Welcome
The Shig Project seeks to promote peace and cross-cultural understanding by telling Professor Imamura's (Shig's) story.
About Us
How it all began
How it all began
How it all began
The Shig Project began in 1999 when Isako Imamura, widow of Professor Shigeo (Shig) Imamura, asked three of his former Michigan State University graduate students (Constance O'Keefe, Johnnie Johnson Hafernik, and Stephanie Vandrick) to help her get her husband's memoir published.
After Shig's memoir was published, Constance O'Keefe, a
The Shig Project began in 1999 when Isako Imamura, widow of Professor Shigeo (Shig) Imamura, asked three of his former Michigan State University graduate students (Constance O'Keefe, Johnnie Johnson Hafernik, and Stephanie Vandrick) to help her get her husband's memoir published.
After Shig's memoir was published, Constance O'Keefe, at Mrs. Isako Imamura's suggestion and with her blessings, agreed to write a novel, inspired by Shig's life: a novel with a broader view and that included Shig and Isako's love story. The novel was co-published in 2014 by Fithian Press.
The Memoir
How it all began
How it all began
Shig's memoir tells the story of how a young American citizen, a Nisei, was caught up in the atmosphere of pre-war Japan when he and his family moved from San Francisco to Japan in 1932. It tells about Shig becoming "110% " Japanese and volunteering as a kamikaze pilot. In his memoir, Shig set out to explain how this could happen.
Read
Shig's memoir tells the story of how a young American citizen, a Nisei, was caught up in the atmosphere of pre-war Japan when he and his family moved from San Francisco to Japan in 1932. It tells about Shig becoming "110% " Japanese and volunteering as a kamikaze pilot. In his memoir, Shig set out to explain how this could happen.
Read a review of the memoir and learn more about kamikaze pilots at Kamikaze Images.net
The Novel
How it all began
The Novel
At the core of the novel, A Thousand Stitches, is the story of Isamu (Sam) Imagawa, the character modeled after Professor Imamura. However, Shig's story is fictionalized and includes a parallel story of Michiko Miyazawa, Isamu's high school sweetheart.
Henry Li created sumi-e brush paintings for the novel. The two paintings on this web
At the core of the novel, A Thousand Stitches, is the story of Isamu (Sam) Imagawa, the character modeled after Professor Imamura. However, Shig's story is fictionalized and includes a parallel story of Michiko Miyazawa, Isamu's high school sweetheart.
Henry Li created sumi-e brush paintings for the novel. The two paintings on this website as well as the cover of the novel are Henry Li's artwork.
Read a review of the novel at Kamikaze Images.net
The Authors
In Their Own Words
Shigeo Imamura
"If only more . . . people would come to realize that no arguments, no differences of opinions - political, economic, social, religious or otherwise - are worthy of the sacrifice of human lives, including one's own, the purpose of this writing would be accomplished."
Constance O'Keefe
"A Thousand Stitches started with Isako and her determination that her husband's memoir have the effect he intended - to serve as a testament of peace."
Shigeo Imamura
Shigeo Imamura (1922 - 1998) was born in San Francisco, CA. At the age of 10, Shig moved with his family to Japan, his parents' home country. After the War, Imamura became a respected international educator, a man who devoted fifty years of his life to promoting peace through understanding and cross-cultural communication.
Professor Imamura was a pioneer in teaching spoken English to Japanese students and in training Japanese teachers of English. He also taught countless students of all nationalities and trained generations of teachers in the U.S. and Japan.
Constance O'Keefe
Constance O'Keefe (1948 - 2011) was introduced to Japan by the Imamuras during graduate school at Michigan State University. She taught English for a year in Japan and later worked for the Japan National Tourist Organization and other Japanese organizations in New York City. For 25 years, she worked as a lawyer in international aviation and as an adjunct law professor.
Support the Shig Project
Purchase one or both of the books.
Practice and promote cross-cultural understanding and peace.
Donate to one of the Imamura Graduate Fellowships.
- A Memoir by Professor Shigeo Imamura—Shig: The True Story of an American Kamikaze (2001, American Literary Press)
- A novel by Constance O'Keefe based on Professor Imamura's life—A Thousand Stitches: A Novel (2014, Fifthian Press).
- Order either book from Amazon or another online bookstore, a brick and mortar bookstore, or Contact Us.
Donate to one of the Imamura Graduate Fellowships.
Practice and promote cross-cultural understanding and peace.
Donate to one of the Imamura Graduate Fellowships.
- Michigan State University—Shigeo and Isako Imamura Graduate Fellowship in English Language Teaching.
- Proceeds from book sales go to support the Imamura Graduate Fellowships.
Practice and promote cross-cultural understanding and peace.
Practice and promote cross-cultural understanding and peace.
Practice and promote cross-cultural understanding and peace.
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