Aki the Akita is a firefighter patrolling the streets of Little Tokyo in the artwork for this year’s Nisei Week Japanese Festival.
Artist Jared Yamahata says the theme and image are inspired by his dad, Nisei Week Foundation President David Yamahata.
David was the first Japanese American to attain the rank of chief deputy in the Los Angeles Fire Department. Prior to that he served with distinction as a firefighter, apparatus operator, captain, battalion chief and assistant chief.
The festival’s theme — “Fire Up for Nisei Week” — is a nod to David’s professional background.
“For the poster he wanted it to be really dynamic and show his background as a firefighter. And so we sat down and had lunch and he was like, ‘Hey, let’s do something with the fire truck and with Aki.’ It was that simple,” Jared said.The poster is detailed with imagery of Little Tokyo, including the Yagura at Japanese Village Plaza and a fire truck emblazoned with St. Florian’s cross, the symbol of firefighting.
Jared followed a different path than his dad. He studied illustration at Cal State Long Beach and his work has been featured in gallery exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Diego and Brooklyn, New York.
In recent years, Jared has performed live painting demonstrations at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center as part of Sunset on the Plaza. He’ll be back at JACCC to paint during Nisei Week.
“That would’ve been very interesting and very cool, especially with my dad being as successful as he was,” Jared reflected. “But it just wasn’t for me though. I’m glad I pursued this. I get to work at home and draw sharks. I definitely think that I got really lucky because I’ve been working for freelancer on my own for almost four years now and after the first year I decided to do it was very good, I was like, ‘Hey, if this is this easy, I could do this forever.’”
— Reporting by MIE ASO/Rafu Shimpo
I can't stop sliding into my own DMsTikTok wants you to stop dressing for the male gazeHow to charge your FitbitWe need to talk about Jason Sudeikis' Twitter likesFacebook, Instagram are back, and Twitter has thoughtsHow to connect Fitbit to your phone'I am weed' memes, inspired by Megan Fox and MGK, are very goodWhen Facebook and Instagram go down, Downdetector's comments pop offTeens are apparently stealing soap dispensers and urinals from school for the devious lick trendWe need to talk about Jason Sudeikis' Twitter likes The Republican National Convention, explained in helpful charts A man wants you to play 'Pokémon Go' on his lawn for a beautiful reason Alcohol's cancer risks outweigh any health benefits, study shows Catch yourself a date on new 'Pokémon Go' dating site Photograph of a hungry corgi gets the Reddit Photoshop battle treatment. Sir Patrick Stewart delivers stirring ode to hardware stores Protesters bring their own wall to the Republican convention The story behind Melania Trump's speech finally comes out Man falls off waterslide. What else do you need to know? A tragically long list of all the times Donald Trump has refused to apologize
0.1471s , 10101.6640625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【??t nhau tr?c ti?p】Enter to watch online.Jared Yamahata: All Fired Up for Nisei Week,Global Perspective Monitoring