my bedroom studio in Tokyo
Picture this: It's 1998, and I'm leaving my job to move from New York City to Tokyo. 13 boxes and my bicycle. My East Village neighbors think I'm crazy. My colleagues say I'm throwing away my career. But zigging when the world says zag has always been my comfort zone.
I'm tokyoterri — born in Harlem, raised in Queens, shaped by the East Village, and now creating from my tiny Tokyo apartment. I'm a writer, singer-songwriter, and artist who studies how people use joy to survive hard things.
The distance from America gives me perspective, but it doesn't make me any less invested in our collective future.
Here's what I've learned after decades of unconsciously using creativity to bridge cultures — from Queens block parties to corporate America to Harlem's Weusi Nyumba Ya Sanaa to Tokyo's meticulous craftspersonship: when times feel dark, creativity isn't just an escape. It's resistance. It's the preservation and development of spirit. It's the gentle rebellion that starts with a journal entry, a song, a watercolor fish named Harry, and builds into something bigger.
I'm bringing you that rebellious spirit every week, straight from Tokyo to wherever you are. Because even when you feel powerless, you can still create. Even when you're exhausted by the horrors and the headlines, you can still find joy.
And right now, that might be the most radical act of all.
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Join the Joy Distribution System — $5/month gets you art postcards from Tokyo, exclusive creative works, the weekendish newsletter, and THE COMMONS where we practice mutual aid and creative body doubling.
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"As for my writing, music, and art — the testimonials are still in the mail. Or maybe they're stuck in customs. Either way, you could be the first." — Terri