Participating in Political Change with Yumiko Sakuma

We are thrilled to continue our latest Future of Women Podcast series! In this four-part series, our host Momoko Nakamura takes us around the world to speak with brilliant and creative Japanese women.

Today, on our fourth and final episode in the series, Momoko speaks with Yumiko Sakuma about inspiring people to be vocal, active participants in political change.

This episode was recorded on November 15, 2021.

Yumiko Sakuma writes about contemporary culture, art, fashion, music, and socio-political issues. Based in New York City, she is a regular contributor of reportage, interviews, and travel writing to numerous Japanese and English publications. Among the many visionaries she has interviewed are Al Gore, Robert Frank, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Kazuo Ishiguro, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yayoi Kusama, Ryan McGinley, Genna Rowlands, Gary Snyder, and Les Paul. Her books include Hip na Seikatsu Kakumei, 2014 (Hip Revolution), reporting on the American consumer shift following the 2008 financial crisis; Pin Heel wa Hakanai, 2016 (Take Off Your Heels), a collection of essays about the inspiring women in her life; My Little New York Times, 2018, 365 journal entries about splitting her time between America and Asia during the Trump regime; and Majime ni Marijuana no Hanashi wo Shiyo, 2019 (Let’s Have a Serious Talk About Marijuana), an analysis of why the world is moving toward the legalization of marijuana. She also hosts a podcast in Japanese, Konnichiwa Mirai (Hello Future) with Kei Wakabayashi, former editor-in-chief of Wired Japan. Her work has been published in Japan, the US, Korea, and Taiwan.

Momoko Nakamura is a cultural conservationist and storyteller, sharing the Japanese art of regenerative living with the world. She roves the Japanese countryside, exploring wisdoms imparted by professionals across the archipelago like ceramists, geologists, farmers, repairers, fermenters, and grandmas. Her community education and experiential programs are intended to help us apply teachings rooted in ancestral heritage into our everyday lives. Momoko hosts the podcast Roots to Fruit, is author of Plant-based Tokyo, and can also be found in the Netflix original series Waffles + Mochi.