Did you know that the fortune cookie might actually be Japanese? A new documentary, directed and produced by Derek Shimoda, explores the origins of this staple dessert at Chinese restaurants across the world, and finds that there's a high possibility that Japanese immigrants closely tied to a rice cracker shop may have first made and distributed these cookies in San Francisco. (Incidentally, most people in China have no clue what a fortune cookies is.)
It's a fun documentary—really well put together, with some classic characters and some really interesting scenes from 20th century Asian American history—that premieres March 15th in San Francisco at the SF Int'l Asian American Film Festival.
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March 01, 2008
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About
Lisa Katayama's personal blog.
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- I write articles about culture, technology, and human rights for Wired, Popular Science, Fast Company, and the New York Times Magazine. I also produce radio segments for PRI's Studio360 and am a Correspondent for Boing Boing, one of Time Magazine's five most essential blogs of 2010.
In 2008, Chronicle published my book: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.
I am also the founder of The Tofu Project, a boutique program that helps Japanese entrepreneurs and creators think deeper, tell better stories, and go out into the world in a much bigger way. We work with companies like Mixi, Japan Airlines, and Salesforce.com.
Sometimes I try to explain Japanese culture on CNN, BBC, CBC, WSJ, ABC (so many acronyms!) or in person at places like the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, ETech, and Ignite!
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