retro grain background
Freehand Pen Doodle Basic Shapes

Welcome to THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR

Freehand Pen Doodle Pink Swirly Arrow

Ikigai

Freehand Pen Doodle Rainbow
Freehand Pen Doodle Single Blue Star

a csun senior thesis film

Freehand Pen Doodle Sun
retro grain background
Freehand Pen Doodle Pink Flower
Freehand Pen Doodle Pink Flower

donate to our film!

Sticky Note Icon

All contributions to Ikigai are 100% tax deductible. The California State University, Northridge Foundation is a charitable, non-profit organization 501(C)(3) public benefit California corporation.

Your contribution will help our cast and crew bring "Ikigai" to life.

We are very grateful for your generosity.

Freehand Pen Doodle Heart With Face
Freehand Pen Doodle Moon and Stars
Freehand Pen Doodle Colorful Sparkles
Freehand Pen Doodle Round Head Wearing A Beanie
Freehand Pen Doodle Exclamation Hearts
Freehand Pen Doodle Smling Blue Leafy Flower
Freehand Pen Doodle Yellow Daisy Flower
retro grain background

Our cast and crew aim to create an authentic film depicting the 1970s and Japanese culture in America but we can’t do it without your help!

All monetary contributions will be used for the following:

Freehand Pen Doodle Swirly Line
Freehand Pen Doodle Basic Shapes

art department

  • A historically accurate set! Production Design. Set Decoration. Hair & Makeup. Costumes. Props.

CAMERA & LIGHTING DEPARTMENT

  • Camera and Lighting Packages. Lenses. Grip Equipment. Media Storage.

CASTING

  • Hiring Our Talent. Casting Director. Finding Background Talent.

CATERING & CRAFT SERVICES

Freehand Pen Doodle Tomato Blob
Freehand Pen Doodle Sitting Egg

FILMING LOCATIONS

  • Securing locations and sets that will depict an accurate setting for our 1970s period piece; Permitting. Insurance. Lodging. Transportation.
  • Feeding our cast and crew during production!

COVID-19 COMPLIANCE

POST-PRODUCTION

  • Film Processing. Color Grading. Transcoding. High Quality Sound. Editing Hard Drives. Festival Submissions.
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Disinfecting Equipment; Masks, Gloves, Sanitizer, Face Shields, COVID-19 Testing. COVID-19 Compliance Officer Equipment.

SOUND DEPARTMENT

  • Sound Equipment Rental Costs. Original Score Composition. Music Rights.
retro grain background
Freehand Pen Doodle Colorful Sparkles
Freehand Pen Doodle Colorful Stars

MEET OUR DONORS

| Mayumi Elardo | Marjorie Nakaji | Shannon Smyth Mendoza |

| Darren Kimura | Joshua Jamieson | Julian Rodriguez | MacKenzie Smith |

| Esther Chew | Megan Lewis | Casey Cosgrove | Lani Aurelius | Reiko Iwanaga |

| Lynda Elliott | Peter Delevett | Alexis Canales | Julie Asamoto | Joyce Miyamoto |

| Lori Iwasaki | Karla Gonzalez Echeverria | Marie Rillorta | Leila Musleh |

| Toby Koehler | Ross Nakaji | Alice Fukushima | Brooke Bauman | Barbara Bauer |

| Alan Bauer | Kenya Tydor | Chance Chime | Andrea Beber | Wynn Kiyama |

| Belinda Blain Slutman Memorial Fund | Becky Wong | The Foley Family |

| Kazumi Hatano | Hanayagi Jutei Natori Kenkyu Kai | Liz Furuya |

| Linda Avendaño | Halina Lenguyen | Portland JACL | George Basmadjian |

...and many more still on the way!

Freehand Pen Doodle Hearts
Freehand Pen Doodle Abstract Rabbit Blob Head
retro grain background

WANT TO DONATE OFFLINE?

Freehand Pen Doodle Exclamation Hearts
Freehand Pen Doodle Exclamation Hearts

If you would rather donate by phone or mail, please call CSUN Donor Member Services at (818) 677-7330 to donate by phone.


Checks in support of our CSUN Funder project should be payable to the "CSUN Foundation" and include "CSUN Funder Ikigai" in the memo line. MAIL TO:

Freehand Pen Doodle Colorful Sparkles
Freehand Pen Doodle Colorful Sparkles

CSUN Foundation

18111 Nordhoff St.

Northridge, CA 91330-8296

Freehand Pen Doodle Lovely Smmiling Heart
Freehand Pen Doodle Single Blue Star
Freehand Pen Doodle Colorful Sparkles
Love Mail Letter

If you have any other questions, comments, or concerns regarding your offline donation, or your donation in general, please reach out to CSUN Funder by phone at (818) 677-7330 or by email at givingprograms@csun.edu.

retro grain background

MERCHANDISE

arrows
arrows

Check out our merchandise by clicking one of the buttons below:

Our project will receive all profits made from our merchandise

Sooo...... start shopping!

retro grain background

ACTIVE FUNDRAISERS

Click one of the fundraisers below to support "Ikigai":

retro grain background
Freehand Pen Doodle Colorful Sparkles
Freehand Pen Doodle Basic Shapes

the story

Freehand Pen Doodle Violet Flower
Blank Open Lined Notebook

Logline

In the mid-1970s, a Japanese American girl, integrated into a white school, attempts to survive her first week of third grade while her mother plans a surprise visit to her daughter's class.

Synopsis

Ikigai follows Mayumi, a 9-year-old girl, as she tries to find balance in her Japanese identity and American nationality. Hanako, her mother who celebrates their culture through Nihon Buyo, sees Mayumi’s new school as an opportunity to share their culture with the white students. When Mayumi is assigned a show-and-tell presentation, she takes it as a chance to prove to her classmates that she is not that different from them. But, that plan is soon ruined when Hanako unexpectedly shows up and teaches the class a Japanese dance, embarrassing and exposing Mayumi’s cultural background. After coming home ashamed of her mother and Japanese identity, Mayumi receives guidance from her parents that motivates her to return to school and redo her show and tell in a way that would make her ancestors proud.

Freehand Pen Doodle Colorful Stars
Freehand Pen Doodle Cube Head Jumping Character
Freehand Pen Doodle Hearts
retro grain background
Freehand Pen Doodle Single Blue Star
Notebook Lined Paper Background

For centuries, dating back to the Heian period [794 to 1185], Japanese neuroscientists, psychologists, and psychiatrists have researched ikigai and have yet to find an exact definition for the term. Generally understood, ikigai (生きがい, ee-kee-guy) is a Japanese concept that describes the things that make your life worthwhile; the things that give you a deep sense of purpose, satisfaction, and joy. As mentioned, the concept of ikigai has existed for centuries in Japanese culture but was popularized by a Japanese psychiatrist, Mieko Kamiya, in 1966. Considered the "Mother of Ikigai Psychology", Kamiya felt a need to research the concept when her patients suffered from a sense of meaninglessness in their lives. Her investigation can be understood through this quote:

"According to the dictionary, ikigai means "power necessary for one to live in this world, happiness to be alive, benefit effectiveness." When we try to translate it into English, German, French, etc, it seems that there is no other way to define it other than 'worth living' or 'value or meaning to live'. Thus, compared to philosophical theoretical concepts, the word ikigai shows us how much the Japanese language is ambiguous, but because of this it has an effect of reverberation and amplitude."

- Mieko Kamiya, Ikigai ni Tsuite ("The Meaning of Life"), 1966

Paper Textured Frame

WHAT IS IKIGAI?

Freehand Pen Doodle Rainbow
retro grain background
Paper Textured Frame
Notebook Lined Paper Background

Similar to Kamiya's conclusion, neuroscientist, Ken Mogi, describes ikigai as a spectrum that reflects the complexity of life itself. He believes in the importance of understanding that the simplest things in life are what feed our souls and, therefore, ikigai starts from those very small things. According to Mogi, Japanese people grow up with this multifaceted concept of ikigai and come to understand it more intimately as they grow older, and as they change internally throughout the course of their life.

Freehand Pen Doodle Basic Rainbow
Notebook Lined Paper Background
retro grain background
Notebook Lined Paper Background

A diagram, popularized by entrepreneur Marc Winn with a Western perspective, was created in attempt to solidify the meaning of ikigai through four essential conditions: Passion, Mission, Profession, and Vocation. Variations of this diagram have sprouted but all of them are simply not true because their focus is aimed towards career advice rather than life advice. The misconception of these diagrams is that the only way to achieve ikigai, or true happiness, is by meeting all four conditions shown in the diagram.

Notebook Lined Paper Background
retro grain background
Freehand Pen Doodle Sun

The study of ikigai begs the question, "What makes one feel that life is worth living?"


Sharing your culture with others, a passion for dance and the arts, the success of your children, acceptance of yourself, a desire to make an impact in the world; these are all potential examples of ikigai.


So, what is your ikigai?

Freehand Pen Doodle Round Head Wearing Colorful Cap
Freehand Pen Doodle Heart With Face
Notebook Lined Paper Background
retro grain background
Notebook Lined Paper Background

BUSING

In the mid-1970s, racism was more prevalent and not addressed as openly as it is today. Although racism was becoming more acknowledged by the majority in the mid-1970s, there was not a lot of cultural exposure and integration in certain areas and neighborhoods. The education system did not have equal opportunities for all students; minorities living in impoverished neighborhoods did not have access to a decent education while wealthier white students were able to afford better educational opportunities in their curriculum.


In 1954, the school districts attempted to bus students from underprivileged neighborhoods into more affluent areas with a high demographic of Caucasian students. The decision of the Supreme Court ruling in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education in 1971 sped up school integration, which had been slow to take root. In 1976, the government’s desegregation busing efforts were still trying to gain momentum, however, there was resistance at the community level.

history

retro grain background
Notebook Lined Paper Background

The call for desegregation and the first few years of its implementation led to a series of racial protests and riots that brought national attention.

School districts were trying to integrate the socioeconomic class inequity of the system without consideration of the emotional impact it had on minority students. It was challenging for people of color to fit in with the white students due to the awareness of the imposed mixing of races. The intended positive outcome of this controversial program did not foresee the tension resulting from the social hierarchy which remained in the student population and learning environments of classrooms. Students of color often felt inferior to, and singled out from, the white students which resulted in an internal drive to assimilate and conceal their cultural backgrounds.

retro grain background
Notebook Lined Paper Background

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Vera and Darius Swann sued the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district to allow their son to attend Seversville Elementary School, the school closest to their home and then one of Charlotte's few integrated schools. James McMillan, the federal district judge in the case, was a public opponent of busing to integrate schools. When he was presented with the case, he felt that the facts outweighed his feelings. McMillan ruled in favor of the Swanns and oversaw the implementation of a busing strategy that integrated the district's schools. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld busing programs that aimed to speed up the integration of public schools in the United States. From there, busing had become a nationwide mandate.

What is Busing?

Starting in the 1950s, after the Brown v. Board of Education court ruling, desegregation busing was put into effect in an attempt to racially integrate schools. However, it was not implemented until 1971 after the Swann v. Charlotte- Mecklenburg court ruling. Minority students were transported to largely white schools and white students were also brought to largely minority schools. Forced busing intended to safeguard the civil rights of students and provide equal opportunity in public education.

Brown cork board with thin wooden frame
Wooden Frame Border Illustration
LAYER-LAB2103199995-02LC
Watercolor Paper White Background

The story of Ikigai, inspired by real events and people, takes place in the midst of this racial turmoil and follows a young Japanese girl, Mayumi Nakaji, as she experiences integration first-hand. At her new school, she is bullied and dismissed by her classmates simply for her racial appearance.


Mayumi’s story holds relevance in our current society because many school districts across the country still remain largely segregated; more than half of U.S. children attend schools in districts where the student population is either more than 75 percent white or more than 75 percent nonwhite.

Mayumi's Story

Isolated Cutout PNG
Paper Textured Frame
LAYER-LAB2103199995-02LC
LAYER-LAB2103199995-02LC
Pin
Japanese Amulet Omamori Charm for Health Blessing Cutout
Note with Adhesive Tape

A 1974 class photo from the actual Mayumi Nakaji, on whom Ikigai is based.

Gold Star Isolated on White
Groovy Rainbow Retro Sticker
retro grain background

MEET OUR CREW


White Paper Texture
70’s Groovy Flower Element
70’s Groovy Flower Element
70’s Groovy Flower Element
70’s Groovy Flower Element
70’s Groovy Flower Element
70’s Groovy Flower Element
70’s Groovy Flower Element
70’s Groovy Flower Element
White Paper Texture

MAREN EMIKO ELARDO

Writer / Director

ABOUT OUR DIRECTOR

Maren Emiko Elardo is a Japanese-Italian American filmmaker from San Jose, California. She is currently a senior at CSUN, majoring in CTVA Film Production with an emphasis in Editing and minoring in Photography & Video. Maren's interest in video production and storytelling began at a young age when she created stop motion Barbie films, music videos, and skits with her two older sisters, Mikaela and Tara. Since then, she has continued to write, direct, and edit short videos of her own that have been displayed at school assemblies, sports team banquets, software company meetings, family gatherings, and much more. Maren hopes that her work ethic and talents are manifested into her life's work, leaving behind a positive and impactful legacy that reaches a broader audience than just her peers. Telling Japanese American stories and creating opportunities for Japanese American artists is also something that fuels her ikigai.

White Paper Texture

MAYA TYDOR

MATEO SIMON

ALEX WINTERS

MILA BRYAN

Producer

Producer

Co-Producer

Associate Producer

JADEN EVANSKEY

Post-Producer

JOELI SCHWARTZ

1st A.D.

FERNANDA ZARAGOZA

2nd A.D.

LONDON PRINCE

2nd 2nd A.D.

HUNTER HAWKINS

Script Supervisor

White Paper Texture

JOSH RATTÍ

Director of Photography

PRIYA BURLESON

Director of Photography

TYLER JONES-JUAREZ

CYNTHIA NUÑEZ

FERNANDO VENTURA

Camera Operator

1st A.C.

2nd A.C.

CHLOË BENZ

Production Designer

CESAR DE LUNA

Editor

MATTHEW ALLEY

Editor

RAM MARGALIT

DIT

HYE YOUNG RA

Gaffer

White Paper Texture

JOEY KASSABIAN

BTS Video/Photo

JASON LEONG

BTS Photography

NATHAN ARELLANO

Production Sound Mixer

TAD MILLER

Sound Boom

TZU-NI "NINA" GUO

Sound Utility

Post-Production Sound

OSCAR VASQUEZ

Post-Production Sound

HAILEY MAYNARD

Wardrobe Department Head

MINA ABDELLA

Hair & Makeup

White Paper Texture

Follow us on social media!

Simple Instagram Icon
Simple Youtube Icon
Simple Facebook Icon
TikTok

ikigaishortfilm@gmail.com

retro grain background

COntact us!

Simple Instagram Icon
Simple Youtube Icon
Simple Facebook Icon
TikTok

ikigaishortfilm@gmail.com