Book a screening of “Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement” with Q&A and concert now!
Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement is the story of a visionary artist-activist whose groundbreaking work helped change Asian America forever.
Featuring rare archival footage, wefollow her journey as a child of Japanese American concentration camps to a dancer in films and on Broadway tothe turbulent shifts in American history that birthed the Asian American movement where Miyamoto’s voice emerged as one of its most beloved storytellers.
This sweeping documentary reflects her life as a songwriter, theater and movement artist whose work bridges cultures, communities and history making her a legendary figure in Asian America. A co-production of PBS SoCal and Japanese American National Museum’s Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center. The documentary is on PBS SoCal ARTBOUND series.
“Songs are a powerful expression of our feelings, our identity, our stories. Yet, I grew up without hearing a song that sang me...”
-Nobuko
Herstory
Nobuko’s memoir:
Not Yo' Butterfly: My Long Song of Relocation, Race, Love, and Revolution
“Not Yo’ Butterfly is the intimate and unflinching life story of Nobuko Miyamoto—artist, activist, and mother. Beginning with the harrowing early years of her life as a Japanese American child navigating a fearful West Coast during World War II, Miyamoto leads readers into the landscapes that defined the experiences of twentieth-century America and also foregrounds the struggles of people of color who reclaimed their histories, identities, and power through activism and art.”
-Deborah Wong
Smithsonian Folkways recording presents:
120,000 Stories
Nobuko Miyamoto is an icon of Asian American music and activism.
Since the early 1970s, she has been exploring ways to reclaim and re-spirit our minds, bodies, histories, and communities, using the arts to create social change and forge solidarity.
Learn the Obon dance, Kangi-e!
Commissioned by the Buddhist Churches of America Music Committee, artist and activist Nobuko Miyamoto has created the new bon odori, “Kangie” (Gathering of Joy), for use at temple Obon festivals
Nobuko speaks on “The Art of Movement and Coalition Building: Learning from Yuri Kochiyama”
