Welcome!
My whole life I’ve had to spell out my last name, Munemitsu. But it isn’t so hard to say - Moo-ne-mi-tsu. My grandfather immigrated from Kochi, Japan to Southern California in 1916. That makes me a Sansei - third generation Japanese American and second gen Californian.
Whenever I travel to Japan, native Japanese tell me what an unusual last name I have - EVEN in Japan! One of my unknown ancestors chose this last name in the late 1870s when common people first went from a clan or birthplace name to a surname, family last name in Japan. I don’t know exactly what that initial ancestors’ intent was, but certainly he had an uplifting spirit of heritage and origin, light and brightness.
The two Japanese kanji for Munemitsu 宗光 can translate roughly to 1) ancestor, origin, roots, beliefs and 2) light, radiance, bright. With that in mind, I’ve claimed the idea of “rooted in light,” or “one who points to the light” and that’s the purpose of my website.
I’m rooted in the light of Jesus Christ with my faith, grounded in biblical scripture. I want to point others to the light and love of Jesus in all I say, do, and believe with respect for one another, knowing that God the Creator loves us each and every one.
Rooted in Light,
Here I offer:
My book’s website, “The Kindness of Color” where you can learn more about our family story and the intersection with the Mendez family of “Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, et al, the 1947 landmark federal law case that desegregated California schools in 1947, the first state to do so.
My Spiritual Direction private practice website
For more information about spiritual direction and soul care.
My “Imagine That!” musings of stories and poems from my life experience in corporate, ministry, and now as an author. It’s all a faith journey with Jesus and the Spirit of God working in my life.
Watch this 7 minute film to understand the story behind “The Kindness of Color.” Inspired by the book, the animated film captures our Munemitsu story of leaving Westminster for the Poston incarceration camp through the eyes of 7 year old twin sisters, my aunts. Forced to leave the only home they knew during WWII because of their Japanese heritage, this film is the prelude and a perfect complement to my book and for students and classroom use when studying WWII, American history, and the Japanese American incarceration.
The film is directed/produced by Brendan Bubion, for his thesis and MFA degree in documentary filmmaking, Dodge College of Film, Chapman University. Brendan’s hope is for the film to be used in classrooms so that this history is taught and known. The California premiere was at the Newport Beach Film Festival, October 19, 2023. It was also officially selected as the Best Student Film 2023 at the Thin Line Film Festival, Denton TX; as well as at the 2023 Riverrun Film Festival, Winston-Salem, NC and 2023 Northwest Fest Documentary Film Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
I am honored to have Brendan select our story as his thesis film and as an advocate and ally to sharing all of history.
Janice