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Chiemi Souen

Chiemi Souen

Honolulu, Hawaii

Chiemi Souen is a literary and journalistic writer. By day, she is an editor for "The Hawai‘i Herald, Hawai‘i's Japanese American Journal." By night, she is a creative writer and musician.

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About the author

Chiemi writes to give a voice to Okinawan-Americans of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th generation descendants of contract sugar plantation workers who immigrated from Okinawa in the early 1900s and remain faceless in literature.

The author is a member of Afuso Ryu Ongaku Kenkyu Choichi Kai (https://www.afusochoichikaiusa.com) and Tamagusuku Ryu Senju Kai Frances Nakachi Dojo (https://senjukaihawaii.com).
She has received a scholarship sponsored by the Okinawan Prefectural Government for Okinawan descendants.

Illustrations are by Flor Kaneshiro. She is an accomplished illustrator who has experience illustrating Okinawan children's books. Her illustration style is timeless and will continue to be considered beautiful far into the future. Please see her work on her website, https://florkane.wixsite.com/florkaneshiro.
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Pre-orders

1,280

Funded

$27,370.00

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1280copies
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Success! IKIGAI has already sold 1280 pre-orders , was pitched to 106 publishers , and will be published by Brandylane Publishers, Inc. .
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$20 Find your Purpose

108 readers

You'll get:

- 1 printed copy
- 1 free eBook

1 copy + ebook included

$5 shipping

$40 Sharing Ikigai story

66 readers

Share a copy with a friend. You'll get:

- 2 printed copies
- 2 free eBooks

2 copies + ebook included

$5 shipping

$150 Small Group

12 readers

You'll get:

- 5 printed copies (autographed)
- 5 free eBooks
- 30 min webinar with Chiemi for Q&A
- Free shipping

5 copies + ebook included

Free shipping

$250 Okinawan Culture

2 readers

You'll get:

- 10 printed copies
- 10 eBooks
- 1h presentation with Chiemi regarding Okinawan culture and Ikigai's story
- Free shipping

10 copies + ebook included

Free shipping

$500 Okinawan History

3 readers

Perfect for schools, you'll get:

- 20 printed copies
- 20 eBooks
- 1h presentation with Chiemi regarding Okinawan culture and Ikigai's story
- Invite to the book launch
- Free shipping

20 copies + ebook included

Free shipping

$1000 Legacy

18 readers

This is great for non-profit organizations.
Also great for any practice or association that deals with children, motivation or life-coaching.

- 50 printed copies
- 50 eBooks
- 1h presentation with Chiemi regarding Okinawan culture and Ikigai's story
- Invite to the book launch
- Your organization's name written in the book as a Sponsor in the acknowledge page
- Free shipping

50 copies + ebook included

Free shipping

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Update #12 - IISOOGWACHI DEEBIRU! HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! Feb. 14, 2021

Dear Friends and Family, 

Today I sent in the most recent editing note to Brandylane Publishing. That means IKIGAI is almost ready to print! One year ago, I was attending many New Year's parties to talk about IKIGAI to various Okinawan Village Clubs around Oahu. Thanks to my sensei Grant Murata, Kenton Odo and June Nakama I was able to visit many of you and received an overwhelming show of support. Thank you for pre-ordering and making the crowd-publishing a success! We are near the end of the editing process and as soon as I hear from my publishers about a print date I will let you know. 

This books journey has taken several years now, from the writing to publishing. I sometimes thought it might never happen, but now I know that the spirits guiding this book knew that the right people and right timing would happen if I just trusted. After I wrote the draft of IKIGAI, I pestered poet and novelist Lois-Ann Yamanaka to be my mentor, and it happened. After many rejections from other publishers, life expert and Happiness U founder told me about Publishizer. And without the Publishizer platform, I would have never been connected with Brandylane Publishing. Then came my amazing Afuso-Ryu family, my family and friends and communities from all over the world who pre-ordered. So even if we are a little behind schedule, I have total trust that everything will happen exactly when it's meant to happen. The Universe has shown that to me the whole way. This is also the feeling that young Choichi learns to listen to when searching for his life's purpose, his ikigai. 

This book is dedicated to all the Choichis who are somewhere on their IKIGAI journey. In this New Year of the Ox, I want to wish all of you infinite blessings of abundance and good health. I also want to share a video by Tim Tamashiro that I think explains IKIGAI beautifully. Please enjoy!

Gratefully yours, 

Chiemi Souen