Haruna Kamezaki Houchen hails from Yokosuka — a city in Kanagawa Prefecture famed for serving what was arguably Japan's first curry on rice, an American naval base and Momoe Yamaguchi's 1976 mega-hit "Yokosuka Story." Back in the late 20th century, many Tokyoites saw Yokosuka as exciting and exotic — a slice of USA they could only dream about. This is Kamezaki's hometown — a place she holds dear even as she lives in Atlanta and works toward a career in the U.S. film industry.
Kamezaki was born in the mid-1980s and grew up in a household "full of American records and movies, because my parents — and especially my dad — loved American culture."
"Combined with the whole ambience of Yokosuka, I grew up thinking America wasn't that far or unattainable," Kamezaki says.
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