Community

Taiko Festival to Feature Groups From a Variety of Backgrounds

rie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:14:47 -0800

BERKELEY — Taiko groups from Japan and North America will be featured in the International Taiko Festival on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 23, at 3 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, located at Bancroft and Telegraph.

This year’s event will celebrate the 40th anniversary of San Francisco Taiko Dojo, which was established by Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka as the first taiko group in North America.

Following are profiles of the guest artists:

South S.F., Kishiwada Celebrate Centennial

rie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:59:13 -0800

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — A delegation from South San Francisco’s sister city in Japan —Kishiwada in Osaka Prefecture — paid a visit on Nov. 5 to celebrate the Bay Area city’s centennial.

About 80 people attended the dinner, which was held at the Basque Cultural Center.

The visitors were greeted by South San Francisco Mayor Pedro Gonzalez, Vice Mayor Karyl Matsumoto, the South San Francisco Sister City Committee, and Consul General of Japan Yasumasa Nagamine and his wife, Ayako.

Matsumoto, who served as mayor in 2000 and 2004, will do so again starting next month.

‘Sentimental Journey’ Benefits Buchanan YMCA

rie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:51:55 -0800

The Buchanan YMCA in San Francisco hosted its fifth annual Sentimental Journey celebration on Oct. 25.

“It was a wonderful evening of friends, food, and great dancing,” said a spokesperson for the “Y.” “With over 200 people in attendance, this was the best event yet. Under the generous committee leadership of volunteers, the Buchanan YMCA raised over $13,000 for the youth and families of the Western Addition. This was a momentous occasion for this annual event.”

Sacramento's ‘Operation Recognition’ Continues

rie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:42:18 -0800

SACRAMENTO — To commemorate Veterans Day, the Sacramento County Office of Education has announced that it will again award high school diplomas to qualifying U.S. veterans and Japanese American citizens through its popular Operation Recognition program.

Operation Recognition was adopted in October 2001 by the Sacramento County Board of Education to honor the contributions and sacrifices of individuals who missed completing high school to serve in the U.S. military (specifically World War II or the Korean War) or relocate to a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans.

JACL Joins Legal Fight Over Prop. 8

rie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:40:11 -0800

The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) has joined the Anti-Defamation League, the Asian Law Caucus, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, and public counsel in submitting an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of the Petition for Writ of Mandate in the case of Strauss, et al. v. Horton, et al.

The writ requests that the California Supreme Court issue an order invalidating Proposition 8 in its entirety.

Kimochi Receives $10,000 Donation

rie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:38:53 -0800

From Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, Taro Toya recently made a visit to Kimochi in San Francisco to present a $10,000 check, which was a bequeath from his mother, Sumiko Baughman, to the organization, specifically for seniors who are home-bound in need of home-delivered meals and social services.

Baughman, who lived in San Francisco’s Richmond District, passed away in December 2007. Her Kimochi social worker was Akemi Yoshimoto. Toya made monthly visits to San Francisco to see his mother.

Kimochi provided services to Baughman since 1986.

Talk on Affordable Housing in San Jose

rie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:25:07 -0800

SAN JOSE — South Bay First Thursdays will present "Affordable Housing in San Jose" on Thursday, Nov. 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Yu-Ai Kai, 588 N. 4th St., Room 300 (third floor), in Japantown.

Tea Ceremony at SFSU

rie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:40:11 -0800

In celebration of the nationally observed International Education Week (the week of Nov. 17), the Japanese Program at San Francisco State University will hold a tea ceremony in the Omotesenke tradition on Wednesday, Nov. 19, in the Japanese Tea Room (Room 117 of the Humanities building) on campus.

There are five sessions: 12:10-1 p.m., 1:10 to 2 p.m., 2:10 to 3 p.m., 3:10 to 4 p.m., and 4:10 to 5 p.m.

Advisor: Kikuyo Sekino. Guest host: Michiko Nakagawa. Organizer and host: Midori
McKeon.

2008 Speech Contest Participants Shine

rie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:32:40 -0800

by SHINTARO TANAKA
Hokubei Mainichi

The 35th annual Japanese Speech Contest, co-sponsored by the Hokka Nichi Bei Kai (Japanese American Association of Northern California) and the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, was held on Nov. 2 at the consulate’s Japan Information Center.

The participating groups — one made up of middle and high school students and the other of college students and adults — displayed an ability to express themselves in Japanese with eloquence.

Chefs, Musicians, Politicians Support Kimochi

rie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:30:23 -0800

Kimochi Inc.’s 25th annual “Sansei Live!” fundraiser was held at the Presidio Officers’ Club in San Francisco.

One of the highlights was a series of cooking demonstrations by noted chefs. Ming Adler, a pastry and gelato consultant with Fabbri, introduced chefs Russell Yang of Kansai Bistro, Wade Tamura of Google’s kitchen, Noriko Abe of 1300 on Fillmore, and Marc Spasic of Chocpita. Vincent Schofield, formerly of Kabuki Kitchen, was scheduled to attend but had to cancel.