gotohealth's Blog

As a Sansei (third-generation Japanese American), I’m on fire with a vision of a JAPANESE CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY CENTER OF WASHINGTON, that Seattle city tour guides direct visitors to, 100 YEARS FROM NOW! In addition to the Historically Designated buildings currently on the property from 1913, I visualize the following:  Additional iconic buildings with a Japanese style, elevator-lifting-cars, parking facility, a 500-people gathering space bringing enthusiastic participations from the broader community to the center, strategic rentals and a covered alley retail Street Mall. How “zen” to have tea/coffee/ramen/business transactions/ educational classes while overlooking the Kintsugi Japanese Garden!

 

In 1989, after twenty years of gathering documentation of the Japanese in America experience for the University of Washington Archives, I realized, “Seattle doesn’t have a Japanese Historical organization.” I made an appointment with Tomio Moriguchi, CEO of Uwajimaya, who suggested I talk to Chuck Kato, president of Japanese Language School & Japanese Community Service. (JLS/JCS). Chuck had tried to develop a Japanese cultural center at the Seattle JLS a couple times the previous 20 years. Chuck asked me to join the board, but both of us were blackballed because several board members considered us to be part of the “typically young spenders and no longer traditionally prudent”. Those board members had reestablished the JLS after WWII incarceration of Japanese and were proud of being in the black financially, over their previous thirty years.

 

Ten years later, by year 2000, it became clear that younger people, like us, were needed for fundraising and survival. In 2003 Nikkei Heritage Association was incorporated, gradually combining JLS/JCS for a broader purpose and known publicly as JCCCW. With good management and donations, the board and the Executive Director developed a balanced budget in 2020, but realized that what was needed was a funding mechanism like an Endowment Fund for sustainability.

 

June 2025, I was invited to an all-paid conference to establish a National Archive of Japanese in America Heritage stories with Professor Maruyama at the University of Connecticut because of my work with our OMOIDE (memories) writing program. I established OMOIDE 34 years ago with the late Chuck Kato. The current participants are now ready to publish OMOIDE VII.  

 

With a 28-hour weather delay, I missed my connection back to Seattle and stayed overnight in Chicago with Malia Huff, a Northwestern University friend of my daughter Kelly. Malia is a professional fund raiser and as she was driving me back to O’Hare, she inspired me to look at JCCCW funding and she gave me a mini-fundraising seminar. 

 

Sharing Malia’s ideas with several key Seattle associates, the responses have been, “Yes, Seattle would benefit with a Japanese Cultural Center 100 years from now. I am willing to help!”