Generations of Expression: Japanese American Youth Shaping Culture

Join us as we close out AAPI Month and usher in Pride Month with an afternoon of fashion, drag, and cultural expression at KOHO Co-Creative Hub. Organized by the National Japanese American Historical Society, this celebratory event takes place on Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 12:30 PM and marks the opening day of a new exhibition at NJAHS’s Peace Gallery, Queer Japantown. This event will celebrate both the history and contemporary expressions of Japanese American youth self-expression—from repurposing Japanese textiles into new fashion forms to exploring Japanese American identity through drag.

Featuring a drag performance by Kristi Yummykochi, Kristi Yummykochi is a San Francisco Politi-Kween for the people, and member of the first A&PI drag collective in the US, the Rice Rockettes. She has been featured in publications from Vice News, NBC Asian American, and NewNowNext. In her spare time, she enjoys eating the rich and encouraging critical social dialog using her whip.

The event also includes a fashion show by Yutaka Ezekiel Goto, whose work reimagines Japanese American identity through sustainable design practices. Yutaka sources secondhand materials throughout the Bay Area alongside secondhand deadstock kimono textiles (tannmono 反物) from Japan to create garments that express a new form of Japanese American identity. Their work has been presented through their fashion brand Yutan_Ño, at San Francisco State University, pop-up venues, and other runway opportunities across San Francisco.

Together, this fashion show and drag performance offer a powerful celebration of creativity, identity, and self-expression—honoring how Japanese American youth, past and present, continue to shape culture, challenge norms, and imagine new possibilities.

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Host or Publisher National Japanese American Historical Society