A multimedia documentary project
Fall Seven Times,
Get Up Eight:
The Japanese War Brides
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Japan's Iron Man

5/2/2018

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Nowadays, mixed-race faces are commonplace throughout Japanese entertainment, fashion, media and sports, and increasingly, society at large. 
But back in 1965, when Sachio Kinugasa began his long and illustrious career in Japanese pro baseball, biracialism was still a novelty, and usually an unwelcome one at that.  Kinugasa’s father was a black GI stationed in Okinawa who abandoned him to be raised by a single mom. He was often the target of bullying. 
Known for his humility and perseverance, “Iron Man” Kinugasa would join the Hiroshima Carp baseball team. Despite injury and advancing age, he played 2,215 consecutive games, beating Lou Gehrig’s record, an achievement he held until the record was again broken by Cal Ripken. 
After his retirement, the Hall of Famer remained a baseball star, working as a commentator, teacher and promoter of the game.
Kinugasa rarely spoke about his father in public, but his American roots clearly loomed large. His role model was African-American superstar Willie Mays.
The New York Times quoted a former teammate, who noticed Kinugasa was burning the midnight oil to study English -- in hopes of going to the US to search for the father he had never met.
Revered by his native country, Kinugasa died of colon cancer in late April. He was 71.
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Our Fall 2016 newsletter is out!

10/6/2016

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More reaction to Kathryn's Washington Post opus tremendous... screenings in Japan and the US... and letters from our wonderful community of war bride families, students and friends. Step rrrr-right up and read all about it!  eepurl.com/cidGqz

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Help us produce our next war bride film!

9/29/2016

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Our short 26-minute film was just the beginning - we are seeking donations and grants in order to more fully tell the Japanese war bride story in a new, one-hour documentary - and your help is crucial. Please write fallsevengetupeight@gmx.com for details.
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Read Kathryn's war bride opus in The Washington Post!

9/22/2016

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Kathryn's year-long sprint around the US - speaking with dozens of Japanese war brides, their friends and family - has culminated in an engrossing and extraordinary multimedia article in the Post. wapo.st/warbrides
BTW, that's Kathryn - the cute toddler on the right...

Karen shot new photos for the article, which was many months in the making. Please set aside plenty of time to explore the audio stories, which are just a part of Kathryn's collection... and will inform our next, full-length film on the brides.
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F7GU8 picks up another award!

8/30/2016

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Thrilled and honored to announce our film was selected best documentary short by the 15th Annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas! 
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We are now streaming on Vimeo!

8/15/2016

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Instant access to F7GU8 is now available at the Vimeo rental site vimeo.com/ondemand/fallsevengetupeight?
As always, you can purchase a DVD here kunaki.com/Sales.asp?PID=PX00ZT2YE2
For community screenings and educational sales such as university libraries, please contact ​distribution@twn.org
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Pres. Obama, Hiroshima, and the war brides...

5/28/2016

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Obama's historic trip to Hiroshima provided a fitting moment to remember the war brides, too, as Kathryn writes in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/27/remembering-hiroshima-stop-working-we-lost-the-war/?tid=a_inl
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Any WWII history buffs out there?

5/28/2016

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Over many years, F7GU8 friend Jonathan and his brother have amassed an astonishing assortment of personal stories, articles, photos and memorabilia that tell the story of that war. We were honored to get a mention on their site: http://awartobewon.com/wwii-media/japanese-war-brides/
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Check out our latest newsletter!

5/1/2016

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Our late spring newsletter is out - please paste this into your browser:
​http://eepurl.com/bZ4t4L

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Laurels!

3/14/2016

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