Originally posted on Oishii-desu.com, September 22, 2020. Edited for grammar. When I first wrote this interview a half decade ago, Chef Seigo was just beginning his journey. Today, 715 holds a … Continue reading Imagine Being 20 Years Old and Leaving Japan, Your Birthplace, to Pursue a Passion for Basketball and Sushi
I received a full manuscript request from DeFiore & Company. I sought out a literary agent because, as with most things I do, I love collaborating. I know where my weaknesses lie, and working with talented people ups my game. But now I'm turning straight to the public, kind of like what Andy Weir did. … Continue reading The First Two Chapters of My Manuscript: Culture Matters “Ok, Rice Ball”
I am a legitimate American (to some "The Murican") and Western business face, not the stereotyped one. Author's Note: I write in my authentic voice, not corporate jargon. Sanitizing my language to fit traditional decorum would compromise the lived reality on the page and contradict the exact thesis of this work. Being American is not … Continue reading The White Face Fallacy: Who Really Opens the U.S. Market for Japanese Brands
Unlike other ethnicities in the U.S., the vast majority of us Asians identify by our specific ethnic backgrounds. The day we go by "Yellow" (the official future color code for the Americanization of Asians in the U.S.) so that we fit neatly among White, Black, and Brown people, I say, "Maybe so, sir, but not … Continue reading Being an American with 123 years of Japanese Ancestry in the United States