友

達 Volume 31 , Issue 6 November 2018 Newslet ter

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center 14615 S. Gridley Rd. Norwalk CA 90650 www.sejscc.org 562-863-5996

Tomodachi Richard Shinomoto

IN THIS ISSUE

President’s Message p. 1

Bingo Schedule p. 1

Kendo p. 2

Hikari Taiko p. 3

Nikkei Seniors p. 4

Japanese School p. 5

NYS p. 6

Dance Club p. 7

Norwalk Judo p. 8

Advisory Committee Mtg-1st Wed 7 pm

Center Bd Mtg-2nd Wed Monthly 7 pm

Nov 3 Monthly Bingo games 6:30 pm

11 Keiro no Hi 12 pm

24 Holiday, No School

24 Monthly Dance Club Social 6:00 pm

Dec 1 Monthly Bingo games 6:30 pm

22-29 Winter Break, No School

Jan 5 School resumes

5 Monthly Bingo games 6:30 pm

19 Gakuen New Years Party 6:30 pm

Feb 2 Monthly Bingo games 6:30 pm

9 Nerio/SEJSCC Scholarship App due

16 No school

23 Monthly Dance Club Social 6 pm

Keiro no Hi 敬老の日

Sunday, November 11th: 12pm

Call (562) 863-5996 to make

reservations

(DEADLINE Nov. 4th)

Reminder... Nov. 3 - Saturday

Hosted by Judo

*Serving Chicken and Pork chops

Dec. 1 - Saturday

Hosted by Hula/Ukulele

*Serving Kalua Pork

Dinner served at 6 pm

BINGO 6:30 pm Come Jo

in us!!

P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S A G E

H A P P Y F A L L

Hi Everyone!

This year’s Pancake Breakfast was once again a great success despite the

unexpected rain. NYS did a great job adjusting the setup inside to accommodate

the crowd. I would like to thank Richard Hardy from the Kiwanis club bringing

their grill and cooks to help us out. They did a fantastic job cooking the pancakes

along with the help of a chef from Japanese School. Without their aid, the lines

would not have moved along like they did that morning. Johnson Sensei made the

lunch items that Judo served at the boutique. Like always this year’s breakfast

and lunch was Ono. Thank you to all the volunteers from NYS, Japanese School,

and the Sugita family who helped at our boutique. Great job!!

Becky Shinomoto and Helen Hijiki are the sole organizers in getting all the

vendors for this year’s boutique. At the boutique it looked like everyone was get-

ting an early start on their Christmas shopping. As I walked around the gym, it

was nice to see people stopping to chat with friends that they have not seen in a

while.

Our next event is Keiro no Hi. Let’s honor our elders. See details below .

There’s still time to call in your reservation.

Attention, all graduating seniors! We will be accepting applications for the

NERIO/SEJSCC Scholarship. The form is available on the SEJS website. The dead-

line for the Scholarship will be February 9, 2019. The scholarships will be pre-

sented at the annual Recognition Dinner on Saturday, April 13, 2019. Scholar-

ship winners must be present at the dinner to receive their award.

.

I wish everybody a safe Holiday Season!!

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Now available online: Nerio Scholarship Applications

Deadline: February 9, 2019

Download the fillable forms at sejscc.org

C A L E N D A R

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

Tomodachi Page 2

A C K N O W L E D G E M E M T S

September - October

Mr. Brock Nishimura $750.00

Taiko Drummers $300.00

Yonsei Basketball $200.00

Tobius Matsumura $41.68

Thank you for your kind generosity

and continuing support.

Although the trophy gods have not been smiling down on us recently, our

kenshi and sensei have been very busy in the last few months participating in many

activities: nito (2-sword) seminar in Idaho, kendo seminar in Santa Clara, SCKF Indi-

vidual Championships in Torrance, kata seminar in Whittier, women’s seminar in

Huntington Beach, and Nikkei Games in Long Beach. Our iaidoka have also been

busy, attending iaido seminars in Palo Alto, Denver, and Seattle.

Fortunately, we have had perfect success in the promotion arena. Congratula-

tions to iaidoka Muramoto Michiyo for attaining 2kyu on August 28th in Northern

California, and to the following kenshi for attaining new ranks at the SCKF shinsa on

October 21st:: Liao William (6kyu), Quimpo Ed (4kyu), Kim Ryan (1kyu), Cho Daniel

(1kyu), and Cho Ryan (1kyu).

More good news: we have a ton of new beginners! Now we need our “missing

in action” kenshi, especially 4dan and above, to come help us practice for the re-

mainder of the year, as well as prepare for the first tournament of 2019, the SCKF

Memorial Tournament on January 20th. Norwalk Dojo is also hosting the SCKF shido

geiko on December 2nd, and we need all hands on deck to help out, as well as par-

ticipate.

And last but not least, our annual Christmas party will be held Friday, Decem-

ber 14th. Everyone please plan on attending to help us close out 2018!

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 (Japanese sword forms) from 9 to 10:30 pm on

Mondays. New members are welcome. For more information, including upcoming

and past events as well as how to join, please see our website at

http://www.eanet.com/norwalk. Contact us at norwalkkendo@gmail.com.

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: (866) 6HIKARI hikaritaikodrummers@gmail.com

Ikebana (Flower Arrgmt): Ogawa Sensei 714 893-1245 Norwalk Nikkei Seniors: Doris Yarwood (562) 863-9493

Guitar Class: Yuji Hata 562 695-1908 Na Wahine ‘O Kawena: Karen Toyoshiba 562 863-5996

Norwalk Youth Sports: nysyouthsports@gmail.com Hawaiian Karaoke Club: Stan Shimomura 562 865-9672

Judo: Sergio Lemus email: sergiolemus@mac.com Ukulele Class: Kamaki Keawe 714 928-7157

Kendo: Brian Yoon email: norwalkkendo@gmail.com Norwalk Dance Club: Edna Kurihara 714 847-1173

Karate: Brock Nishimura 714 826-9128 Koto Class: Kozue Matsumoto (661) 877-1996

* * *

Kendo practice on a Friday in October

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.

Linda Kusuda

Tye Masaki

Kimie Matsumoto

Fred Matsumoto

Carrie Nakatani

Ernie Nishii

Mas Onoda

Richard Shinomoto

Colleen Sonoda

Miki Suzuki

Tosh Teramoto

Dean Wada

Bob Yamada

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.

YOUR PURCHASE AT AMAZON Supports

Southeast Japanese School and Community Center

Simply log into the special SEJSCC link at

http://smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7011600

Amazon will automatically donate .5% to our Center.

every time you purchase

Thank you for your support!

Tomodachi Page 3

Koto Lessons

at SEJSCC

Instructor:

Kozue Matsumoto

For More Information,

Website:

https://kotosounds.wordpress.com

By Angela Lopez

H I K A R I T A I K O

Hikari Taiko had some very exciting events these past few

months leading up to the holiday season that’s right around the

corner.

Our performance group was honored to be included in Japan

Day hosted by the Angels in September. The event was a pre-game

celebration that included cultural performances, delicious food, fun

activities, and a guest appearance by player Shohei Ohtani. Hikari

Taiko was just one of many groups that participated in the event

which celebrated the richness of Japanese culture. Our members

were also fortunate enough to enjoy the game after the celebration.

The Angels may have lost, but it was still a memorable day for our

group!

October was also a fun month for us. Our performance group

returned to one of our favorite events, the Artesia Diversity Festival

and Street Fair, where the City of Artesia celebrated all the different

cultures that make their city great. We also held our Halloween

Taiko Jam on October 28th where all of our members came together

for lots of fun, food, and taiko drills. It’s never a dull moment when

the whole Hikari Taiko family comes together.

Our Beginning Basics Taiko Workshop continues to work on

their learning of fundamentals and are doing a great job. Our Ku-

ma, Tora, and Sakura classes are also busy learning their new piec-

es and cannot wait for our year end event.

Performing at the Angel Stadium for Japan Day

Beginning Basics Taiko Workshop

Artesia Diversity Festival and Street Fair

Taiko group outside Angel Stadium for Japan Day event

Page 4

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

After a busy summer, 43 Seniors enjoyed a relaxing bus trip

to Pechanga Casino on August 28th and spent most of the day

challenging the slots and table games. We always have a fun day

and most won or remained even with same dollars they brought.

The casino is large but gets larger each time we visit. Seniors

make two trips annually so anyone can join us. As soon as we

get our 2019 calendar, we will publish our trips for next year.

On September 11th, under Helen Hikiji’s able direction,

seniors enjoyed the annual picnic of grilled hamburgers and hot

dogs with all the condiments accompanied with various salads

and desserts. Thank you to our kind members who made deli-

cious salads and desserts. Thanks Helen who does so much for

us as well as other organizations at the Center.

We had our 2019 election of officers and happy to relate

our new President is Toby Fusato, our old reliable and efficient

lady who was president for many prior years, is back at the helm

again with new Treasurer Shirley Oshiro and Mary Iwami as Sec-

retary. The term is one year after decision that we no longer con-

tinue with the four presidents we had this year. Thanks so much

to Becky Shinomoto, Doris Yarwood, Mary Iwami and Arlene

Takeshita who combined their efforts this year and did a thor-

ough job.

Our elder seniors will be on focus on November 11th, Sun-

day, as our Center Board has kindly set a day to honor those who

are 80 years or older with a complimentary luncheon Keiro No Hi.

Event: Keiro no Hi (Respect for Elders Day) 敬老の日

Date: Sunday November 11, 2019

Time: 12:00 pm

The Southeast Japanese School and Community Center would like to express our appreciation to all members who

are 80 years old and above (as of December 31, 2019) for an afternoon of fun, including a free lunch and enter-

tainment. Please RSVP by calling (562) 863 - 5996 by November 4, 2019 and leave the following information:.

(Seats will not be available at the door)

1. Name of member(s) ____________________________ Age:(80 +years old) _____ Phone # ________________

(free lunch)

Members under 80 years old please join us and say thank you. Lunch is $15.00 each.

2. Name of member(s) ____________________________ Phone#_____________ Total amt. due $_________

We want to honor the elders by attending to say thank you. Cost of

the lunch is $15 and can still sign up by Nov. 4th. Those who turned

80 this past year will be recognized with a certificate, and entertain-

ment and prizes are featured for this special day. Everyone is looking

forward to a most enjoyable time.

Christmas luncheon is scheduled for December 11th at Four

Seasons Buffet in Cerritos next to the Cerritos Shopping Mall. Mem-

bers are encouraged to sign up by Nov. 13th which is our last meet-

ing day at the Center. 2019 Calendar and New Year’s luncheon infor-

mation will be available on the 13th.

We wish to thank Shiz Fujimoto, Sam and May Tanaka, and Jim

Niiro for their recent kind donations to our club.

Since this is our last Tomodachi issue for 2018, we wish every-

one the best holiday season!!

Brian grilling

hamburgers

Seniors enjoying picnic day

Page 5 Tomodachi

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

We have once again had a successful start to our school year!

Gakuen classes started the school year on September 8th with strong

enrollment numbers. Our first event, Back to School Day, was held on

September 29th with parents receiving information regarding each

teacher's curriculum, and also had the opportunity to observe the

class in action.

Our annual Undokai couldn't have been on a nicer day! It was a

beautiful day with a cool breeze and just enough sun to keep everyone

warm. Students, siblings, parents, and teachers enjoyed a day of exer-

cising and fun competition at Gerdes park, as they ran relay races,

played tug of war, had a donut eating race, and much more! We had

students from the adult classes volunteering and also many PTA vol-

unteers to ensure the event ran smoothly. The PTA put on a fantastic

lunch for everyone at the end of the day. The red team finally won this

year after being defeated by the white team two years in a row. What

a fun day and a great turnout! Thank you to everyone who helped put

it together.

Our next cultural experience will be the Shich-go-san (7-5-3)

Festival, which will be held on November 3rd. Traditionally, this is

when we celebrate children who are ages 3,5 & 7 by dressing them in

traditional kimono and visiting a Shrine with the family. They also pur-

chase Chitose Ame, which translates to "Thousand year candy" a spe-

cial candy made for this festival to symbolize healthy growth and lon-

gevity. Also coming up in November is the annual Keiro No Hi lunch-

eon on Sunday, November 11th.The Gakuen students will be perform-

ing for the elders on this day, to thank them for all they have done for

us!

By Miki Suzuki

UNDOKAI

Fun and

Games

Day!!

Team Tug Of War

Bean Bag Toss

Adults having fun too

Balloon pop race

Leila, Katie, and Mika all smiles

Donut Race

Relay races! Go go go!!

Tomodachi Page 6

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

Congratulations to our Norwalk teams for participating in the

VFW Tournament.

3rd grade girls, Phoenix

Kerianne Ta'aga

Kalista Lopez-Dee

Hayley Walker

3rd grade girls, Tigers

Kaya Smalley

Melanie Punsalan

Mia Lopez

4th grade girls, Sugar Rush

Sakurako Nakagawa

Kylie Calaycay

Kylee Yeh

5th grade girls, Elite

Madison Maeda

6th grade girls, SuperStarz

Hannah Walker

3rd grade boys, Cyclones

Bryant Vitug

Ryan Yu

Welcome New Teams and Players

The SEYO winter and spring seasons are just around the corner

and NYS would like to welcome the following new teams & players

and their families to the organization:

New 2nd grade teams: F orce (girls)-photo right

Piranhas (boys)

Raptors (boys)

4th grade boys, Spartans

Ethan Kim

Dylan Duong

Evan Thoma

Darren Chen

5th grade boys, Aces

Evan Kim

6th grade boys, Mega Dragons

Jaden Lopez-Dee

Charles Villegas

6th grade boys, Scorpions

Kihei Tran

Gavin Abo (welcome back)

7th grade boys, Sonics

Luke Rigor

Evan Orr

8th grade boys, Blue Thunder

Bryan Nguyen

Lovely Boutique Thank you for all your help everyone!

Thank you to all our young Rascals coaches (L-R):

Kylie, Lexie (front), Laura, Katie, and Jett (back)

Coaches Cindy and Sam with

some true rascals

(Jenna, Justine and Izzy absent)

1st place! Rebels 12th gr (L-R): Kameron, Christian, Jett, Josh,

Joshua, Ryan and Matt (Kevin not pictured)

10th gr Sapphires(2nd) Lightning Bolts(Consolation)

THANK YOU

ROGER!!

Head Coach

of the Rascals

Program

Pancake Breakfast crowd Bob and Richard Busy cooking up a storm

Love to see our

young helpers

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

By Connie Ciranna

Page 7 Tomodachi

Taiko

performing

at

“Hawaiian Night Social” September 22, 2018

Aloha! Mahalo nui all for attending our Hawaiian night dance.

Our chairperson, Helen H., prepared our snack of Spam Musubi,

cabbage salad, fruit (watermelon, grapes, & pineapple), some

Edamane, Takuan, & Jelly Sabor Lychee for dessert. Thank you Hel-

en, Harriet, Jean I. & Aileen M. for all your help!

Then it was time for our special entertainment, the “Na Wahi-

ne ‘O Kawena” dancers led by Karen Toyoshiba. The ladies who

performed were Nancy Jeng, Betty Ann Nagami, Lucille Niki, Ellen

Oye, Rosina Riola, Rosie San Miguel, Nancy & Tiffany Kwang, &

Edna Kurihara. It was so nice to watch these ladies express the

music in such a beautiful way. Thank you ladies! We also thank

Yuso for the music & to all those who attended our Hawaiian Night

Social. Hope to see you at our October Social on the 27th.

Halloween Social October 27th, 2018

Well, our Scarecrow friends came to visit us again, thanks to

Edna, Harriet, & Kurt Hamra for getting them out of those boxes.

They seemed to enjoy watching over all the pumpkins sitting on the

stage. We thank Edna’s grandkids for setting up the tables & deco-

rating each table with a little pumpkin & some candy.

Our chairperson, Helen, did another great job in providing everyone

with a snack of a slice of pizza, some salad, & a piece of pumpkin

pie. Thanks Helen & the kitchen crew, Jean I., Jim N., & Harriet, for

your help!

We also thank Jim Noe for taking over for our DJ, Yuso. Due to

some medical problems, Yuso was unable to attend this October

dance, but we’ll see him in November!

Now that everyone was fed, it was time to get serious & dance

around the floor either dancing the Waltz, Foxtrot, Westcoast Swing,

Quickstep, Rumba, Cha-Cha, etc.. NDC thanks all of those who at-

tended our October Halloween social. See you next year Scare-

crows!

Everyone! Don’t forget to come to NDC’s Fall Social on Satur-

day, November 24th.

Karen and her lovely Hawaiian

dancers

By June Uyekawa

Tomodachi Page 8

The heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of

the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others. —

Feedingchildreneverywhere.com

This article is dedicated to those who give selflessly of them-

selves for their children in our judo dojo. The month of October was

full of fundraising opportunities that garnered much success mone-

tarily, however, more importantly in teamwork.

The weekend of October 12th-13th was one of those weekends

that required “all hands on deck”…. once again, our judo parents

came in droves to give of their time and created a team of camara-

derie that emanated love for support of judo and their children.

The center’s Pancake Breakfast provides us the opportunity to show-

case Sensei Johnson’s fine cuisine as well as teach the next genera-

tion of their duties as their time approaches…the following day was

our opportunity to host the concessions for the Nanka Team Tourna-

ment. In true form, there were parents delivering equipment from the

wee hours before the tournament began and parents cleaning way

past the time the tournament commenced.

We have a great sense of pride in participating and supporting

Nanka Judo; we are the 3rd largest dojo within the organization and

we are proud of it.

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our grat-

itude. --- Cynthia Ozick, American short story writer, novelist and es-

sayist.

So, in the most humblest form of appreciation, we thank

you the parents, for bringing your children to practice in the

midst of afterschool programs, homework, Nihongo gakko the

next morning, boy scout commitments, high school sports, pi-

ano lessons, church…the list goes on and yet, you have found

the time to bring your children to experience a sport that pro-

vides self confidence and assertiveness that far extend the

dojo. The fruits of your labor will flourish when you least expect

it; I have seen the seasons come and go as well as mem-

bers…patience is a virtue that not everyone embodies. It takes

time to grow a tree and enjoy its fruit…our judokas are like kaki

trees, it take years to bear fruit and when it does, with regular

nurturing, it will continue to bear fruit.

The Judo Moral Code: Courtesy, Courage, Friendship, Hon-

esty, Honour, Modesty, Respect and Self-Control. What a great

time to reflect what makes judo special and the anticipated

celebration of World Judo Day the weekend of October 27th and

28th.

For those on Facebook, check out this 5-minute documen-

tary about women and judo…thank you Fresno Judo Club for

bringing enlightenment to those who seek what judo can do for

women:

www.facebook.com/395595007220157/posts/1854737481

305895/

Happy Halloween!

What the heck is up with ‘fun size’ candy? There’s nothing fun

about less candy --Everyone

Judo Dads help at pancake breakfast

Candice and Cynthia, judo moms

Ronel, Desmond, and Sergio hard at work during pancake breakfast

Selling out the goods for judo

Got candy??!!

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

Tomodachi Page 9

Please support Japanese School Fundraising

Purchase Tokyo Central/Marukai

Gift Certificates

Available in $10 denominations

Ask any Board member or

Gakuen parent

Also available at the Monthly Bingo Nites

Please Support

Our Advertisers

Thank you!

FCOVD, DPNAP

Primary Care/Contact Lenses

Ocular Disease

Neuro Optometric Rehabilitation

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16816 Clark Avenue

Bellflower, CA 90706-5702

Phone: 562-925-6591

Fax: 562-867-8719

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Hardwood Floors

www.HardwoodFloorsLA.com

www.BuildSoCal.com Raymond Nakamura (323) 646-6100

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Attorney At Law

OPTOMETRIC VISION CARE ASSOCIATES Kamaki Keawe

Musician

‘Ukulele Instructor

714.928.7157

kamakisan@hotmail.com

TELEPHONE

(562) 864-2575

SOUTHEAST LAW CENTER

12749 NORWALK BOULEVARD, SUITE 111

NORWALK, CALIFORNIA 90650-8376

11416 South St.

Cerritos, CA 90703-6611

(562) 860-5597

Page 10 Tomodachi

Tomodachi

Page 11

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Aki Watanabe / Owner Chef

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November 2018

サウスイースト学園・コミュニティセンター

Southeast Japanese School & Community Center

14615 Gridley Road, Norwalk, CA 90650

“Tomodachi” Newsletter