ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS November - December

Mr. Jim Niiro $400.00

Rusty’s Automotive $200.00

M/M Masayuki Onoda $1,000.00

Celia Masuo $100.00

M/M Yuso Kurihara $500.00

M/M Mamo Higa $100.00

Mr Henry Wong $500.00

B Of A Volunteer Grant

M/M Harry Inami $200.00

M/M Stanley Chow $100.00

M/MDan Ikemoto $200.00 Five Nikkei Seniors $100.00 Sachi,Kay,Sumie,Chiyeko,Aiko

D H M Kita $50.00

M/M Paul Ogasawara $100.00

Ms Miyeko Matsunaga $100.00

Norwalk Kendo $300.00

Ms Margaret Saito $250.00

In Memory Of Father Tom Saito

Mr Tobis Matsumura, Truist $45.68

M/M Ernest Ikuta $200.00

Mrs. Miki Okimoto $250.00

Thank you for your kind generosity and continuing support.

友

達

Southeast

Carnival is just around the corner (July 25th and 26th). For those who would like to

Tomodachi

Tomodachi

P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S A G E

Volume 20, Issue 1 January 2015 Newslet ter

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center

14615 S. Gridley Rd. Norwalk CA 90650

Website: www.sejscc.org 562-863-5996

Hi Everyone! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone enjoyed their Holidays. I just can’t believe the year 2014 has come and gone and the year 2015 is upon us already. SEJS had their Advisory Committee meeting in December with a din-ner at the Center to say thank you. The menu was Ribs, Chicken, Beef Barbeque, Garlic Potatoes and Cole Slaw. The Center wouldn’t be what it is today without all of the volunteers that generously give so much of their time. SEJS is very appreciative. I would like to thank Carrie and Lynn for helping with the dinner. Thank you. Southeast Japanese School had their first Keiro No HI Respect to the Elders on Nov 9th. In attendance were a total of 107 guests. There were 41 honored guests who were 80 years young and older with an additional 66 guests in attendance for a bento lunch. I would like to recognize Mrs. Domen, Mrs. Hamamura, Mrs. Tanaka, Mrs. Yoshimura, Ms. Kay Kim (Yoon), and the Kendo ladies for making all the mochi for the honorees; Mrs. Tanaka from Ikebana for the beauti-ful floral center pieces for each table; Steve Yoshimura, Y. Kariya, Sumie Domen also from Kendo for setting up, Carrie and Lynn for the entire decor on the tables along with all the gift bags for all the 80 years and over honorees; Kamaki and Vic for the back ground music while everyone enjoyed their bento lunch. Thanks to all the entertain-ers: Japanese School students, Odori, Na Wahine O’ Kawena and the Minyo entertainers who closed out the festive event. If it were not for Kimie Matsumoto and the entire Board of Directors, this event would not have happened. Thank you Kimie. Mark your calendar for Sunday June 28th. The Southeast Japa-nese School and Community Center will be celebrating their 90th an-niversary. Attention, all graduating seniors! We will be accepting applica-tions for the NERIO/SEJSCC Scholarship. The form will be available on the SEJS website (SEJSCC.org). The deadline for the Scholarship will be on Jan 30. The scholarships will be presented at the annual Recognition Dinner on Saturday March 21. Scholarship winners must be present, at the dinner, to receive their award. This year center clean up will be held on Sunday February 22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The center would like several volun-teers from each organization to help out. We will be working outside as well as cleaning inside. Bring your gloves, rakes, buckets and cleaning supplies etc. The center appreciates all the help it can get to make this a wonderful center.

Richard Shinomoto

IN THIS ISSUE

President’s Message p. 1 Japanese School p. 2 Hikari Taiko p. 3 Norwalk Dance Club p. 4 SEJSCC 90th Anniversary p. 4 Norwalk Judo p. 4 Norwalk Kendo p. 6 Calendar p. 6 Nikkei Seniors p. 7 Keiro No Hi p. 8

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Japanese school had a special visitor come again this year. All of the classes got to spend some time detailing out what they are hoping to receive this year as well as some songs and treats. While Santa kept the kids busy our Beginner class was busy making some Toshi-koshi Udon, a small twist on an old favorite that everyone was able to enjoy. It was delicious and very successful. After a two week break, Japanese School will start back on January 10th. The students will have a taste of Japanese New Year with Ozoni prepared by the PTA. It’s back to serious studying as we prepare the students for midterm exams at the end of January. We are also planning the New Year Party on January 31st at 6:00 pm. Students are preparing to entertain par-ents at the party. Once again, on February 14, the Gakuen will host the annual seminar/workshop for teachers all over Southern California. Dr. Hiroko Kataoka and Dr. Masako Douglas from CSULB will be here to present

J A PA N E S E S C H O O L Philip Loveridge “Curriculum and Lesson Planning Using Backward Design”. The entire Japanese School staff, students and parents wish you a healthy prosperous New Year.

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Mary Jane Mayeda

H I K A R I T A I K O

S E J S C C

B O A R D M E M B E R S If you wish to contact any of the board members, please call the Center and leave a message.

Calvin Chang

Lynn Chang

Linda Kusuda

Kimie Matsumoto

Fred Matsumoto

Carrie Nakatani

Jim Niiro

Ernie Nishii

Mas Onoda

Richard Shinomoto

Tosh Teramoto

Bob Yamada

Ted Yoshimura

“Tomodachi”, 14615 Gridley Rd., Norwalk CA 90650.

Tel: 562-863-5996. Published 6 times annually by the South-

east Japanese School and Community Center. A no charge

newsletter informing all participants of activities on a one per

household basis. Bulk Mail Postage Paid at Norwalk, CA.

Editor: SEJSCC Staff; Advertising & Mailing: SEJSCC Staff,

Mas Onoda, Gakuen PTA and Norwalk Nikkei Seniors.

Taiko ended the year with a bang as usual. Over a hundred gathered together including club members, family and friends to eat and enjoy the performances. We also honored some of our longest serving members Kurt Hamra and Janice Igarashi. Looking forward to another great year. January 11, 2015 we will be starting a new Basic 1 class at 11:00 am. Anybody interested should contact Mary Jane at MJMHikari@aol.com as class is limited.

Recognition Awards Dinner March 21, 2015 5:30 PM

Outstanding Service Awardees for 2015

Dave and Toby Fusato, Nikkei Seniors Jean Kodama, Kendo

Plus High School Scholarship Awardees

Tickets are available through Club reps or Leave message at sejscc2015dinner@gmail.com or

Call (562) 863-5996

Island Style Dinner Tickets: $25.00 per adult ($10 tax deductible) $10.00 per student (10 through 17) $5.00 per child (under 10)

By June Uyekawa

N O R W A L K J U D O D O J O

S O U T H E A S T J A P A N E S E S C H O O L A N D C O M M U N I T Y C E N T E R

90T H A N N I V E R S A RY

On June 28, 2015, the Southeast Japanese School and Community Center will celebrate its 90th Anniversary. A luncheon is planned to commemorate this special event. We plan to publish a Commemorative Anniversary Book. This Anniversary Book will have the history of our school from its early beginnings to the present. The book will also include the history of the sports and cultural activities at our Center. Photographs from the Anniversary Celebration will also be included in this book. We invite you to place an advertisement of your organization or business to help defray the cost of the book. This will be a great opportunity to highlight your business and is an excellent way to show your continued support for our school with a congratulatory message. Please find the advertisement form on the next page. Early bird deadline is January 15, 2015. Deadline for submission is April 15, 2015. Questions regarding advertising in the book can be sent to Kimie Matsumoto at kimimatsu@yahoo.com. We welcome your donation if you do not require an advertisement space. Donations made to Southeast Japanese School are tax deductible and will be acknowledged in the book. Thank you for your generous support.

N O R W A L K D A N C E C L U B

Norwalk Dance Club November “Fall Social”, 2014

“Merry Christmas Baby” & “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” put all 73 dancers in the mood for the upcoming Christmas Season! Of course, Edna K. led us in these dances, as well as Yuso K. playing many Christmas songs as we danced throughout the evening. Also, there was this delicious snack of Chili & Rice with yummy “Little Smokies”, along with carrot & celery sticks & slices of cantaloupe, apples, & pineapple. So we give thanks to Helen H., Harriet Y., & Edna K. for preparing the food. Our kitch-en helpers this month were Jean Ikemoto, George Ishkawa, Enid Leung, & Kenny Yukimasa.

Thanks to NDC, GVNC, & Langley for attending our “Fall Social”.

Connie Ciranna Knock knock…whose there ? Where did it go ? Where did what go ? …2014 ! My goodness, another Judo Christmas Party came and went with much laughter and delicious food provided by our members. Let me wind down the year with the results from the USJA/USJF Winter Nationals held at the Azusa Pacific University Felix Events Center on Saturday, Dec 6th. A big woot woot to 1st place finishers, Ariana Lemus, and Joshua Chen. Rounding out the competitors, Godwin Obele, and Albert Lee, who courageously held his own winning 1st place in the first division and 2nd place in the latter. Congratulations all. Close your eyes, listen, smell and feel the joy and laughter in the dojo during our Christmas Party on Saturday evening, Dec. 20th. With Kris Witowich as MC for the evening, well, do I have to say anything more ? He put the ‘laugh’ in laughter… Congratulations to the following judoka for the hardwork and dedication for 2014: Yonen-NOVICE AWARD: Daisy Perrey, Tiahna Arrellano, Sebastian Park. Most Tournament Wins: Ariana Lemus Sportsmanship Award: Julian Torres Best Technique: Ariana Lemus Fighting Spirit Award: Carter Cortes. Most Improved Award: Robyn Shin Shonen-Most Tournament Wins: Conor Uyekawa Sportsmanship Award: Kay Sugahara. Best Technique: Trevor Sonoda Fighting Spirit Award: Josh Nam. Most Improved Award: Joshua Chen. Seinen-Most Tournament Wins: Bill Matsubara Sportsmanship Award: Takeo Shibata. Best Technique: Albert Lee Fighting Spirit Award: Tim Jun Most Improved Award: Andre Lee I end with these words to our illustrious leader who created ‘laughter-‘ Mr. Bill Matsubara, mahalo e ke aloha nui loa…Happy New Year everyone.

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Norwalk Dance Club – December 31st, 2014

It was another delightful evening as the year of 2014 came to an end! Hard to believe that the year went so fast! The Buffet dinner from Unique Catering was delicious! The room was deco-rated with balloons, Happy New Year signs, & on each table there was a beautiful rose plant with an Origami Ram, “Year of the Sheep”, which was made by Chiemi Yukimasa, attached to each basket. The evening included many activities. Besides dancing to Yuso’s music, all 63 guests were entertained by Jim & Andrea Gutman dancing the waltz to “Liebestraum”, Frank Trapp & Keiko Isshiki dancing to “The Skater Waltz”. Both couples end-ed dancing to “Ma Cheri”. What a treat! It was time for dessert, Chocolate/Rasberry cake from Porto’s Bakery. Then there was the drawing & passing out the many, many donated door prizes, dancing some line dances, & an unusual game called “Wiffle Ball Poker”. Harriet Yamada al-ways comes up with some interesting games. Well, by this time, it was time to pass out the sparkling cider & prepare for the dropping of the balloons. Boy! Everyone hur-ried up to where the balloons would be released. What a sight! What noise! Confettii falling & balloons popping! Happy New Year, everyone! Needless to say, we thank all those who at-tended NDC New Year Eve dance! But, we give a great big thanks to Jim, Harriet, George, Helen, Yuso, Edna, Kenny Yuki-masa, Richard & Gloria Sakoda, Richard Shinomoto, Betty Oshi-ro, Doris Yarwood, & Kurt Hamra, for decorating the gym. So we said good-by to 2014 & greeted our dancing friends with “Happy New Year” to 2015!

Southeast Japanese School and Community Center 14615 Gridley Road, Norwalk CA 90650 (562) 863-5996

90th Anniversary Celebration

Book Advertising Rates Early Bird Rates (DEADLINE January 15, 2015) Full Color B/W Full Color B/W

Full Page Ad (7½” x 9 ¾ ” ) $450 $400 $400 $350

Half Page Ad (7½” x 3 ¾” ) $275 $250 $250 $225

Quarter Page Ad (3 ¾” x 4 ¾” ) $200 $175 $175 $150 Business Card Size (2” x 3 ½” ) $120 $100 $100 ------ $25 __________ Donation with name acknowledged

Organization/Company/Family Name: ___________________________________ Contact Person: __________________________ Email: ____________________ Address: __________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip _____________________________________________________ Telephone: __________________________ Fax: __________________________ Please submit artwork 300+ dpi or high res PDF. For best results, please submit a digital file. Write your message in the space below or attach a separate sheet with a copy of your organization/company logo and we will create an ad for you. By doing so, you are allowing us to draft an ad at our discretion.

Please make check payable to Southeast Japanese School and mail to (DEADLINE for Submission is April 15, 2015)

Southeast Japanese School 90th Anniversary Send digital artwork/advertisement to:

14615 Gridley Rd. kimimatsu@yahoo.com

Norwalk, CA 90650

Message:

Tomodachi

CALENDAR

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 562 863-5996 Hikari Taiko: Mary Jane Mayeda 562 924-1454

Ikebana (Flower Arrgmt): Ogawa Sensei 714 893-1245 Norwalk Nikkei Seniors: Toby Fusato 562 860-7368

Japanese Classical Dance: Akemi Jensen 562 691-2764 Guitar Class: Yuji Hata 562 695.1908 Norwalk Youth Sports: Rich Tamaki rytamaki@yahoo.com Na Wahine ‘O Kawena: Karen Toyoshiba 562 863-5996

Judo: Bill Matsubara 562 483-9374 Hawaiian Karaoke Club: Stan Shimomura 562 865-9672

Kendo: Brian Yoon email: yoonbr ian@hotmail.com Ukulele Class: Kamaki Keawe 714 928-7157

Karate: Brock Nishimura 714 826-9128 Norwalk Dance Club: Edna Kur ihara 714 847-1173

N O R W A L K K E N D O D O J O

It’s been a busy end of the year for kendo! Our kenshis and senseis worked together to prepare and serve Tonjiru and inari dinner at the December Bingo held at the gym on 12/6. The annual Christmas party was a suc-cess! We’ve had an exciting night full of games, prizes and most importantly, food! We also recognized our annual end of year monthly tournament results. These awards are given to the people who have won the most throughout the year. Chang Jeffrey was awarded for the Yudansha division, Trost Jeffrey for the Adult division, Ji Daniel for the 4-1 Kyu divi-sion, and Cho Ryan for the 0-6 kyu division. Congratulations to the winners! Also, Kim Ryan was awarded for his out-standing attendance throughout the year. Chang, Jeffrey and Ji, Daniel were selected to represent Norwalk Kendo Dojo at the Annual Steveston Tournament held in Vancou-ver, Canada. Congratulations! We would also like to thank all the board members and guests for joining us on this night of celebration. Norwalk Kendo Dojo is currently on winter break and will resume practice on Monday, January 5, 2015.

Norwalk Kendo Dojo practices Mondays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm and Fridays from 7:30 to 10:00 pm. We also practice Iaido from 9 to 10:30 pm on Mondays. New members are welcome; beginners are accepted at the start of each odd month. Please see our website at http://www.eanet.com/norwalk for information about Norwalk Kendo Dojo, including upcoming and past events as well as how to join, or send email to norwalkkendo@gmail.com.

Advisory Committee Mtg-1st Wed Monthly 7pm Center Bd Mtg-2nd Wed Monthly 7 pm

Jan 3 No School (winter break) 3 Monthly Bingo Games 6:30 pm Jan 10 School resumes Jan 15 Early Bird 90th Anniversary Book Ad deadline Jan 30 Nerio Scholarship Applications due Jan 31 Gakuen New Year Party 6:00 pm Feb 7 Monthly Bingo Games 6:30 pm Feb 14 California Association of Japanese Schools Seminar 8:30-4:00 pm Feb 22 Center Clean up 9:00—12:00 Mar 7 Monthly Bingo Family Nite 6:30 pm (RSVP) Mar 21 Recognition Dinner/Scholarship Awards

Page 6

Please support Japanese School Fund-raising

Purchase Marukai

Gift Certificates Available in $10 denominations

Ask any Board member Also available at the Monthly Bingo

ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS Nerio Scholarship Applications

Deadline January 30, 2015

Download the fillable forms at sejscc.org

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N I K K E I S E N I O R S

Toby Fusato

Reminder... Jan. 3 Host: Taiko Serving Lasagna Feb. 7 Host: Dance Club/Odori Serving: Chicken Wings Mar. 7 NYS Family Nite (RSVP)

Dinner served at 6 pm BINGO 6:30 pm

First Saturday Of the month

Come join us!

Mary Iwami and her Xmas Planning Committee, Taz Hayashi, Eva Goto, Vivian Gima and Betty Oshiro planned a great Xmas Luncheon at the Hibachi Grill Buffet in Norwalk. We even had a professional singer, George who sang beautifully in Hawaiian, English and Japanese. Betty Oshiro led the group in singing several Christmas Carols. Our next big celebration party will be the New Year's Party with catered bento lunches at the Norwalk Japanese Community Center. Join us for a special seminar on Identity Theft on February 10th. Please see information below.

Tomodachi Page 8 K E I R O N O H I R E S P E C T F O R E L D E R S D A Y

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Volunteers Needed for Clinical Studies

* Research studies of investigational drugs for Glaucoma, Sjogren’s Syndrome and Dry Eye Syndrome.

* Japanese (English literate) over the age of 18yrs.

* You will be compensated for your time and travel.

* Japanese speaking staff on site.

SALL RESEARCH MEDICAL CENTER

Artesia , CA

Call (562)804-1974 ext 565

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David B. Akiyoshi, D.D.S. Family Dentistry

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Sat. & Eve. Appts.

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Southeast Japanese School & Community Center

“Tomodachi” A Bimonthly Newsletter

January, 2015

Norwalk CA 90650

Cerritos Center Office 18616 South Gridley Road

Artesia, CA 90701

Tel. (562) 865-7917

maha.rayan@unionbank.com

Maha Rayan Branch Manager Vice President