Arts & Entertainment

NEW YORK — Sansei physicist Prof. Michio Kaku has written a new book that just hit the New York Times Best-Sellers list.

The book is currently ranked No. 12 in the U.S., and also No. 1 among all science books in the country. Published by Doubleday, Physics of the Impossible is now prominently displayed in bookstores around the country.

The book discusses the science behind many of the fanciful and imaginative technologies of science fiction, such as teleportation, telepathy, starships, time travel, anti-matter engines, and artificial intelligence.

It shows that many of the technologies of science fiction are, in fact, theoretically possible with the known laws of physics in the near to distant future.

Kaku points out that much of today’s technology was once considered impossible. Given enough time, he asks, couldn’t incredible ideas like phasers and force fields also become commonplace?

He discusses the role of nanotechnology in learning to simulate invisibility, explains why NASA envisions sending “nanoships” to the stars, and reveals how nanoscience may provide an escape from the death of the universe itself.

The book has earned favorable reviews and praise from the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Kirkus Review of Books, New Scientist, and many other national publications.

Kaku has been on a two week book tour, speaking to sell-out, standing-room audiences through San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York.

He is the son of the late Toshio Kaku and Hideko Kaku, currently of Sacramento. He grew up in Palo Alto, winning the National Science Fair while in high school for his work on anti-matter.

He graduated from Harvard University in 1968, summa cum laude and first in his physics class. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and has taught at Princeton and Harvard. For the past 30 years, he has been professor of theoretical physics at the Graduate Center of City University of New York.

He is the author of several Ph.D.-level books as well as popular books such as the best-seller Hyperspace and Parallel Worlds, which was a finalist for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction in the U.K.

Kaku has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “Larry King Live,” “Nightline,” “60 Minutes,” and “20/20,” and is a frequent guest on the Discovery Channel, Science Channel, History Channel, National Geographic Channel, CNN and BBC.

He also hosted several science specials for TV, including “2057” for the Discovery Channel and “Time” and “Visions of the Future” for BBC.
He also hosts two national weekly science radio programs that can be heard in 130 cities around the country.

His current goal is to help complete Einstein’s dream of a theory of everything, a single equation that can unify all the laws of physics into a single equation, perhaps no more than one inch long. He is the co-founder of string field theory, a major branch of string theory. String theory in turn is currently the leading candidate for this fabled theory of everything.

For more information, see www.mkaku.org.

LAFAYETTE - John Hamamura will discuss his novel, Color of the Sea, on Wednesday, May 7, at 7 p.m. at Lafayette Bookstore, 3579 Mount Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette.

The public event will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a wine reception with the author for the bookstoreﾕs Book Culture club members.

Set in the 1930s and ﾕ40s, the coming-of-age story follows the life of Sam Hamada, who has been trained in the ways of the samurai in Japan and Hawaii. After graduation, he goes to California and falls in love with a beautiful young woman named Keiko. But the attack on Pearl Harbor makes Sam, Keiko and their families enemies of the state.

Drafted into the U.S. Army and sent on a secret mission, Sam finds that his identity both puts his life at risk and gives him the strength he needs to survive.

For more information on the event, call (925) 284-1233 or visit www.lafayettebookstore.com. For information on the author and the book, which has just been released in paperback, visit www.johnhamamura.com.

ALAMEDA — Delphine Hirasuna, Kit Hinrichs and Terry Heffernan will sign copies of their latest book, “100 Baseball Icons: A Century of Historic Baseball Memorabilia” (Ten Speed Press), on Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m. at Borders Alameda Towne Centre, 2245 South Shore Center.

The book presents the treasures of the most famous repository of baseball memorabilia in the world, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Given access to the hall’s vast archives, award-winning photographer and lifelong baseball aficionado Heffernan unearths artifacts that represent some of the outstanding achievements and legends in baseball history, including Babe Ruth’s bat, “Shoeless Joe” Jackson’s tattered shoes, and more.

MLB.com, the official site of Major League Baseball, called the book “a beautiful collection of Heffernan’s imagery, Hirasuna’s compelling descriptions, and Hinrichs’ clean, modern layout.”

The three previously collaborated on “The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts From the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946”; “100 American Flags: A Unique Collection of Old Glory Memorabilia”; and “Long May She Wave: A Graphic History of the American Flag.”

For more information on the reading, call (510) 522-6442.

San Francisco-based Viz Media, a company that publishes Japanese manga and anime in the U.S. and around the world, is taking steps toward increasing its access to popular Japanese manga titles.

On June 19, Viz Media announced the formation of a new company called Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co. Ltd., which will act as its main merchandising subsidiary. Masao Yagi has been named president of the new company.

The new company was formed by two of Viz Media’s parent companies, Shueisha Inc. and Shogakukan Production Company Ltd. Hidemi Fukuhara, CEO of Viz Media, hopes that the new company will speed the licensing process for release of future manga outside of Japan.

The old merchandising company, ShoPro, gave Viz Media access to popular Shogakukan manga, such as Pokémon, Doraemon, and Inuyasha. As a result of this new formation of Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Viz Media hopes to have even greater access to the next big hits in titles handled by both Shogakukan and Shueisha.

Fukuhara said, “We look forward to working with Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions to prepare new properties for release in North America as well as for other emerging markets in Europe and Oceania.”
Viz Media was established in 1986 and is headquartered in San Francisco. It publishes and distributes Japanese manga for English-speaking audiences in North America, the United
Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa and is a global ex-Asia licensor of Japanese manga and animation. It offers a wide array of products coming from Japan, such as graphic novels, DVDs, and magazines such as Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat.

Naomi Hirahara’s latest book, “1001 Cranes” (Delacorte Press), is a change of pace for the popular mystery writer.

The novel for young readers tells the story of 12-year-old Angela Kato. When Angela arrives in Los Angeles, the last thing she wants to do is spend the entire summer with her grandparents. But in the Kato family, one is never permitted to complain.

Grandma Michi and Aunt Janet put Angela to work in their flower shop, folding origami and creating 1,001-crane displays for newlyweds. At first, Angela learns the trade begrudgingly.

But when her folding skills improve and her relationships with family and friends grow, Angela is able to cope with her troubles, especially her parents’ impending divorce.

Hirahara is the Edgar Award–winning author of the Mas Arai adult mystery series — “Summer of the Big Bachi,” “Gasa-Gasa Girl” and “Snakeskin Shamisen” —and several non-fiction books on Japanese American history. “1001 Cranes” is her first book for young readers. She lives in Pasadena with her husband.

For more information, visit www.naomihirahara.com.

Author Cynthia Kadohata’s latest book for young readers is “Outside Beauty” (Simon & Schuster).

The novel is narrated by 13-year-old Shelby, who can only describe her mother as a sexpot who collects men (and loans, spending money, and gifts of all kinds) from all over the country. She’s atypical, but she’s more than a pretty face — she’s confident and brave and lives life on her own terms. Her four daughters, all from different fathers, adore her, and work together to keep the family grounded in a way their mother can’t.

Then a late-night car crash shatters everything, including their mother’s arm and face. Suddenly, the family is scattered across the country, each girl being sent to live with her respective father. The sisters try to adjust to a life without each other.

The trouble is, they’re not adjusting, Shelby realizes something drastic must be done to reclaim her family.

Kadohata is the author of the Newbery Medal-winning book “Kira-Kira,” “Weedflower,” and “Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam,” all for young readers, as well as critically acclaimed adult novels, including “The Floating World.” She lives with her son and dog in Covina, Los Angeles County.

For more information, visit http://kira-kira.us/.

DENVER —”Whose America? Who’s American? Diversity, Civil Liberties and Social Justice,” a conference held in Denver by the Japanese American National Museum from July 3 to 6, featured several authors of books about Japanese Americans.

From the Bay Area, Tsukasa Matsueda discussed his book “Issei: The Shadow Generation,” which looks at cultural traits that the Issei passed on to the Nisei, such as the concept of “gaman” (to endure).

Cynthia Kadohata, a Newbery Medal winner for “Kira-Kira,” and Uma Krishnaswami, author of “Naming Maya” and other books for children, discussed how to integrate culturally specific stories into mainstream publishing. The moderator was mystery author Naomi Hirahara, who has just published her first book for young readers, “1001 Cranes.”

by J.K. YAMAMOTO
Hokubei Mainichi

DENVER — Ralph Carr, the governor of Colorado during World War II, is a hero to local Japanese Americans, but has been virtually unknown to the general public — until now.

Adam Schrager, a reporter for the NBC affiliate in Denver, discussed his new book, “Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story,” as the luncheon speaker at “Whose America? Who’s American? Diversity, Civil Liberties and Social Justice,” a conference held by the Japanese American National Museum from July 3 to 6.

A Republican, Carr was twice elected as governor and was known for his philosophy of limited government. He turned down a chance to run for vice president, but there was talk about him someday being the party’s presidential nominee. The events of 1942 changed everything.

Schrager, who spent six years reading everything written by and about Carr, said the governor was outraged when he heard about President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment of Japanese Americans.

Maintaining that “if you do not preserve the principles of the Constitution for every man, then its protections will not be available for any man,” Carr argued that if Japanese Americans could be interned without due process, “what’s to say six months from now, we won’t follow them into that same prison without evidence or a trial?”

Before the internment orders went into effect, some Japanese Americans decided to relocate to states outside the West Coast. But Wyoming Gov. Nels Smith said that if they came to his state, “they’ll be hanging from every pine tree.” Idaho’s attorney general declared that his state “is a white man’s country and we want to keep it that way.”

Going against public opinion in his own state, Carr decided to “offer the hand of friendship” to Japanese Americans, “secure in the knowledge that they will be as truly American as the rest of us,” Schrager said. Carr also warned his constituents, “If you harm them, you must harm me first.”

Carr even asked a Japanese American woman to live at his house and work as a nanny to his first grandchild. Schrager said that neighbors would ask, “Aren’t you afraid you’ll wake up and the baby will be dead?” But Carr “would not assume the worst in people and absolutely would not judge them based on their race, ethnicity or heritage.”

As a result of his stand, Carr faced calls for impeachment and death threats. In November 1942, he lost a race for the U.S. Senate. He ran for governor again in 1950 but died during the campaign at the age of 62.

He was recognized by the JACL in 1946, and a monument to Carr was placed in Denver’s Sakura Square in 1976.

“This is an amazing story ... a story with relevance today, a story about the best of humanity during the worst of times, a story about a man relegated to an undeserved obscurity,” said Schrager.

Carr is starting to emerge from that obscurity. A major state highway and a new Colorado Supreme Court building have been named after him.

“We tend to believe it’s rare that a politician would so clearly set aside self-interest for the sake of the public’s interest, especially at a time when the public didn’t realize it,” commented Schrager. “That’s what makes this story so unique.”

Noting that many politicians are now claiming Carr as their hero, Schrager said, “If it means holding that standard over their heads, we could do worse.”

SAN DIEGO — Comicon, the world-renowned comic book and animation convention, opened to a record-breaking 125,000 attendees on July 24 and welcomed some new participants — World War II veterans from the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

They included Medal of Honor recipient George “Joe” Sakato (E Company), David Katagiri (F Company) and Jim Yamashita (I Company) along with their escorts, Leslie Sakato (Joe’s daughter), JA Living Legacy’s Susan Uyemura and Judge Bryan Yagi.

Yagi, who is an avid Comicon participant, commented that this was truly a special experience and that he felt like a “little kid” around these men.

His uncle, the late Tom Yagi, was a medic assigned to the second platoon of L Company, 442nd RCT. For Yagi, Comicon was a chance to combine his two passions: comic books and his new-found admiration of the 442nd.

William “Billy” Tucci, who invited the vets, is in the process of revising the famous comic book character Sgt. Rock. Beginning Veterans Day 2008, he will unveil a six-month series dedicated to the rescue of the Lost Battalion.

It is speculated that Sgt. Rock will be one of the 141st Texas Division. This series will depict the historic battle in which the 442nd rescued them from behind enemy lines in France, suffering heavy casualties in the process.

At Tucci’s booth, Sakato and Yamashita were greeted by fans who wanted to meet these real-life heroes. One man immediately noticed the Medal of Honor around Sakato’s neck and was awestruck.

Yamashita said he had never experienced anything like Comicon and felt this was a great opportunity to expose a new and different group of people to the history of the 442nd.

Tucci has spent the past year researching the 141st and the 442nd. He traveled to France to meet with historian Gerome Villain.

Determined to portray history accurately, Tucci has interviewed many 442nd veterans as well as Lost Battalion survivors. A veteran and former paratrooper himself, Tucci stated that he never knew what they endured and feels Sgt. Rock can educate the public on the experiences of these special men.

Tucci is the creator of the comic book character Shi, a young woman of Japanese and American parentage who is drafted into a modern-day “shadow war” between descendants of the infamous Sohei warrior monks of medieval Japan.

He has produced many blockbuster cross-over projects with some of the most well-known Marvel and independent characters, including Daredevil, Witchblade, and Wolverine of X-Men fame.

After the mega-success of Shi, Tucci has used his artwork to teach readers about history. One of his most important works of art, titled “Through the Ashes,” is a 32-page comic dedicated to heroes and victims of 9/11.

Scheduled to debut at Comicon 2008 in Baltimore, “Sgt. Rock and the Rescue of the Lost Battalion” six months series will run from Veterans Day 2008 to April 2009.

Tucci resides in New York with his wife and son. For more information on the artist, visit www.williamtucci.com.

Japanese American Living Legacy is a non-profit organization based at CSU Fullerton. For more information, visit www.jalivinglegacy.org or call (714) 278-4483.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Wally Yonamine was both the first Japanese American to play for an NFL franchise (the San Francisco 49ers) and the first American to play professional baseball in Japan after World War II.

“Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball” by Robert Fitts, published by University of Nebraska Press, is the unlikely story of how a shy young man from the sugar plantations of Maui overcame prejudice to integrate two professional sports in two countries.

The book includes an introduction by Sen. Daniel Inouye from Yonamine’s home state.

In 1951, the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants chose Yonamine as the first American to play in Japan during the Allied occupation. He entered Japanese baseball when mistrust of Americans was high — and higher still for Japanese Americans whose parents had left the country a generation earlier.

Without speaking the language, he helped introduce a hustling style of base running, shaking up the game for Japanese players and fans. Along the way, Yonamine endured insults, dodged rocks thrown by fans, initiated riots, and was threatened by yakuza (the Japanese mafia).

He also won batting titles, was named the 1958 MVP, coached and managed for 25 years, and was honored by the emperor of Japan.

Overcoming bigotry and hardship on and off the field, Yonamine became a true national hero and a member of Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California also inducted him into the Japanese American Sports Hall of Fame along with Wat Misaka (basketball), Tommy Kono (weightlifting), Kristi Yamaguchi (figure skating) and Ann Kiyomura (tennis).

Fitts is the author of “Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game,” for which he won the 2005 Sporting News–SABR Award for best baseball research.

His latest book has also won praise from those who know the game:

“For over 50 years, Wally Yonamine has been an important bridge between Japanese and American baseball. He brought a new, exciting style of play to Japan and taught us the finer points of the game. I am glad that Americans can finally learn about Wally’s contributions through this outstanding biography.” — Hideki Matsui, New York Yankees outfielder

“Wally Yonamine is one of the most important figures in the long, rich history of baseball in Japan. His life story, from the rustic schoolyards of prewar Maui to modern-day state-of-the-art Tokyo stadiums, is filled with drama and color ... Fitts has done us all this favor with his richly detailed, thoroughly researched, and heartfelt work.” — Robert Whiting, author of “You Gotta Have Wa” and “The Samurai Way of Baseball”

“This book is much more than a smart biography of Wally Yonamine ... it is also a fascinating account of the game and culture of the Japanese national pastime.” — George Gmelch, author of “Baseball without Borders: The International Pastime”

For ordering information, visit www.nebraskapress.unl.edu. Visit the author’s website at www.robsjapanesecards.com.