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Check out Award-Winning Japanese Movie This Week That Will Help Support Exclusion Memorial Visitor Center. Bainbridge Artist Makes Impact in Kentucky

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Thanks to islander Ellen Miyasato, the award-winning Japanese film Kokuho will be playing for two nights only – June 25 and June 26 – at the Historic Lynwood Theatre. The showings are sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association (BIJAEMA) as part of its fundraising efforts to publicize and support the near completion of the Visitor Center at the Japanese American Exclusion Memorial.

“This was a blockbuster movie in Japan, winning Picture of the Year at Japan’s equivalent of the Academy Awards,” says Miyasato. “It depicts kabuki theater which is not seen outside of Japan. It is visually stunning and emotionally engaging. The son of a gangster is adopted by a kabuki master and learns the craft, but the kabuki master’s son also aspires to follow in his father’s footsteps. The two have a friendship/rivalry but only one will be named a living national treasure or Kokuho.

Kabuki is a traditional Japanese theater form combining music, dance, and dramatic performance, known for its stylized acting, elaborate costumes, and visually striking stagecraft. According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, Kabuki originated in the early 17th century, and was created by Izumo no Okuni, a female Shinto shrine dancer who performed in Kyoto with an all-female troupe. Her performances combined dance, drama, and parody, appealing to common people rather than the elite, and were initially known for their provocative and unconventional style. Women were banned from performing in 1629, leading to the development of onnagata, male actors specializing in female roles. Kabuki evolved into an all-male theatrical tradition while retaining its dynamic, popular appeal.

“This film was brought to our attention by Ellen Miyasato,” noted another Ellen, Ellen Sato, Executive Director of BIJAEMA.  “As with last year’s Kintsukuroi, which also played at the Lynwood Theatre, we are always interested in supporting art and culture that provides context for the Japanese American experience, and we find that many members of our community appreciate having local access to internationally recognized films like Kokuho.

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Sato says BIJAEMA is nearing the finish line in construction of the new Visitor Center. “Miyasato suggested we use Kokuho as an opportunity to bring attention to our remaining fundraising needs. When we finally received our long-delayed building permit in September 2025, we found ourselves revising the project budget to $6.5 million and facing a $2 million funding gap. Today, construction remains on schedule for completion this September, and thanks to the generosity of hundreds of donors, foundations, businesses, and community partners, we have reduced that gap to approximately $500,000,” Sato explains.

 

The Visitor Center represents the final phase of a decades-long community effort to preserve and interpret the story of the 276 Bainbridge Island residents of Japanese ancestry who were the first in the nation to be forcibly removed from their homes during World War II. Once completed, the Center will provide year-round educational programming, exhibits, interactive digital resources, and access to the personal stories that help visitors understand both the injustice of exclusion and the resilience of the community that endured it.

 

“Events such as Kokuho help us fulfill another important part of our mission: creating opportunities for people to engage with Japanese culture and history in meaningful ways.,” Sato continues. “We are grateful to Ellen Miyasato, the Lynwood Theater, and others in the community who have helped make this screening possible.” For more information visit: Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial

 

Both screenings of Kokuho on Thursday and Friday begin at 7 p.m.
Bainbridge Island Raised Artists Makes it on Kentucky Magazine Cover 

 

Bainbridge-raised artist Anna Pollock is the cover story of the June issue of Chevy Chaser Magazine in Lexington, Kentucky.

 

Anna grew up on Bainbridge, where music and the natural world were early influences on her creative life. She started pursuing art seriously in high school, taking classes at Parsons School of Design in NYC, and later studied at Central Saint Martins in London and SCAD in Savannah before graduating from Lewis & Clark College with a degree in fine arts.

 

Today, she’s building a creative career in Kentucky’s music scene, designing posters, album art, merchandise, stage visuals, and festival art for musicians and events. The Chevy Chaser story focuses on how her work is helping shape the visual identity of central Kentucky’s thriving music scene and also references her island upbringing.

 

Anna still returns to Bainbridge for extended stays in August and winter. She is a Bainbridge-raised artist whose creative path now stretches from Puget Sound to Kentucky’s music scene. Here’s a link to the actual magazine story as well as the online version. – Contributed by island writer and TIW contributor Sheri Renner, who, under full discloser, is Anna’s mother.

 

If you’d like to read more articles from The Island Wanderer Blog website, click here, to subscribe to The Island Wanderer Blog, click here.

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