Tak Furumoto: From Tule Lake to Hiroshima to Vietnam
Conversation with Tak Furumoto and Mayu Nakamura about Tule Lake, Hiroshima, and Vietnam
UPDATE: The original post stated that admission is $10 for non-USJC members, but this event is FREE to everyone! If you’d like to make a donation to USJC, please visit the organization’s donation page. JapanCulture•NYC regrets the error.
A Conversation with Tak Furumoto and NHK World Japan’s Mayu Nakamura
Tuesday, July 22 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:15 p.m. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m.) | Live Stream from 6:00 p.m. until 7:15 p.m.
New York Buddhist Church – 331-332 Riverside Drive (between W. 105 and W. 106 Streets)
Admission: Free
The New York & Vicinity region of the U.S.-Japan Council is hosting a timely discussion, in person at the New York Buddhist Church and virtually.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In recognition, NHK recently produced Raised in Hiroshima, Fought in Vietnam, a documentary profiling New York-based entrepreneur, Vietnam veteran, and activist Takeshi Furumoto. You can watch the documentary in English here (free) and in Japanese here (fee required).
The film’s director, Mayu Nakamura, will join Furumoto for a special behind-the-scenes conversation. Akemi Ooka, the executive producer and narrator of the Emmy award-winning film Three Boys Manzanar, will moderate.
Furumoto will reflect on his extraordinary life journey — from being born in the Tule Lake concentration camp to growing up in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing and later serving in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Nakamura will share insights into the making of the documentary and the importance of preserving stories like Furumoto’s, particularly in the context of today’s global challenges.
Following the conversation, in-person attendees will have an opportunity to network over light refreshments.
To register for this event, please send an email to membership@usjapancouncil.org.
For more information, please visit USJC’s website.
(Please note: The author is a member of U.S.-Japan Council and serves on the Communications Committee of the New York & Vicinity region.)
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Local Hero to Be Featured in NHK Documentary
Takeshi “Tak” Furumoto is the subject of the NHK documentary RAISED IN HIROSHIMA, FOUGHT IN VIETNAM
Takeshi “Tak” Furumoto is a Japanese American who was born in an incarceration camp, raised in Hiroshima, and fought in the Vietnam War. In the NHK documentary Raised in Hiroshima, Fought in Vietnam, Furumoto travels in search of closure to his complicated past.
About Tak Furumoto
Born in 1944 in Tule Lake War Relocation Center, one of the ten Japanese American incarceration camps established for the mass incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals living on the West Coast, during World War II, Tak Furumoto is the youngest of Sam Kiyoto and Yoshi Furumoto’s five children. Raised in his father’s war-torn hometown in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing, Furumoto’s family returned to the U.S. in 1956, settling in Los Angeles. After Furumoto graduated from UCLA in 1967, he volunteered to enter the Army. Despite the injustices his family endured in the U.S. during WWII, Furumoto valiantly served our country in the Vietnam War, earning a Bronze Star.
A New Jersey resident since 1971, Furumoto and his wife, Carolyn, have run Furumoto Realty in New Jersey, New York City, and Westchester for more than 50 years. They have dedicated their lives to the betterment of the Japanese American community in both New Jersey and New York. They were instrumental in New Jersey’s adoption of Fred T. Korematsu Day in 2023, relentlessly advocating for the state of New Jersey to recognize January 30 as the Fred T. Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, a day that honors civil rights hero Fred Korematsu, a California native who refused to enter the incarceration camps in 1942.
To learn more about Furumoto and his contributions to our community, please read Karen Kawaguchi’s in-depth article in Discover Nikkei.
Tak Furumoto still from NHK World Japan
On-Air Schedule
NHK World will broadcast Raised in Hiroshima, Fought in Vietnam on the following days:
Friday, March 21 from 8:10 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 from 2:10 a.m. until 3:00 a.m. | 8:10 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. | 2:10 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.
NHK World is available in New York at these channels: Spectrum 1279, Optimum 142, FiOS 482, Xfinity 265 and 1157, and OTA channel 58.2 To find the full details of where you can watch the documentary in your area, please visit the NHK World Channel List on NHK’s website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!