Asuka Nishiyama – New Geppo Editor

by Sleepless Kao

At the end of December 2022, Kazuho, who worked with me as an editor at The Bulletin/Geppo for the past eight years, left the magazine as she moved to New York to chase her dream. The pinch hitter is Asuka, who could be my daughter’s age if I had one. Her Instagram username is ASUKA chan (chan is added at the end of a first name in Japan to describe small girl). My first impression of her is a cute girl whose dream is to make people happy with knitting.

We specified many qualifications/skills on the Intern job description posted in The Bulletin (such as ENG-JAP bilingual, Adobe Photoshop/ InDesign proficiency etc), and I myself would have been hesitant to send in an application. We received wonderful resumes from applicants, as if they were applying to a New York-based magazine. They were perfect. Unfortunately, the resumes arrived after the deadline and we are deeply sorry and thankful to those who applied.

Asuka and I met at a store in Gastown where my artwork is sold. When I asked her if she was interested in the intern job for the magazine, she said “YES!”right away.

From Hyogo prefecture in Japan, Asuka moved to Canada after graduating from University of Foreign Studies and studied Design at Blanche Macdonald.

Asuka “I graduated from school and now I am working with a co-op VISA. I am thinking to change to a working holiday VISA later and eventually get a PR card.”

Kao “Why did you come to Canada?”

Asuka “I wanted to focus on knitting…”

When you look at her Instagram, you can tell her knitting skill is at a professional level.

Asuka “In Japan, I thought I may not be able to focus on knitting as I may be swayed by others. Because of COVID, it was hard to study abroad or go working holiday but Canada was open so I chose here.”

As we talked, I learned that she did not have a laptop. I was quite worried if Asuka could really help editing the magazine, but I chose her just because of her positive attitude!

I was like, “You don’t have a laptop!?”, but then she said, “I will get one!” Then a week later she bought a MacBook. My instinct told me to go with her.

Kao “You don’t know Adobe!? (essential software to edit magazines)”

Asuka “I will get it!”

Then she bought the not-so-cheap software without hesitation. However, I was still worried, as she had never used Photoshop or InDesign…but here came Kazuho. She trained Asuka for two months. Although somedays Asuka was struggling with InDesign nightly, she didn’t show any tiredness, and told me, “I want to use Illustrator and Photoshop next. Could you teach me if I help with the editing?” She is easygoing but also stubborn and hardworking.

At the meeting, she told me her vision for The Bulletin.

Asuka “ The Bulletin/Geppo tells many stories of Japanese Canadian history which I am not familiar with. I would like to create content for people who are in my generation and come from Japan, so they can learn about those stories. I want to change the impression of the history of Japanese Canadians and deliver the message to young people.”

As she is passionate about making people happy with knitting, she will have a column about knitting in The Bulletin from February issue. There will be a picture of knitting work, how to knit instruction and QR code which you can access online. She will be busy making a video about ‘Enjoy learning knitting’.

I cannot knit at all so I am excited to learn with you all. Asuka and I will do our best to create a fun magazine so please stay with us. Best wishes for healthy and happy 2023 to everyone.