Japanese for Nikkei
Reconnecting with your Roots
For Nikkei, by Nikkei.
We take a learner-centered approach to address specific needs to support your Japanese language learning journey so that you can feel empowered as you reconnect with your cultural roots.
Who and what are Nikkei?
We use Nikkei (日系) as an inclusive and non-static term to refer to people of Japanese ancestry, including but not limited to Japanese Canadians and Americans, who come from multi-cultural and multi-racial families, as well as those with complex identities who have connections to Japan.
Based on Our Survey, We Designed Courses to Meet Your Needs to…
Regain the confidence to use the language of your ancestors!
Be part of a growing online global Nikkei community!
Hold a conversation with your obāchan and ojīchan!
Acquire communication skills for business and travel!
Join Nikkei from Around the World!
Since opening our doors in 2020, we have served members of our global Nikkei community from many cities in Canada and the United States, as well as Sweden, Japan, and Australia!
We look forward to growing our community!
Get the free あいうえお (AIUEO) charts!
You won’t find these charts anywhere else but here. Made by the help of our Instagram community, these charts celebrate words that are inspired by you! See if you can find any of yours! It also comes with a pronunciation guide, hiragana, katakana, vocabulary list, and more!
Hi, I’m Mimi.
My Japanese name is Tsugumi, but I go by Mimi. I co-founded Japanese for Nikkei with my osananajimi, Sachi, to provide a teaching platform tailored to Nikkei learners. Sachi and I are an unstoppable force committed to helping you (re)connect with your heritage. We both have experience in higher education, from once being timid students ourselves to learning the tools of our trade as professionals. Aside from my work at JFN, I am an assistant teaching professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Asian Studies Program at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. As a teacher, I am the recipient of two independent teaching awards and one team-teaching award at the University of Alberta. I cannot wait to bring my experience, enthusiasm, and love for teaching and learning to our virtual classrooms! See you online! (I will be taking a temporary leave starting January 2023).
Hi, I’m Sachi.
My full name is Catherine Sachi Kikuchi, but I go by my Japanese name, Sachi. I grew up in a bilingual, biracial household but always had to fight for my Japanese-Canadian identity. Apart from my name, I did this by continuously studying Japanese. After I completed my MA and TESL certificate, I moved to Japan where I taught English at Tohoku University and translated on the side. After returning to Canada, I decided to continue doing what I loved—translating and teaching languages. I started Kokoro Communications in mid-2019, and this year I teamed up with my long-time friend, Mimi, to start Japanese for Nikkei. As she said, we are an unstoppable force committed to helping you (re)connect with your heritage. Check out the free AIUEO chart we have created just for you and join us online!
Contribute to our Annual Online Zine.
We want to hear the voices of Nikkei people from around the globe. If you’d like to contribute to our Zine, Nikkei Monogatari, see our submission guidelines! The call for submissions will be published on our social media in Spring 2022!
Our commitment to you.
Land Acknowledgment At Japanese for Nikkei, we continue to strive to understand our place within “Canada,” and on the land, our business founded, including the traditional territory of the Huron Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg as well as the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Chippewa, and the Wendat peoples. We are mindful of the lands that we occupy and were colonized by settlers, and the ongoing colonization of languages spoken by these Indigenous communities and call on the need for more serious efforts by individuals and policymakers to acknowledge the connection between stolen land and languages.
We are also committed to supporting Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigeneity (EDII) for all students and members affiliated with Japanese for Nikkei from around the world.