First Miss Orange County JA Queens and Representatives from Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670. Pictured (back row, from left) are VFW Post 3670 Commander James Nakamura; First President of the Ladies of VFW Post 3670 Keiko Sadakane; 1969 VFW Queen Gwen Okumura Martino; Deputy Consul General Naoko Kamitani; 1961 VFW Queen Dianne Kubota Hamano; Charter VFW Youth Group Member Linda Honda; Orange County Sports Assn. President and OCNCC Representative Marsha Hamamoto; and reunion MC and reigning Miss Orange County JA Queen Casey Kuramoto. Front Row (from left) are 1970 VFW Queen Gail Konishi Shibayama; 1960 VFW Queen Doris Reiko Fujino Pultz; First 1958 VFW Queen Mary Murai Nakayama; Three-Time Post Commander of VFW Post 3670 Norio Uyematsu; and 1962 VFW Queen Carol Nishizu Matsuoka. (Photos: Courtesy of Ron Inatomi)
The second Miss Orange County JA Queens event focuses on O.C. JA history.
By Patti Hirahara, P.C. Contributor
At the end of World War II, Japanese families returned to Orange County from their incarceration at the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona and worked to revive their resettlement efforts to bring the JA community back to what it was before their forced removal.
With Japanese American veterans not welcomed into groups like the VFW or American Legion at that time, a group of JA veterans in Orange County decided to create the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670, which was mustered on Nov. 2, 1957, to allow its VFW Post members to be recognized for their service in fighting in a foreign war.
The following year, the Post decided to sponsor its first “Miss Orange County Queen” to represent Orange County in the Nisei Week Japanese Festival in 1958; Mary Murai was chosen as the Post’s inaugural queen.
It was Murai’s father who suggested that she take the opportunity since she was a farmer’s daughter. “I never wore any makeup, so I was given a makeup kit to use, and I had to borrow all my clothes for the competition since I did not have any fancy dresses or hats to wear,” Mary Murai Nakayama said.
This was the beginning of how 57 queens have represented Orange County at Nisei Week under the sponsorships of the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670 (1958-70), the Suburban Optimist Club of Buena Park (1974-82) and the Orange County Nikkei Coordinating Council (1989-2025).
On Sept. 20, the second Miss Orange County Japanese American Queens reunion was held at Tabi-Ji Japanese restaurant in Orange, Calif.; the first reunion was held in 2023. I had the honor of coordinating the second reunion.
During an earlier in-person meeting with Congresswoman Young Kim (R-Calif.) at her Anaheim Hills office, Norio Uyematsu and I shared information about the upcoming queen’s reunion, and Congresswoman Kim was very happy to honor each of the 25 queens that would be present with a recognition certificate from California’s 40th District.
This year’s reunion theme was “Orange County’s JA Legacy and Our History — Our Role in Preserving OC’s JA History,” which featured a special tribute to the Miss Orange County JA Queens of the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670.
Six Post queens were in attendance at the luncheon: Mary Murai Nakayama (1958), Doris Reiko Fujino Pultz (1960), Dianne Kubota Hamano (1961), Carol Nishizu Matsuoka (1962), Gwen Okumura Martino (1969) and Gail Konishi Shibayama (1970).
In addition, representing VFW Post 3670 were Commander James Nakamura; Keiko Sadakane, first president of the Ladies of VFW Post 3670 group; Linda Honda, charter VFW Youth Group member; and Norio Uyematsu, three-time Post Commander of VFW Post 3670 and the last surviving member of the VFW Queens Committee.
Having six of the 13 queens who started it all in attendance gave the younger queens an insight on how their years were so much different than the queen’s responsibilities today.
MC Casey Kuramoto, 2025 Miss Orange County JA Queen
Casey Kuramoto, the current Miss Orange County JA Queen, was the emcee for the reunion. “It was the first time for me to emcee an event, and this was a wonderful opportunity for me in hopes to emcee other events in the future,” she said.
Also in attendance at the luncheon were Deputy Consul General Naoko Kamitani, who made her first visit to Orange County for the event, along with Consul Aya Ishii. In addition, Kamitani gave a welcome greeting to the queens on behalf of the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles.
District Director Abigail Fachtmann then presented recognition certificates from Congresswoman Kim to each of the queens.
During the luncheon, each of the queens was asked to share a favorite photo from their year, and it was a wonderful opportunity to hear each queen on why their photo meant so much to them.
I also presented a brief historical perspective on the history of the Orange County JA pioneers and some of the area’s renowned Japanese landmarks.
Special guests included Orange County Sports Assn. President Marsha Hamamoto, who also represented OCNCC; Kimiko Fujita, past president of OCJAA; and JK Yamamoto of the Rafu Shimpo.
The Second Miss Orange County JA Queens Reunion was sponsored by the Orange County Nikkei Coordinating Council, the Orange County Queens Council and the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670. Luncheon sponsor was the Orange County Sports Assn.
It is hoped that more of the remaining 55 Miss Orange County JA Queens will join in a future reunion to share their memories and continue the JA legacy.
Miss Orange County JA Queens with individual recognition certificates from Congresswoman Young Kim (CA-40). Pictured (back row, from left) are 2025 Queen Casey Kuramoto, 2015 Queen Sarah Hutter, 2022 Queen Kristine Yada, 2012 Queen Emily Folick Koko, 2019 Queen Kara Ito, 2023 Queen Kaitlyn Emiko Chu, 2005 Queen Michelle Ito Hatsushi and 2007 Queen Christine Kimoto Tanaka. Middle Row (from left) are 1979 Queen Karen Karasawa Eto, 1977 Queen Karen Takeguma Woo, 1989 Queen Sandra Fukushima Ninomiya, 1990 Queen Denise Higuchi Bjorn, 2008 Queen Marissa Ishii Yamashita, 2014 Queen Dominique Mashburn, 2018 Queen Alice Amano and 2024 Queen Caitlyn Sasaki. Front Row (from left) are 1976 Queen Joanne Ono Castillo, 1974 Queen Patti Hirahara, 1961 Queen Dianne Kubota Hamano, 1960 Queen Doris Reiko Fujino Pultz, 1962 Queen Carol Nishizu Matsuoka, 1969 Queen Gwen Okumura Martino and 1970 Queen Gail Konishi Shibayama with Abigail Fachtmann (standing), district director of Congresswoman Young Kim’s (CA-40) Office. Not pictured is 1998 Queen Nicole Inouye.
