Kunji speaks with performer and theatre creator Yoshie Bancroft of Universal Limited Theatre about representation, being a half-white BIPOC in the age of Black Lives Matter, and how to stand up and make things better for performers of colour.

Kunji speaks with actor, writer, and theatre creator Julie Tamiko Manning about the pressure to perform “neutrality”, challenging the model minority myth, and connecting with ancestry and community through art.

Kunji speaks with dancer Hiromoto Ida about their shared experiences transitioning artistically from acting to dance, Hiromoto’s changing relationship with his birthplace of Japan, and what motivates him to continue making art.

In this bonus mini-episode, continued from last week’s interview, Maiko Yamamoto reflects on advice for and from her younger and older selves, and the big question about experimental theatre that she struggles to answer.

Kunji speaks with Theatre Replacement Co-Artistic Director Maiko Yamamoto about her unconventional approach to theatre creation, and how her upbringing in the Japanese Canadian community influences the kinds of stories she wants to tell.

Kunji speaks to Governor-General’s Award winner Hiro Kanagawa about his experiences as a prolific actor and playwright, including being typecast, and his opinions on the value of exploring the Japanese Canadian experience in our global society.

Denise Fujiwara shares how she came to be a dancer, her struggles to learn the difficult Japanese dance form of butoh, and her historic court case with the Canada Council for the Arts.

Kunji interviews Tetsuro Shigematsu about his experiences touring his solo show about his relationship with his father, Empire of the Son, and his evolving concerns as an artist.

To introduce our new series of Sounds Japanese Canadian to Me, founding co-host Raymond Nakamura interviews season host Kunji Mark Ikeda about his Japanese Canadian artistic journey to date, and what he’s looking forward to in conversations with other Japanese Canadian performing artists.

It’s not alien, it’s utopian! In this episode, Raymond and Carolyn discuss the history, the social politics, and the experience of having mixed heritage. From the reasons for so many Japanese Canadians being of mixed heritage, to describing yourself as “half”, “mixed”, or of course “hapa”, even to the level of your own name, having mixed heritage is a complicated experience. This double-sized episode of Sounds Japanese Canadian to Me is just one part of a huge and continuously evolving conversation.