(From left) Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Kats Miyazato, Helen Ota and Kimi Look (Photos: George Toshio Johnston)
Foundation’s Pioneer Spirit Award luncheon offers kansha.
By George Toshio Johnston, P.C. Senior Editor
The 83rd Nisei Week Japanese Festival was all about the coronation on Aug. 9 of the 2025 Nisei Week queen and her court.
By Aug. 13, that newly coronated cohort — Queen Kimi Look, First Princess Megan Ayumi Miyamoto, Miss Tomodachi Mika Fumiyo Megumi Dyo and Princesses Samantha Kimiyo Cirelli, Emma Yasuko Shojinaga Fukunaga, Casey Mariko Kuramoto and Mia Miyoko Takatsuka — were putting their grace and charm to work by performing one of the first official duties of their 12 months of service, helping out Nisei Week as it turned its attention toward recognizing four deserving Japanese American community members.
David Miyoshi gives a thumbs up at the Nisei Week Pioneer Spirit Award luncheon.
With members of the Nisei Week court serving as escorts, those four — Miya Iwataki (nominated by the Little Tokyo Historical Society), Gene Kanamori (nominated by Keiro), Katsuyoshi Miyazato (nominated by the Nanka Fukuoka Kenjinkai) and David Miyoshi (nominated by the Orange County Nikkei Coordinating Council) — were honored at the Nisei Week Pioneer Spirit Awards luncheon.
The venue was the cozy Toshizo Watanabe Culinary Cultural Center, well-lit thanks to the bright summer sunshine entering via the adjacent James Irvine Japanese Garden. As Pioneer Committee Chair Joyce Nakashima noted, each in the quartet was “an individual that is a dedicated, long-standing community volunteer and who is a leader in our community.”
Last year, when seven women were honored, Japan Consul General for Los Angeles Kenko Sone quipped that maybe in 2025 there would be one male who might receive an award (see Sept. 6, 2024, Pacific Citizen, tinyurl.com/ycdtnde9).
Kosei Murota, who literally arrived from Tokyo a day earlier, was able to see his predecessor’s wish come true as the smaller 2025 group actually skewed male, with only Iwataki as this year’s distaff honoree.
Murota displayed his own sense of humor when he said, “If you find any inappropriate remarks, it’s due to jet lag.” Waxing a bit more serious, he related how in 2007, he had been assigned to serve in Washington, D.C., at the Japan Embassy as its first secretary under then-Ambassador Ryozo Kato, who he described as “my hero.”
Table displaying County of Los Angeles certificates and Nisei Week Pioneer Spirit Awards
“I rather boastingly talked about my experiences with the Security Treaty North Korea and China,” Murota said. He recalled that Kato said, “It’s OK you do this, but you don’t know, there is a big, big missing piece in the postwar history of U.S.-Japan relationship. That is Japanese Americans.
“Japanese people don’t know much about the history of Japanese Americans. And isn’t it sad … that Japanese Americans don’t wholeheartedly love the country of their ancestors? So, what we should do is to build that missing piece.”
Murota promised Kato he would work on that — but said he was pulled away to focus on those security issues. Now, however, with his current assignment, he can finally fulfill his promise to Kato. He also credited his Japan Consulate colleague, Consul Aya Ishii, for letting him know that the Nisei Week Pioneer Spirit Award luncheon would be his first opportunity to do so.
In closing, Murota said, “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to 2025 pioneers and your families and wish you continued great success.”
(From left) Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Miya Iwataki and Helen Ota
Serving as the luncheon’s mistress of ceremonies was 2025 Nisei Week Foundation President Helen Ota, who acknowledged the presence of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, who presented certificates of recognition to the awardees.
Ota also gave shout-outs to Nakashima and committee members Joann Shin Cordeiro, David Yamahata, Nolan Maehara, Sandy Sakamoto, Keith Inatomi, Jerry Fukui and Lindsey Sugimoto, who was absent, having just given birth to a baby girl; Don Tahara, whose Far Bar prepared the bento lunches; and from Japan Airlines, Southwestern Region U.S.A. VP and Regional Manager Linus Lee and Global Sales Director Yukie Morinaga. Later in the program, Ota also acknowledged Alan Miyatake of Toyo Miyatake Studios, Sarah Fukui of Fukui Mortuary and Sapporo Ichiban, which provided each place setting with a multipack of its instant ramen.
Gene Kanamori speaks on behalf of his Pioneer Spirit Award cohort.
“This year, we selected four individuals, which made it very difficult for us to narrow down our honorees because we had so many deserving applicants,” Ota said. “But these individuals that we are honoring today have really shined, exemplifying the true meaning of the pioneering spirit in the Japanese and/or Japanese American community throughout Southern California”
Kanamori spoke on behalf of his fellow honorees. “On behalf of myself, Katsuyoshi, David and Miya, we want to thank all of our family and friends who have come out today to support and celebrate with us. … We’re not done yet. We will continue our work, helping people, helping our community, and we’re always going to support the Nisei Week foundation. So, thank you again, on behalf of all of us.”
