Brandi-Ann Uyemura, a writer from Oʻahu and fifth-generation Japanese American, recently published her debut picture book with Holiday House called, “I am a Bon Dancer.”
The story follows a Japanese American girl, around the age of 6 or 7, who is too shy to dance at the Obon festival until her she finds courage with the help of her grandfather, she said. Her inspiration was drawn from personal experiences with her grandpa at the Soto Zen Bon Festival in Hanapēpē on Kaua’i.
“He loved the bon dance and used to take me there,” Uyemura told Aloha State Daily. “I had these visceral memories of him getting ready, padding down his balding head with hair oil and putting his happi coat on all excited. ... He’d give us money to play games there. ...With the lanterns overhead and the sound of the Taiko drums, which left such an impression on me. I knew that was what I wanted to write about.”
“Now, I’m dancing with my grandpa in a different way,” she said with a smile.
Obon season runs from June through September, and in Hawaiʻi, local communities join in celebration of the Japanese Buddhist festival with traditional music, dance and food, to honor ancestors.
As part of her writing process, Uyemura enjoyed researching the meaning behind Obon festival, “which was what it was missing,” she said. “It originates from the Festival of Souls, which brings spirits back. The dance movements mimic Japanese workers in coal mines, or in Hawaiʻi, sugar cane workers. My family was raised on the sugar plantations. … When I dance, I feel like my ancestors are with me. But some people go to bon dances because they just like to dance, not everyone is there for spiritual or cultural reasons.”
For nearly two decades, Uyemura has written for publications such as Hawaiʻi Business, Spirituality & Health, The Writer, Punahou magazine and more.
“I love to write. I majored in English, studied literature, and as a little kid I always wanted to become a writer.”
The kidlit author said there was a lot of “un-training” involved in bringing this fiction manuscript to life, which she started working on between 2014 and 2015. More than 10 years later, “I am a Bon Dancer,” illustrated by Amy Matsushita-Beal, can be purchased at several major retailers and independent bookstores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the Buddhist Churches of America bookstore, among others.
“I’m good at waiting for things I really want,” Uyemura said, adding that she waited many years for a dog growing up. “I got over 100 rejections (for the book) and so many times I wanted to give up but would still have a little bit of hope.”
In 2020, she won a mentorship with acclaimed children’s author Andrea Wang and said, “that’s when things started to move quickly.”
“It pushed me more. She helped get my manuscript in shape and I feel really fortunate,” Uyemura told ASD. “I wrote it as a newspaper writer, accurately, well-researched and how I remembered it. It was written in the third person at first before we changed it to first person.”
What also helped as a debut author was feedback and support from friends, though, she was surprised “some cried when they read my book.”
“I didn’t know people were going to have an emotional reaction to it,” Uyemura said. “Friends have gone out of their way to help support me, and I need community. Even emailing updates back and forth with other authors has been keeping me going right now. I’m grateful for the people who show up for me.”
Based in Kailua, Uyemura continues to freelance, while working to promote the book and find agents for 20 more manuscripts. With a background in Counseling Psychology, she previously worked at Psych Central for 9 years and as a coach.
With support from her husband, the pair are raising two boys ages 10 and 12 to read and tell good stories, she said, adding “I have two manuscripts that I wrote about them, and I read them my manuscripts, too.”
Her advice for other local writers? “Kidlit authors work so hard; you just have to let things go and let things happen. My book was supposed to come out last summer; there was so much pressure and the dates kept changing.
“For debut authors, appreciate the moment and don’t worry about how sales are going to do. You can’t control everything. Remember the interactions you have with readers and learn from them.”
Catch Uyemura at two upcoming events on May 31 and June 2 at Kaimukī Library, and June 6 at Barnes & Noble, Ala Moana. She also plans to visit the Mainland, as well as Kauaʻi Soto Zen Temple this summer for Obon season.
For more information, visit brandi-annuyemura.com or follow her on Instagram:
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
