Belly Like Drum

Recipes for Building Community from Nikkei Progressives

Belly Like Drum offers recipes for building community through stories, interviews, poems, and artwork. The community cookbook highlights treasured family meals and meaningful dishes from members of Nikkei Progressives—a grassroots group based in Little Tokyo standing against injustice, inequality, and white supremacy.

Belly Like Drumis published in the longstanding tradition of learning from history by telling and retelling the stories that give us courage, insights, and hope. Working for social justice is an ongoing and intergenerational process and, just like food, it is something we must return to every day. As organizers and activists from ages seven to ninety-seven, the contributors to this cookbook believe that as we are nourished by the food we make, eat, and share, so our souls are fed by our involvement in the struggle for justice.

Nikkei Progressives is a grassroots, all-volunteer, multi-generational community organization. Our mission is to engage and unite the Nikkei community to stand against injustice, inequality, and white supremacy and to work in solidarity with others for a more just society.

Edited and compiled by Ako Castuera, Alyson Iwamoto, Kimi Maru, Rob Sato, and Tony Osumi (the Nikkei Progressives Oishii Committee)

Cover artwork by Rob Sato

Additional artwork by Rob Sato, Ako Castuera, Alyson Iwamoto, Roger Oda, Aiko Iwamoto Kaoosji, Kate Wong, Kris Chau, and Valerie Fletcher Oda 

Recipes and stories contributed by Kimi Maru, Mark Masaoka, Yasuko Sakamoto, Joy Yamaguchi, Key Sekimachi, Beverly Murata, June Hibino, Kayla Yamada, Tony Osumi, Carrie Morita, Alyson Iwamoto, Miya Iwataki, Philip Hirose, Michael Yanagita, Alex Kanegawa, Kristin Fukushima, Billy Taing, Ako Castuera, Sheheryar Kaoosji, Valerie Morishige, Mary Nomura, Roger Oda, Jim Matsuoka,  Aiko Iwamoto Kaoosji, Kathy Masaoka, Amy Honjiyo, and traci kato-kiriyama

Currently Nikkei Progressives is only selling the cookbook at special events. Please check back for bookstore sales soon!

Email nikkeiprogressives@gmail.com for more information