Lee A. Tonouchi stay one Okinawan American writer known as "Da Pidgin Guerrilla" for his activism in campaigning for Pidgin a.k.a. Hawai‘i Creole for be accepted as one legitimate language. He wuz da 2023 recipient of da American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Public Service Award for his work in raising public awareness of important language-related issues and promoting linguistic social justice.

Lee has always been one leader. When he wuz just starting out back in 2000, he wuz one of twelve selected participants nationwide for attend da Emerging Asian Pacific American Leaders in the Arts Convening in New York, one summit sponsored by da Ford Foundation. Lee wen organize and edit Da Kine Dictionary, da first eva community Pidgin dictionary project that came out from Bess Press. He wen write da first eva essay in Pidgin about Pidgin that wuz publish inside College English, das da Journal of Composition and Rhetoric from da National Council of Teachers of English. He wen create da first eva college course devoted soley to Pidgin Literature and for doing so he got recognitions on top da front page of The Wall Street Journal in 2005.

Lee stay one very prolific Pidgin author and playwright. He get one award-winning Pidgin short story collection called Da Word from Bamboo Ridge Press and one collection of Pidgin essays called Living Pidgin: Contemplations on Pidgin Culture from Tinfish Press. He wen also edit da anthology Buss Laugh: Stand Up Poetry from Hawai‘i. Lee had several of his plays produce before by Kumu Kahua Theatre, da Hawai‘i Conservatory of Performing Arts, da Honolulu Theatre for Youth, and East West Players in LA. His Pidgin play Three Year Swim Club wuz even one Los Angeles Times Critic's Choice Selection.

He one multiple time winning Honolulu magazine fiction contest Grand Prize Winner. He get several Kumu Kahua Playwriting Contest prizes. Lee won da Cades Award for Literature and da Tony Quagliano Poetry Prize. His Pidgin pieces wuz publish in numerous literary magazine in Hawai‘i, on top da continent, and internationally. An'den Lee stay kinda da only Pidgin journalist. For decades he been writing Pidgin reviews, articles, and interviews for various publications. He currently get one Pidgin column called Much Mahalos that he does for Discover Nikkei, das da online magazine for The Japanese American National Museum.

In his more recent works, Lee stay exploring more of his Uchinaanchu identity. His Pidgin poetry collection Significant Moments in da Life of Oriental Faddah and Son: One Hawai'i Okinawan Journal won da Association for Asian American Studies Book Award. His children's picture book Okinawan Princess: Da Legend of Hajichi Tattoos got one Skipping Stones Honor Award. His latest book wuz da anthology, Chiburu: Anthology of Hawai'i Okinawan Literature. Currently he stay working with Playbuilders Hawai‘i and The Hawai‘i United Okinawa Association for write one community-based play inspired by da stories he stay gathering from Hawai‘i's Local Okinawan community.