Professor Valerie Matsumoto will be in Gardena for a signing of her new book, “City Girls: the Nisei Social World in Los Angeles 1920-1950,” from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Nisei Veterans Hall of the Gardena Valley JCI, 1964 W 162nd St.
Matsumoto is a professor in the Department of History and Department of Asian American Studies at UCLA.
Professor Valerie Matsumoto will be in Gardena for a signing of her new book, “City Girls: the Nisei Social World in Los Angeles 1920-1950,” from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Nisei Veterans Hall of the Gardena Valley JCI, 1964 W 162nd St.
Matsumoto is a professor in the Department of History and Department of Asian American Studies at UCLA.
During the 1920s and 1930s, organizations for young Nisei women flourished in Los Angeles, then home to the largest Japanese American population. In clubs with names such as the Junior Misses and Tartanettes, young women gained leadership training, took part in community service, found jobs, and enjoyed beach outings and parties.
As cultural mediators and ethnic representatives, these urban teenagers bridged the cultures of the Japanese American community and mainstream society, whether introducing new foods, holidays, and rituals into the home or dancing in kimono at civic events. Women's organizing skills and work would prove critical to the support of their families during World War II incarceration and community rebuilding in the difficult years of resettlement.
By bringing to life a dynamic and long-lasting world of friendship circles and clubs, City Girls highlights the ways in which urban Nisei daughters claimed modern femininity, an American identity, and public space from the jazz age through the postwar era.
Hosted by the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (GVJCI) and the Bridge: JCI Heritage Center, this program is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the GVJCI office at 310-324-6611 or email info@jci-gardena.org.
