ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

September– October

Hideko Ikehara $100

Betty Shimabukuro $50

Tobis Matsumura (Trust) $56.58

Todd Mathes (Trust) $130

Tazue Hayashi $300

In Memory of Utaka

Sonoe Koyasu $100

M/M George Okimoto $250

Joey Hosoda $ 250

In Memory of Jimmy & Sumire

The following Nurseries donated

Plants for this year’s Festival:

Garibaldo’s Nursery, Bellflower

Green Spot Nursery, N. Hollywood

Higo Nursery, Gardena

IT Nursery, Los Angeles

Pacific Nursery, Gardena

SY Nursery, Cerritos

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 18, Issue 6

November 2013 Newsletter

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center

14615 S. Gridley Rd. Norwalk CA 90650

Website: www.sejscc.org 562.863.5996

Hi Everyone!

This year’s Pancake Breakfast was a great success. I would like

to thank Richard Hardy of the Kiwanis club. The Kiwanis club gener-

ously provided the grill and cooks. They did a fantastic job. The pan-

cakes were delicious and the lines moved quickly. Johnson Sensei

made all of the lunch items that Judo served at the boutique. This

year’s breakfast and lunch was Ono.

Becky Shinomoto and Helen Hikiji are the sole organizers in getting

all the vendors for this year’s boutique. It looked like everyone was

getting an early start on their Christmas shopping. As I walked around

the gym, I saw people stop and chat with friends that they have not

seen in awhile.

The Southeast Japanese School will not have our annual year end

bento luncheon in December. Southeast Japanese School has moved

it to the first Sunday in June (6/1/2014) due to the year end financial

report.

If you are making any payments to the Center by check, please make

the check payable to “SOUTHEAST JAPANESE SCHOOL”. The name

must be spelled out; no acronyms. The banks will no longer accept

any checks made out to SEJSCC and SEJS.

I wish everybody a safe Holiday Season!!

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

Richard Shinomoto

Richard Shinomoto IN THIS ISSUE

President’s Message p. 1

Japanese School p. 2

Hikari Taiko p. 3

Norwalk Dance Club p. 4

Norwalk Kendo p. 5

Nikkei Seniors p. 6

Calendar p. 6

Norwalk Karaoke Club p. 6

Norwalk Youth Sports p. 7

Judo Mochi order form p. 8

Pancake Breakfast p. 9

Holiday Boutique p. 9

SPECIAL NOTICE

Due to new restrictions, acronyms (SEJSCC) will no

longer be allowed on checks. All checks must be

spelled out. Please use pay to the order of

“Southeast Japanese School” for all checks to the

Community Center.

Thank you for your continued support.

Page 2 Tomodachi

Our annual “undokai” was held at Gerdes Park

on October 12th. This event is an annual event

in schools all over Japan and is a national holiday.

Students are divided into the red team or white

team and compete in various athletic events. Stu-

dents and parents participated in balloon game,

donut eating race, and tug of war. Students com-

peted in the relay race, obstacle race, and spoon

race. This year the red team won. Everyone also

enjoyed the lunch provided by the PTA. It was a

family event enjoyed by all. The Undokai was held

in conjunction with a welcome to all new students

and their families. This year we welcomed many

new families and two new teachers, Sachiko

Matsumoto and Ritsuko Rowe. Many thanks to

the teachers for the preparation of the activities

and to parents for helping with the games, pur-

chasing prizes and cooking the lunch for every-

one’s enjoyment. A special thanks to Rose

Morimoto for chairing the kitchen for the 3rd year

in a row, Akiko Sanruk, and to Vanesa Kanegai for

chairing the park events.

The next cultural experience will be the “3,5,7

Festival”. This is the celebration of children who

are 3,5, and 7 years old. Traditionally, children

wear special kimono for a visit to the Shrine and

parents purchase “Chitose Ame”, a special candy

for this festival. Students in the kindergarten and

beginners class will get an opportunity to dress in

the traditional kimono and take pictures. There

will be a presentation on the festival presented by

Mrs. Matsumoto on November 2nd during 4th pe-

riod. Students will also taste “Chitose Ame”.

J A P A N E S E S C H O O L

Students at undokai lunch

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Mary Jane Mayeda

In August we were fortunate to perform at

MacArthur Park Levitt Pavilion for the 4th time.

We also performed at our neighboring Hindu

church on Pioneer for their Dharma Sacred

Godess of Elephant Festival.

We attended a lovely wedding at the Los Coyotes

Country Club in Buena Park and then gave a work-

shop at the Diamond Bar Library in which their

mayor joined us.

Keiro Nursing Home in Lincoln Heights is a yearly

performance for their monthly birthday celebra-

tion. We have been going there for the past 12

years or so.

We also perform for two Korean summer festivals.

One in Korea Town and the other in Buena Park

on Beach Blvd. Their festivals are like our cultural

festival but on a much larger scale. They have

many sponsers and the Korean government

sponsers them too. They have a huge stage like

the rock concerts have with dozens of booths sell-

ing all kinds of Korean ware and food. It’s a big

event with hundreds of people showing up.

We have one last performance on November 9th

for the La Palma Days Event which include a pa-

rade, concert and booths. Join us if you have

time. We perform at 2:30 pm.

Reminder... Nov. 2 Host: Japanese School

Serving Curry Rice

BINGO Dec. 7 Host: Dance Club 6:30 pm Serving Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Jan. 4 Host: Ikebana

Serving Fuwa Fuwa Chicken Dinner

Dinner served at 6 pm

First Saturday Of the month

Come join us!

H I K A R I T A I K O

Tomodachi Page 4

Connie Ciranna

36th Anibasari of Norwalk Dinner Dance Club

After 36 years of monthly dances, Norwalk

Dance Club still continues this tradition. 96

guests participated in this anniversary dance.

Isn’t that great? Thanks to Gardena, Langley,

NDC, & friends for being a part of this special

evening.

Pictures tell the story of how the evening went.

A delicious Bento dinner from Sango Sushi res-

taurant was served & after the large meal, Edna

led 3 line dances, the “Electric Slide”, the

“Sophisticated Swing”, & the “Circle Dance”. It

was good to see such a large group participating

in these dances. Thanks to Helen Hikiji, Edna

Kurihara, Harriet Yamada for getting everything

ready, and a big thanks to Irene Yip for donating

her delicious cake with a scoop of ice cream. We

don’t want to forget our DJ, Yuso K., for provid-

ing us with dance music.

N O R W A L K D A N C E C L U B NDC Halloween Social – October 26, 2013

It was a delight to see all the Halloween deco-

ration on the stage, pumpkins & ghosts on the

walls, & the cute, little scarecrows in the pots of

Chrysanthemums on each table which were given

out to the 7th chair at each table. It certainly made

everyone in the Halloween mood. Thanks stage

crew – Helen, Edna, & Harriett!

Our 78 guests from Gardena, Langley, NDC, &

friends were treated with a delicious Sushi meal

with miso green beans provided by Aki Watanabe,

owner of Classic Catering. Itono Nakagawa provid-

ed the Tsukemono & fresh carrot sticks which was

from her garden. Helen Hikiji donated the celery &

black olives. Thank to the Kitchen crew – Jean

Ikemoto, Itono N., Helen, & Harriett Y. & to Ted

Shida who donated a six-pack of beer.

Before we had our dessert, Harriett Yama-

da got the dancers involved with a mask-making

project using paper plates. Some people are very

artistic & creative. Everyone had a chance to vote

for their favorite mask. 1st place winner went to

May Sofferin. 2nd place went to King Yee, 3rd place,

Jim Noe, & 4th place Richard Yokomi.

Next, it was time for dessert! We thank

Helen, & Edna Kurhara for the home made cup-

cakes. Can you tell that we like to eat at our danc-

es? Oh yes! We did get to do some dancing,

thanks to our DJ, Yuso.

Tomodachi

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

The Southern California Kendo Federation (SCKF)

Team Championships were held September 22 in

Torrance. The Norwalk Dojo yudansha team con-

sisted of Kariya Yoshijiro, Chang Jeffrey, Hamamura

Yu, Nguyen Emil, Yoon Courtney (who is barely

yudansha), and Ji Daniel (who isn’t even yudansha

yet!). They took 3rd place, putting on an impressive

showing against some very stiff competition, includ-

ing San Diego, Sho Tokyo, OCB dojos.

The SCKF Fall Shinsa (promotional examinations)

were held October 20, also in Torrance. Congratula-

tions to everyone who passed their ranking exams:

Cho Daniel (6kyu), Cho Ryan (6kyu), Moody Antho-

ny (5kyu), Choi Jonathan (5kyu), Hahn Lance

(4kyu), Kim Jun Bae (4kyu), Moon Joshua (4kyu),

Kim Matthew (4kyu), Tseng George (3kyu), Kim

Soung Bae (2kyu), Ji Daniel (1kyu), and an extra big

congratulations to Nguyen Emil, who passed 4dan.

Omedeto, Nguyen sensei!

Our iaido senseis and senior iaidoka continue to be

active in iaido seminars and tournaments around

the country, most recently at the Pacific Northwest

Kendo Federation Iaido Seminar and Tournament

September 27 through 29 in Bellevue, WA. Con-

gratulations to Tekin Korhan for taking 1st place in

the mudansha division! Our iaido group is growing

by leaps and bounds, so we are looking forward to

even more success in 2014.

Page 5

Upcoming events include the Kubota Memorial

Kendo Tournament in January, and the All Unit-

ed States Kendo Championships next June.

Team SCKF practices start in October, and we

have several kenshi trying out. Finally, the Nor-

walk Dojo Christmas party will be held Friday

December 20. Be sure to save the date!

We will also finish off the year with our monthly

yudansha practices, shiai geiko, dojo tourna-

ments, and Sunday special practices. Speaking

of which, a huge thank you to Yoshimura Ted

for cooking his famous okonomiyaki at the Oc-

tober special practice. They not only looked

awesome, they were awesomely delicious!

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 Nor-walk Kendo Dojo, including upcoming and past events as well as how to join, or send email to norwalkken-do@gmail.com.

Tomodachi Page 6

CALENDAR

Operating Bd Mtg-1st Wed Monthly 7pm

Center Bd Mtg-2nd Wed Monthly 7 pm

Nov 2 Monthly Bingo 6:30 pm

23 Monthly Dance 6:00 pm

30 No Japanese School (Holiday)

Dec 7 Judo Mochitsuki

7 Monthly Bingo 6:30 pm

21-28 No Japanese School (Winter Break)

31 New Year Dance 6:00 –12:30

Jan 4 Japanese School Resumes

4 Monthly Bingo 6:30 pm

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

Do you like to sing? Why not join the Norwalk

Karaoke Club. The class meets every Monday night

from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. We welcome new mem-

bers to sing with us!

A summary of the activities for the past quarter

were:

Annual Cultural Festival in July - The Norwalk

Karaoke Club together with the Hawaiian Karaoke

club performed on both Saturday and Sunday.

Those singing from the Norwalk Karaoke Club were

Chieko Kim, Ed Korin, George Real, Kiyoko Tanaka

and Patsy Tsuda and from the Hawaiian karaoke

group was Morimasa Kishimoto. Completing the

group was Tom Yokoyama, our talented veteran

singer and perennial master of ceremonies for the

event.

Akebono Fall Songfest - The program was held

on September 25 at a new venue at the Teppanya-

ki Grill Supreme Buffet in Anaheim. There were ap-

proximately 40 in attendance who enjoyed the in-

formal program. Those participating from Norwalk

were Ed Korin, Ellen Oye, Toshiko Sandoval and

Patsy Tsuda.

A birthday party celebration for Tokuishi sensei

was held on October 7. Patsy Tsuda coordinated

this event. Betty Oshiro led the class members

playing the ukulele and singing happy birthday with

the group in both English and Hawaiian.

Ellen Oye

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

Toby Fusato

In the months following our successful

Craft/Rummage Sale Booth at the Cultural

Festival, the members enjoyed the following

events:

A one-day trip to the Valley View Casino ...

few lucky winners

The annual picnic with free hotdogs and

hamburgers

A "game day" learning a new game of FIVE

CROWNS

Upcoming on November 26, a guest

speaker from Keiro will give a presentation

on "the impact of health care reform" and

explain what exactly ObamaCare is about

Looking forward to end the year with a joy-

ous Christmas party

Wish everyone a very joyous Holiday Season!

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. Jim Niiro

Calvin Chang

Lynn Chang

Linda Kusuda

Kimie Matsumoto

Fred Matsumoto

Mas Onoda

Richard Shinomoto

Tosh Teramoto

Bob Yamada

Carrie Nakatani

Marvin Kobayashi

Ted Yoshimura

“Tomodachi”, 14615 Gridley Rd.,

Norwalk CA 90650.

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

the Southeast 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.

Place Your Ad Here

$60 per year (6 issues) For information email to

gakuen@sejscc.org

Tomodachi Page 7

N O R W A L K Y O U T H S P O R T S

Congratulations to the NYS Blazers on winning

Consolation Championship in the 2013 VFW

Tournament, 6th Grade Boys Gold Division.

Halloween Comes Early for Hot Shots – First Annual Hot Shots Halloween Party

Halloween came early for the NYS Hot Shots this

year. Completing a 3rd place finish at the VFW

Tournament, which came with the help of a buzzer

beater in regulation from Hot Shots guard Haley

Carroll, the team made its way for fall festivities to

Coach Gerry Watanabe’s crib for some frightful fun.

The Hot Shots parents provided a delicious pot luck

for everyone. Entertainment? Well, that came

from the entire crew including players, coaches,

parents, and siblings. There was certainly no short-

age of talent that evening. With Coach Leo Hizon

emceeing, the Party kicked off with a ghoulish cos-

tume parade by the kids and concluded with a “Hot

Shots Talent Show” that could give “America’s Got

Talent” a run for its money.

With an abundance of Halloween treats, amazing

entertainment and the best of company, the Hot

Shots first annual Halloween Party capped off a

great weekend for this fun-loving, hoops family.

Blazers Consolation Winners

Roy Fujii

By June Uyekawa N O R W A L K J U D O D O J O

Page 8 Tomodachi

Fall is finally here ! Sound familiar ? As we wind down 2013, let

us reflect on our good fortune and appreciate all of the good

memories and friends we have made. We have grown in numbers

because of the comfort in knowing that the dojo provides the

children new skills on and off the mat. We often say, it isn’t about

the color of your medal; more about ‘did you do your best ?’ We

embrace the inner tenacity and fortitude of our newest members

because they freely engulf themselves in unchartered territory

with such vigor and innocence.

It is that will and stamina that builds the foundation of the dojo.

Without it, the fruits of one’s labor is without meaning.

The most recent team tournament held on October 20th at

Westminster High School provided many of our new members

with comfort of their peers on a three-person team.

The female-yonen/8-9 year old Division placed second. Congratu-

lations to Robyn Shin and Ariana Lemus for holding their own and

then some.

The male-shonen/12-16 year old Division placed first. Once

again representing a fine display of judo and sportsmanship,

Albert Lee, Billy Matsubara and Louis Zhang.

And last but not least, male-seinen /over 17 year old Division

placed third. Alex Fukuma, Kris Witowich and Godwin Obele.

The annual team tournament always forges new friendships

and camaraderie that is crucial in providing self confidence and sup-

port. Our judoka unknowingly provided each other that missing link to

bring themselves full circle.

Many of our new members got their feet wet at the Novice Tour-

nament held on Sept 29th at West Covina. We had an outstanding

number of 13 judoka representing us that Sunday. ‘Sister Act’ Robyn

and Rachel Shim both placed 1st, Owen Lee placed 2nd Christopher

Soto placed 2nd as well. Ariana Lemus also brought home 2nd place

for Norwalk. Rounding out the judoka, Kay Sugahara placed 1st, Troy

Nam placed 1st and Josh Nam placed 1st as well with an outstand-

ing IPPON that drew admiration.

Just prior to the Novice Tourney, Nanka held their Jr/Sr Fall

Tournament at Westminster High School. Congratulations to Joseph

Chavez, 1st place, Ren Uyehara 2nd place, Trevor Sonoda 2nd

place, Tanner Sonoda 2nd place, Billy Matsubara 3rd place,

Joshua Nam 2nd place and Kay Sugahara rounding up the group

with a 2nd place win.

As you can see, there are new names and there are familiar

names that identifies Norwalk Judo. Members come and go, howev-

er like the bread crumbs that Hansel and Gretel dropped so they can

find their way home, they always come back. There is a reason for

that, there’s no place like home. Come, stay awhile we’re not going

anywhere. Happy New Year everyone.

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

Shuji (Calligraphy): “ “ “ Norwalk Nikkei Seniors: Toby Fusato 562 .860.7368

Ikebana (Flower Arrgmt): Ogawa Sensei 714 893.1245 Guitar Class: Yuji Hata 562 695.1908

Japanese Classical Dance: Akemi Jensen 562 691.2764 Norwalk Karaoke Club: Ed Kor in 714.870.1013

Norwalk Youth Sports: Rich Tamaki rytamaki@yahoo.com Na Wahine ‘O Kawena: Karen Toyoshiba 562 863-5996

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 714-928-7157

Judo: Bill Matsubara 562 483 9374 Norwalk Dance Club: Edna Kur ihara 714 847.1173

2 0 1 3 P A N C A K E B R E A K F A S T A N D H O L I D A Y B O U T I Q U E

Page 9 Tomodachi

Tomodachi Page 8

Japanese American COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION

LA Branch

3037 W. Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90018 (323) 731-9358 (888) 527-9528

Long Beach Branch (formerly Harbor JCU)

1766 Seabright Ave. Long Beach, CA 90813 (562) 432-4555

Torrance Branch

2355 Crenshaw Blvde. Ste 146 Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 328-8286

Mike M. Yagake, D.D.S. Orthodontics Exclusively

Member

American Association of

Orthodontics

12518 South Street

Cerritos, CA 90703 (562) 924-0205

Corner of Bloomfield and South

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

1133 W. Gardena Blvd.

Gardena, California 90247

Senior Discounts (310) 327-7165

Sat. & Eve. Appts.

Tomodachi Page 11

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 109

Norwalk CA 90650

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center

“Tomodachi” A Bimonthly Newsletter

November 2013

Norwalk CA 90650