Tomodachi - sejscc-home

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center
14615 Gridley Rd. Norwalk CA 90651-0434
Website: www.SEJSCC.org 562.863.5996
友
達
Newsletter
Tomodachi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
August-September
M/M Fred Tanaka
$100
Benjamin Ogami
100
James Ozawa
100
M/M Yasukuni Fushimi
20
M/M Paul Yonezawa
Anonymous
30
100
M/M Dan Ikemoto
100
M/M John Oshiro
50
James Miyamoto In memory of
Mary Ishii
20
May E I Cambra
100
M/M Roy Nagaoka
100
Minoru Matsumoto
Okimoto Automotive Ctr
300
250
M/M Roy H Okimoto Sr
500
Patsy Uyematsu
55
Karie Lasko In memory of
Mary Ishii
M/M George Okimoto
100
100
M/M William Matsubara
100
Sonoe Koyasu (Yoga Class) 398.45
Norwalk Karaoke Club
200
Ayame Kai Odori
Sonoe Koyasu
100
150
Amy Miyakawa
200
Dorothy Nakagawa
M/M Moon Jew
Anonymous
V ol u m e 1 6, I s s u e 5
S ep t em b er 2 0 1 1
50
125
100
Jiro Oka In memory of his
father James Oka 40
Thank you for your kind generosity and
continued support.
Rising Stars Program
High school students
are encouraged to participate in this vital leadership
program to become effective and successful indviduals. Develop confidence and
obtain knowledge on what it
takes to be an effective
person in your careers and
society. Turn to Page 4 for
this life changing program.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Hi Everyone!
During the festival, you may have noticed the newly remodeled kitchen. Thanks to Ted Yoshimura,
our kitchen has new cabinets, a new sink, flooring, exhaust fans and vents, service counter and work
tables. Ted not only spent long hours working on the kitchen himself, he coordinated and managed
the project. Dave Fusato, Bob Yamada and Linda Kusuda generously dedicated many hours assisting
Ted with the kitchen. Thanks to all of you, the kitchen looks fantastic. The kitchen is now open for
business.
After weeks of preparation, the July Festival and Ondo finally arrived. The Center membership really
did a good job of promoting two days of fun, good eating, social interaction, enrichment and entertainment. If you haven’t seen old friends for awhile, chances were that you met them there. We’re grateful to the loyal community that supports our major fundraising effort. Year after year they come to
spend a day or a few hours of relaxed time to view demonstrations, exhibits, and be entertained. This
year, entertainment was provided by our Karaoke groups, NaWahine ‘O kawena, Kamaki and his Ukulele group, Hikari Taiko, Classical Dance, Hawaiian Delites and Cerritos Ukulele. The demonstrations
provided by Karate, Kendo, and Judo added cultural dimension to our learning. I hope you were able
to see the Ikebana exhibit of
floral arrangements. Thanks to
our personable outdoor MC Tom
Yokoyama. Tom sets up his audio system and during the show
he offered bits of insight about
music and the people. He also
has a great singing voice. We
cannot forget how Kathy Nishimoto led all the Ondo dancers on
Saturday and Sunday with the
help of the Yamamoto family.
Thank you. I would also like to
thank Mike Hong for the electrical and lights for all the booths.
Hopefully everyone attending
had a good time and many
thanks to our hard working memCheers after Ondo and Soran Bushi dances!
bers who helped make it a big success.
A huge thank you to Sensei Long of our Judo Dojo who brought his refrigeration unit truck to the Center so everyone can use it for the festival. Along with that he donated 1000 pounds of ice for everyone’s use. Sensei Long’s generosity would not have been possible without retired electrician Larry
Henderson and his electrical expertise. He brought a fellow electrician and together installed a three
phase electrical box to run the refrigeration unit for his truck . I understand this work could cost up to
$1500. We are deeply grateful to them for their time and effort and Sensei Long’s kind extension to
use his refrigeration truck duration of the festival.
Also a huge thank you to continued generosity from our friends in the nursery business who donate
plants annually for our Plant Sale: Garibaldo’s Nursery of Bellflower, Pacific Nursery, Inc., Higo Nursery, both of Gardena, Green Spot Nursery of North Hollywoodand S. Y. Nursery of Cerritos.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out on Monday night after the festival; Kendo: Ted and Yumi
Yoshimura, Steve Yoshimura, Megumi & Sumi Domen, Mrs. Hamamura, Mrs. Amano, Yoon family,
Hahn family, Yoshijiro Kariya, Emil Nuygen, Jeffery Chang, DoloRosa Choi, Mrs. Nagasawa; Japanese
School: Fred and Kimie Matsumoto, Yumi Ryan, Justin Kushi, Judo: Alex & Chris Fukuma, Johnson
Long, Chung Hai, Bill and Billy Matsubara, Andy Chavez, Wayne Sugahara, Emillio Zavala; NYS: Glen
Masumiya, Sam Chu, Susan Tagami, Gary Escovar, Ron Trias, Gilbert, Steffeni Kikuta and others Stan
Kimura, Toshi Teramoto, Linda & Karin Kusuda. I’m sorry if I missed anyone.
Our Ono Hawaiian Pancake Breakfast and Boutique is just around the corner. Mark your calendar for
October 8th. The tickets are only $5.00 each. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, please contact Rich Tamaki. You can have breakfast and do your Christmas shopping all in the same day. After
you finish shopping, stop by the kitchen and pick up lunch. Judo will begin selling lunch items around
9 o’ clock.
Richard Shinomoto
Page 2
Tomodachi
HIKARI TAIKO
Mary Jane Mayeda
The weekend of July 22nd, 23rd, and 24th was very busy for Hikari.
We had the concert at Pearson’s Theater in Anaheim on Friday and
festival performances on Saturday and Sunday. The following weekend was a wedding at the Long Beach State University Japanese Gardens. That was a beautiful setting for the wedding with lush greens,
tall trees and a huge pond. We have performed there many times and
it’s always a nice setting.
I’d like to thank the many members who helped setup for the festival,
did booth duty at the Plant Booth and helped take down on Sunday
evening. Also to the classes that performed and those that did the
drumming for the odori dances. We were involved in many ways during this weekend and we
needed the members to
help out so we appreciate
all the help.
Coming up in August is a
school program for the
St. Lillian Catholic Church
in Mission Viejo, a private
birthday party and another wedding in Rancho
Pearson’s Theater, Anaheim
Palos Verdes.
Hikari Taiko is accepting beginner
students (all ages) for a new class starting September 11th at 12:15
pm for one hour. Please call Mary Jane 562 924.1454 if interested.
First class is free.
Hikari Taiko
performing
at wedding
at LB State
Japanese
Gardens
NORWALK KARAOKE CLUB
The Norwalk Karaoke Club members enjoyed the recent Cultural Festival
held on July 23 & 24. Akemi Jensen coordinated the program lineup of
singers in addition to other associated duties. Thanks to all the performers — Akemi Jensen, Yoko Kato, Chieko Kim, Ed Korin, Mary Nomura,
George Real, Nobu Saito, Patsy Tsuda and Tom Yokoyama. Also performing were members of the Hawaiian Karaoke Club Morimasa Kishimoto,
Stan Shimomura and Harry Yoshimura. Tokuishi Sensei also joined the
group of singers making a well-rounded program that included songs in
English, Japanese and Spanish for the audience’s enjoyment. Last but
not least, a very special thanks to Tom Yokoyama who comes early each
year to set up the audio equipment and stays until the end of the long
day to serve as the well-qualified master of ceremonies for both the karaoke program and the ondo portion of the festival.
On August 6, the Norwalk Karaoke Club, together with the Ayame Doko
Kai odori group hosted the monthly bingo night. Membership in both
organizations have decreased considerably however, it always seems
that they pull together for this worthy cause and are able to donate a
sizable amount to the center. Thanks to all members for their generous
food donations and a very special thanks to members’ spouses who support us: Yayoko Korin, Richard Oye, Ming Real and roger Tsuda. Betty
Oshiro coordinated this effort with assistance from Mary Nomura, last
year’s chair.
GAKUEN NEWS
Kimie Matsumoto
Welcome back to the new school year. We are excited to have an
adult class on weekday evenings this year. It will be a beginner
class only on Tuesdays and Thursdays 7:00-8:30 PM. Please let
your friends know. We still have room in our kindergarten and beginner classes. Registration will be held the first day of classes on
September 6 for adult class and September 10th 8:45 AM for children.
Our “Back to School Day” will be held on September 24th. Parents
are encouraged to sit in the classes and talk to teachers about the
organization of the classes. Schedules will be sent home soon.
“Undokai”, the traditional field day held each year in Japan during
the month of October will be observed at Gerdes park on October
1st. This will be a family event to welcome the new families to our
school.
We’re looking forward to another wonderful year. Information about
our school can be obtained on our website
www.sejscc.org/B-Sch.htm.
JUDO DOJO
State Games of America was held on Aug 6 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion ,
University of San Diego. It was an Olympic style Sports Festival of many
sports including judo. From Norwalk, we had 10 competitors with the
following finishes:
1st Kyle Morishima, Jason Sams, Albert Lee, Alan Lee
2nd Ismael Sakez
3rd David Agama
Nikkei Games was held Aug 21 at the Pyramid, Long Beach State University. From Norwalk, we had 19 competitors with following finishes:
1st Hunter Rodriguez, Jason Sams, Ismael Sakez
2nd Andrew Ravelo, Felix Berkan, Billy Matsubara, Alan Lee
3rd Damian Gonzales, Emi Zamorano, Emilio Zamorano, Alan Lee
Golden State Open was held Aug 27 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
It was a huge Martial Arts Festival of a variety of styles. From Norwalk
we had 6 competitors with everyone placing.
1st Alan Lee
2nd Albert Lee, Jason Sams, Ismael Sakez
3rd Kay Sugahara, Derek Hsu
Recent Promotions: To Blue: Jason Sams, to Green: Billy Matsubara,
Derek Hsu, Louis Zhang, Ismael Sakez, to Yelloe: Damian Gonzales,
Jose Gonzales.
Team Norwalk at
State Games of
America in San
Diego.
Student
flying over
4 adults at
the Norwalk
Judo Demonstration.
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NORWALK YOUTH SPORTS
Leah Winter
The Rockets 7th grade boys team played hard in the summer Nikkei 3-on-3
games and brought home the gold! The tournament is played at the Long
Beach State University Pyramid each August. Congratulations to Jared Kawamoto, Justin Chan, Ryan Murase and Cary Makiyama pictured at right.
Way to go Huskies! The 9th grade girls team won
1st place in their division at the Hollywood Dodgers Tournament in Las Vegas. Pictured here, they
proudly wear the coveted black t-shirt awarded to
champions: Kaelyn Kawamoto, Nikki Morinishi,
Ingrid Gau, Allison Tran, Noelle Mathes, Kimi Tagami, Alyssa Wakamiya and Jazmine Gandhi.
Huskies
The Blazers competed in the 9 yr. old division at the Pyramid’s Nikkei Games on
August 13th, Saturday. They had two teams below.
Braeden, Nolan, Grant and Anthony won Gold!
Zachary, Kevin, Luke and Grayson won Bronze!
NORWALK NIKKEI SENIORS
Our Seniors Boutique tables did well at the
Cultural Festival generating $1368 in sales due
mainly to our ladies lending a hand making
scrubbers, water bottle holders, kitchen towelettes, colorful beaded/flowered hair clips,
donations of new/unused items and Dave
Fusato’s sale of the whirligigs. Dave’s creativity
even included “a Hello Kitty” design. Thanks to
all who kindly helped in this effort and also
shared in working the tables.
At the August 9th meeting, members enjoyed a
very special time celebrating the 100th birthday
for Ocean Miyake with a potluck luncheon and
cake. Ocean is unique in that he is one of the
oldest surviving members of the famous US Army 442nd regimental
combat team of WWII who helped rescue the lost battalion in France.
He has been honored at various events recently in the Los Angeles
area including receiving proclamations from cities and Senator
Inouye. He was born in Santa Monica,
attended Venice High School and UCLA
before enlisting in the army. He attributes his long and healthy life to good
fortune and blessing by the Pope while
stationed in Rome.
Ocean is friendly, has a calm demeanor,
smiles easily and enjoys coming to our
meetings and playing bingo.
We’re proud and happy to have him as a
member and friend.
“Show and Tell” meeting was an interesting and fun time when members brought
their collection of key chains, hats, frogs,
Russian dolls, antiques, ducks etc. on Aug 23.
Seniors can look forward to their annual BBQ luncheon on Sept. 27.
It’s a time we can feast on juicy hamburgers and hotdogs with loads
of condiments, salads and desserts “on the house”.
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NORWALK DANCE CLUB
NDC Hawaiian Social—August 27
Hosting the end of the summer
social were Helen Hikiji and Gloria
Sakoda. The menu consisted of an easy relaxed menu. Tasty spam musubi were generously made by Helen, Edna Kurihara and
Harriet Yamada providing everyone with seconds to enjoy. Adding a healthier fare was
Gloria Sakoda’s Asian cabbage salad with her
own special homemade dressing. Edna and
Helen donated additional sides of ginger and
marinated cucumber slices. With fruits at
their peak of sweetness, the watermelon
slices, cantaloupes and pineapple went perfectly well on a warm summer evening. Mahalo to the kanes, who offered their help
(kokua) , Richard Sakoda, Richard Oye, Ben
San Miguel and Ken Yukimasa appeared
quite at ease in the kitchen.
In attendance were the dancing clubs of Em
Rosie San Miguel
Yamada, Masa Morimoto, Prudy Gin, Langley and
the NDC and friends. Special guests were Karen
Toyoshiba and her hula group, the Na Wahine ‘O
Kawena who danced three numbers during intermission. The guests enjoyed seeing the ladies do
a combination of “Malia, My Tita”, which entailed
a cha-cha rhythm and “Kou Kimo Mambo”, using
a gourd or ipu. Karen performed an impressive
solo number, “Ke Aloha”. The ladies completed
the program with a beautiful dance which was
another combination of two songs “Mahina ‘O
Hoku and Aloha Wau ia ‘Oe”.
Mahalo to all the attendees, the wonderful cooks,
DJ Yuso Kurihara, and the NDC members who
helped with the set up and cleaning, most especially, mahalo nui loa to Karen and her hula ladies for bringing a touch of Hawaii during intermission. Aloha until we see you at the Anniversary Dance, September 24th.
A reminder……
OCT 1
6:30 pm
BINGO
hosted by JUDO
serving Won Ton Soup,
Orange Chicken w/
Broccoli, Rice, Salad at 6 pm
NOV 5
6:30 pm
hosted by NaWahine‘O
Kawena and Ukulele
serving Kalua pork, cabbage
salad, and rice at 6 pm.
Come join us! Play $5 per card all night .
To All High School Students: BE A RISING STAR
What does it take to be successful in school, in a future career(s), and in
your community? What skills can you develop to be an effective leader?
By participating in the Rising Stars Youth Program you will learn and experience the skills needed for future success.
The Rising Stars Program was started nine years ago to teach leadership
and community organizational skills to high school students. The 20112012 program will begin October 22, 2011 and continue to April 1, 2012.
the students will participate in a series of fun and interactive workshops
held one or two Saturdays per month. The workshops include:
“Teamwork”, which involves learning about different personality styles
and how to deal with personalities that are similar and different from your
own.
“Assertiveness”, explores the advantages of assertiveness versus passive behavior in school and at work, and where to draw the line between
assertiveness and overly aggressive behavior.
“Speak to Persuade”, will teach practical elements of an effective
presentation, including body language, eye control, hand gestures,
as well as structuring the speech.
“Financial Literacy”, will teach basic and practical financial skills,
including budgeting or college.
“Cultural Values”, will show how to recognize stereotypes based
on biases that may affect the student in their education and careers, and how to deal with it.
“Networking”, will teach the benefits of networking and how to
approach and talk to people in various settings.
The high school students are invited to apply to the Rising Star Program on its website at Nikkeifederation.org. Enrollment is limited to
25 students. Don’t miss this opportunity that will change your life.
NORWALK KENDO DOJO
On August 12-13, the all United States Kendo Championships were held
in Atlanta, Georgia. Our own Yoon Courtney made the Junior Girls Team
for Southern California Kendo Federation and underwent nine months of
grueling training to prepare for the tournament. She fought hard and we
are extremely proud of her!
Congratulations also to our trophy winners at the Nisei Week Kendo Tournament on August 28th: Trost Jeffrey (3rd place adult 0-4 kyu division)
and Yoon Courtney (2nd place 11-13 division), and to Hahn Rex for winning 3rd place at Nikkei Games on August 21.
Finally, thank you and gokurosama to everyone for helping with food
preparation, booth setup and booth duty both days of the Cultural Festival. It was a huge effort, especially with all the new food handling procedures that were added this year. Thank you also to everyone who participated in the Kendo demonstration on Saturday, and to the brave souls
who performed soran bushi in keikogi and hakama; it was awesome that
Kendo had its own row in the performance. And an extra big thank you
to all the officers for their hard work planning, preparing and executing
this event!
Norwalk Kendo Dojo practices Mondays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm and Fridays from
Kodama Jean, Yoon Courtney and Yamaguchi Takeshi at the
U.S. Championships in Atlanta.
from 7:30 to 10:00 pm. New members are welcome; beginners are accepted on the first Friday practice of each odd month. The iaido group
practices from 9 to 10 pm on Mondays; iaido beginners are accepted in
January, April and July. For information about norwalk Dojo, including
upcoming and past events as well as how to join, please see the dojo website at http://www.eanet.com/norwalk or send email to norwalkkendo@gmail.com.
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Page 5
Thanks to NYS, Judo,
Kendo, Taiko, Karate
for their photos and to
Mary Jane Mayeda and
Mia Fujii for their Festival photos.
Editor lost her camera.)
Southeast Japanese School & Community Center Activities List
If you are interested in any of the activities at the Center, please contact the person listed below
Southeast Gakuen: Kimie Matsumoto 562 926-2536
Hikari Taiko: Mary Jane Mayeda 562 924.1454
Adult Japanese Class:
Norwalk Nikkei Seniors: Toby Fusato 562 860.7368
“
“
Ikebana (Flower Arrgmt): Ogawa Sensei 714 893.1245
Guitar Class: Yuji Hata 562 695.1908
Norwalk Dance Club: Edna Kurihara 714 847.1173
Japanese Classical Dance: Akemi Jensen 562 691.2764
Norwalk Youth Sports: Rich Tamaki 562 883.3383
NaWahine ‘O Kawena: Karen Toyoshiba 562 949.0203
Kendo: Jean Kodama Sensei email: norwalkkendo@gmail.com
Hawaiian Karaoke Club: Leslie Goshi 323 722.7229
Karate: Brock Nishimura 714 826.9128
Ukulele Class: Kamaki Keawe Call Karen: 562 949.0203
Norwalk Karaoke Club: Ed Korin 714 870.1013
Judo: Jim Glick 714.315.8503
Tanden/Yoga Class: Mrs. Koyasu 562 865.9652
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NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S.Postage
PAID
Permit No. 109
Norwalk CA 90650
Southeast Japanese School & Community Center
“Tomodachi” A Bimonthly Newsletter
September 2011
Norwalk CA 90651-0431
th
O ctobe r 8
Jo in us on
tique
fast & B o u
k
a
re
B
e
k
P anca
Southeast Japanese
Language School
Begins Sat. Sept. 10,
may register that morning.
CALENDAR Highlights
Operat’g Bd Mtg—1st Weds Monthly, 7 pm
Center Bd Mtg—2nd Weds Monthly, 6:30 p
Have a delicious breakfast and do your Christmas shopping early at our …….
Sept 10 Gakuen Classes Begin
10 Monthly Bingo Games
OCTOBER 8 Sat.
8:45 am
6:30 pm
24 NDC Anniversary Dance
8:00 -2:30 PM
Oct.
1
Monthly Bingo
6:30 pm
8 Pancake Bkft & Boutique
Fabulous handmade Crafts, Clothing, Jewelry, T-shirts, Giftware, Books, Silk Flowers, Sushi, Foods etc.
Over 40 vendors. For information call Edna Kurihara 714 847.1173, Helen Hikiji 714 994.1566
22-23 VFW BB Tourney
22 NDC Halloween Social
Nov
5
Monthly Bingo
6:30 pm
26 NDC Fall Social
7:00-11:00 AM
Benefits Youth Sports program and scholarships.
Tickets…..$5.00
Breakfast includes eggs, rice, Portuguese sausages, pancakes, pineapple slices, juice, tea and coffee.
Dec
3 Monthly Bingo
6:30 pm
4
Luncheon
Annual General Mtg
Judo’s Mochitsuki
31 New Years Dinner/Dance
Norwalk Judo Dojo
Norwalk Judo Dojo is now taking pre-orders for baked and/or steamed Char Siu Baos and Chicken Baos. A limited number of Char Siu Baos will
be available for purchase at the Boutique for $1.50 each or $18 per doz. Chicken Baos will be $1.75 each.
Orders may be picked up at the Boutique kitchen window on Saturday, Oct. 8th. Thank you for your support.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - cut and return with check by Sept 30- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CHAR SIU BAO & CHICKEN BAO Pre-Order Form
______ Doz. STEAMED Char Siu Bao @ $16
______ Doz. BAKED Char Siu Bao @$16
______ Doz. STEAMED Chicken Baos @ $18
Total Enclosed _______
Check No.
_______
Name: ___________________________________
Address __________________________________
City: __________________________Phone:_________________
Pick up orders Sat. Oct. 8th between 9 am to 1:30 pm
Please make check payable to NORWALK JUDO
Mail to: Norwalk Judo Dojo
c/o Dean Wada
2111 Yucca Ave
Fullerton CA 92835