We recently connected with Susan Miyagi McCormac and have shared our conversation below.

Susan Miyagi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my website, JapanCulture-NYC.com. I launched the website in 2011, so it’s an ongoing meaningful project. JapanCultureNYC is an English-language resource for All Things Japanese in New York City, from promoting Japanese-related to events such as restaurant openings, sake tastings, film festivals, book signings to highlighting the people and organizations that make the Japanese community active and vibrant. Back when blogging first became a thing, I started to write about my life in New York City. It wasn’t specifically about Japanese things or about being half-Japanese (which I am), but occasionally I would mention that I went to a lecture or a film screening at Japan Society. A couple of years later, I thought it would be nice to tell people about the lecture or the film screening *before* it happened so that they could go, too. And JapanCulture-NYC.com was born. It’s been almost 14 years, and the website is just as meaningful to me now as it was when I revealed it to NYC in May 2011. Sharing aspects of Japanese culture while informing readers of the great work going on in our community is my life’s purpose.

Susan Miyagi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m half Japanese and half white American. My mother is from the beautiful island of Okinawa. I was seven years old when my father retired from the Army and settled in his home state of North Carolina, and I spent my formative years growing up in a place and time that were totally devoid of Japanese culture. Long story short: My father told me to check the “Caucasian” box on school forms, and my mother thought that because she became an American citizen she should speak only English, so my upbringing was pretty white.

Fast forward many years, and I learned for the first time that there was a Battle of Okinawa during WWII. My mother was there. It began on her eleventh birthday, and she survived it. I was 30 years old when I made this discovery, and I wondered why this topic had never come up in our household or at school. This was the biggest turning point for me and set me on the path to learn more about my own mother and the heritage I’d neglected and taken for granted my entire life. I read so many books about Okinawa, started taking Japanese classes, and asked my mom questions about her childhood.

I moved to New York City in January 2000, and I looked everywhere for Japanese culture. As I mentioned previously, this was mostly a personal pursuit for the first five or six years I was in New York. I started blogging first, then I contributed articles about Japanese culture to local online magazines before I launched my own website. After I established JapanCultureNYC, I joined various Japanese and Japanese American community institutions and expanded my network, meeting various artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, restaurateurs, sake educators, and activists who organize events.

My brand raises awareness about these events and connects likeminded people, regardless of Japanese heritage, to the culture. Everything I do is with community in mind, and I do that through JapanCultureNYC and my volunteer work as a vice president of The Japanese American Association of New York, a member of the board of the JET Alumni Association of New York, and a communications committee member of the New York region of the U.S.-Japan Council.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission driving my creative journey is two-fold. I want everyone to know about the beauty and breadth of Japanese culture. It’s through restaurants, small businesses, creative institutions, service organizations, and creatives that we can find much of this beauty in New York City. I want my readers/followers to support these creatives and small businesses while learning about all of the amazing aspects of Japanese culture. I encourage them to buy all the books, concert tickets, and bottles of locally brewed sake, go to all the film festivals, dine at all of the Japanese restaurants, and shop at the stores and the pop ups.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I launched my website in 2011, and I’m still here! I have kept up the pace of finding events and individuals to highlight while working a full-time job in sports television that has crazy hours. I go to as many events as possible, interview as many people as possible, and write as much as possible. Along the way I’ve had to navigate social media, change website platforms, learn how to be an aggressive salesperson. Part of what makes me resilient is that I’ve befriended so many people in the community who inspire me to keep doing what I’m doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.japanculture-nyc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/japanculturenyc/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JapanCultureNYC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-miyagi-mccormac-1600b093/

Image Credits

For photo 6: Susan Miyagi McCormac in Osaka as part of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation, credit U.S.-Japan Council