Kiki in NY
Weekly reflections on life, current affairs, and cultural identity from our New York correspondent Kiki Murai. A special 12-part series.Eleven Months Later
Three days after Christmas in 2004, I was on a routine flight from Japan to Los Angeles, where I was headed to spend the New Years holiday with my family.
Letting Go of Entitlement
New York City is a place where you get a lesson in 'entitlement' every day. Either someone is yelling at you to listen to them on the subway, billboards around Times Square smile down at you with an entitled look, or shop owners remark that this is their wine store and they know what they're talking about, not you.
Three Lessons From Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty isn't just for little Japanese girls anymore.
The Way The Ice Thaws
Many years ago, while I was teaching aspiring singers and dancers, and producing a television show in Japan, I wrote a blog called "Telling Stories." It lasted [how many days/weeks/months/year?], and eventually I writing in it because I wasn't telling the truth.
Oh-soji for the Japanese-American Soul
If I am truly to celebrate the New Year in a Japanese style, I would "oh-soji" more than just the surface of my life, and quietly observe what's really going on beneath.
The Human Connection
Two years ago, I was hurrying through Roppongi Hills, the trendy and central Tokyo hotspot known for its Christmas lights, thinking it was all very beautiful, and also very empty.
Permission to Release
On Day One of my teaching job in Okinawa, I held a class with my dancers and singers that had nothing to do with performing. What happened in that classroom every single day for years, changed my outlook on Japan.
Dear Body
In a grimy New York subway station today, I had a revelation about life and all its misgivings: I no longer resent my body.
They Say Yes, They Mean No
If you've visited Japan, you may have wondered once or twice if Japanese people are really that nice. It took me years of living there to find out—they're not.
Searching for Romance in Okinawa
When I was 24, I went back to my birth country in search of a childhood romance.
The Double Life
Growing up, did you ever feel you were hiding your real self from the world?
Arriving and Shivering in New York City
I'm shivering in a small, intimate theatre on 46th Street in New York City. As the lights dim and the cast enters stage left, the...
Kiki in NY | This Japanese American Life
What does it mean to be Japanese American? Kiki Murai doesn't have all the answers, but she can start by telling you some stories about...
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About Kiki
Kiki is a writer and certified yoga instructor based in New York City. She was born in Tokyo and raised in Los Angeles. Kiki spent ten years in Japan, teaching aspiring performers, directing musicals, and writing a weekly television program.
Want more Kiki? Follow her blog Kiki Media and on Twitter @kiki_murai.
Recent Posts
Three Lessons From Hello Kitty
Oh-soji for the Japanese-American Soul
Searching for Romance in Okinawa
Arriving and Shivering in New York City
Kiki in NY | This Japanese American Life
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