There’s a new face in Hosekibako – it’s Jerry Arai! When asked how he got involved with the new resale shop, he replied, “My wife volunteered me!” Volunteering at Hosekibako is a nice match for Jerry who is a collector of Japanese artifacts. He commented, “There are a lot of nice things in Hosekibako…the type of things I like to collect.” Jerry has been retired for over 5 years from the creative field of architecture. These past years, Jerry with his wife, A.C., have enjoyed the rich experiences of travelling to Japan, Hawaii, Greece, Portugal, Bermuda and Columbia. A couple of years ago, the Arai’s travelled with their daughter and granddaughter to Minidoka. At 10 years old, Jerry’s granddaughter was inspired by this journey and created a book of her drawings and writings of this experience as a gift to Jerry. His granddaughter is currently learning Japanese and is looking forward to travelling to Japan next year. They are also looking forward to another family reunion which occurs every 2-3 years and will include over 200 relatives gathering in Seattle.

When not travelling and spending time with family, Jerry is busy being the idea man, as he has been called. He’s been pondering ideas of fundraising projects for nonprofits, one of them being the Cultural Center. We are thankful for Jerry’s dedication to JCCCW – and we are very thankful to A.C. for volunteering him! He’s terrific!

We are excited as the renovation process continues. Upon completion this spring, JCCCW is looking forward to offering rentable space for meetings and gatherings to the general public. Kitchens in both buildings are being completely redone to offer our tenants and community members a convenient amenity.

Here's an update on JCCCW's renovations from Joann Ware of Interim Community Development Association. The Southeast chimney of Building III came down last week. Marpac carefully removed and stored each brick for reuse at a later time. A metal flue replaced the brick chimney as the furnace exhaust. Also, Building I’s current electrical panel needs updating, so a new panel is scheduled to be installed. During installation on November 7th (Monday) and 8th (Tuesday), all electricity to Building I will be disconnected during the work day.

Thank you to the tenants and community for their patience during this exciting time of renovation. If you have any questions about the construction process, please e-mail Joann Ware at jware@interimicda.org or Bif Brigman at 206-568-7114 or bif@jcccw.org

Sushi Lovers Gather at the NW Nikkei Museum

On Saturday, October 15th, the NW Nikkei Museum partnered with the Hyogo Business & Cultural Center to present a sushi demonstration and sampling, in conjunction with the current Itadakimasu! exhibit on local Japanese restaurants. Carolyn Takei, whose family restaurant is featured in the exhibit, spoke of her experience growing up and working in an early Japanese restaurant. Takeyuki Suetsugu presented on his extensive experience as a sushi chef. With his wife Minae, Chef Suetsugu demonstrated sushi making, including his signature “Washington roll.” Lynn Miyauchi showed how to make spam musubi, and offered suggestions for creative ingredient combinations to try at home.

Thank you to Dale Watanabe for moderating the program, to Ms. Takei, Mr. and Mrs. Suetsugu of Bistro Satsuma, and Ms. Miyauchi for their insightful and engaging presentations, and to Todd Kuniyuki from Kaname restaurant for providing additional sushi samples. Also, thank you to the Hyogo Business & Cultural Center, to the NW Nikkei Museum committee, and JCCCW staff and volunteers for producing this event.

Story by Tasia Endo, NW Nikkei Museum Committee Member.

See more event photos by Jason Takisaki.

Save the Date for Mochitsuki-Dec. 29th

Mochitsuki, the pounding of mochi or rice cakes, is an annual custom which is essential to the New Years celebration. Mochitsuki is an all-day process which requires many hands to come together and join in the work. The JCCCW, in partnership with Hyogo Business and Cultural Center, Nisei Veterans Committee, and the Seattle Fukuoka Kenjinkai, is happy to offer a mochitsuki event free to the public so that the entire community can come and share in this uniquely Japanese tradition, as well as learn about the different ways mochi is made. You can preorder mochi and then come watch while your mochi is made, or you can volunteer to help make the mochi!

Any experience level is welcome, so if you are interested in volunteering, call Leela Bilow, Development Associate, at 206-568-7114 or leelab@jcccw.org

Date: Thursday, December 29th, 2011

Time: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Place: Nisei Veterans Hall, 1212 S. King Street, Seattle

By Sarah Mortland, Ganbaru intern


Save the Date - 4th Annual Tomodachi Luncheon, Friday, March 9, 2012

Last year, the annual Tomodachi Luncheon attracted almost 300 people and this year we're expecting more! Save the date to be at the Westin Seattle. Registration will be at 11:30 am and the event will be from noon-1:30 pm. Help us honor this year's Tomodachi Luncheon awardee who may be an individual or group which promotes and celebrates Japanese and Japanese American culture and heritage, and works to strengthen cultural ties between the U.S. and Japan.

Plus, we're planning to surprise you with a few auction items while you visit with friends! Mark your calendars for Friday, March 9, 2012.

Thank you to our first Silver Sponsor, Sachie & Jeff Nitta, and this event's first Bronze Sponsor, Mitsubishi International Corporation!

If you would like to attend or sponsor this event, please email leelab@jcccw.org

NW Nikkei Museum Update

Megan Lamboley, a NW Nikkei Museum volunteer, is in her second year of the Museology graduate program at the University of Washington. She shared, “I am interested in becoming a collections manager post graduation. I started volunteering in March and I am very excited and honored to be working with the collection at the Nikkei Museum! I think the JCCCW is a great organization, and I love that I am able to do my thesis project with an organization that truly needs and can benefit from it.

Right now I am working on completing an inventory of the museum collection objects. Once I finish inventorying the objects, I will move on to what are considered ‘special collections’ such as photographs and manuscripts. We are hoping to get some new shelving which will provide more space as we clean and store the items.”

In addition to Megan, the Cultural Center wishes to thank Todd Mayberry, Nadia Arambula, Tasia Endo and all the NW Nikkei Museum volunteers, who have given endless hours of precious time, expertise and hard work to the development of the museum.

Photo Legacy Project Update

Since October, William, a Ganbaru intern, has been working on the Photo Legacy Project. He has been using Picasa to tag identified people in approximately 500-600 photos. Eventually, all photos will be uploaded on to a Picassa Web Album for the public to tag unidentified people in the photos. Thank you to William whose work will allow community members to connect to their history and discover their family members.

Resource Center Update

Sandy Ishihara and Merrily Taniguchi have been diligently working away on building the Resource Center which is scheduled to be up and running this spring. They have been taking inventory and bar coding English language books on Japanese and Japanese American history, arts and culture which will provide a wealth of knowledge for people in the community. Stay tuned for more updates!

Unsettled ~ Resettled: Seattle’s Hunt Hotel

You may be the key…to unlocking a wealth of knowledge about the more than 100 men, women and children who lived in the Japanese Language School buildings following their incarceration during World War II. With your help, we can create an accurate listing of the residents and establish a physical acknowledgement at the Cultural Center displaying the name of each resident. What historical truths will we discover together that will expand the history of the Seattle Japanese community?

You can help participate in JCCCW’s project by making an appointment, by emailing Bif Brigman at bif@jcccw.org or by calling 206-568-7114 M-F 9 am- 5pm. Or if you would prefer, we can email you a file that we have researched containing a list of the Hunt Hotel residents so that you may help us fill in any missing names and information.

Mailboxes for Rent

Inside the main office at the Cultural Center, we have a limited offering of mail boxes for rent. Would you like to keep your organization's and household mail separate? You can, for only $100.00 per year. Simply send an e-mail to admin@jcccw.org or stop by the office!

Adults classes started on October 25th. All adult classes are 8 week sessions, meeting one day a week for two hours; from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Class levels range from Beginner I to Intermediate. The next available adult class will begin January 11, 2012.

For more information. Or contact us at jls@jcccw.org or 206-323-0250.

Wondering what to do with that old vehicle? Through Volunteers of America of Western Washington, JCCCW accepts vehicle donations. Your gift allows JCCCW to receive 50% of the net proceeds. Volunteers of America accepts cars, trucks, boats and RV's and will make the arrangements to pick up the vehicle. Contact Leela Bilow at 206-568-7114 or email leelab@jcccw.org.