Seiyo is an innovative combination of sushi restaurant and purveyor of fine wines. The warm atmosphere and fresh fish at the sushi bar and restaurant make it the perfect place to grab a bite. Welcome to the SSYO website! SSYO's purpose: To allow the children of each school or parish the opportunity to participate in an athletic program which provides an atmosphere that encourages the development of each individual mentally, emotionally, and physically. She developed her love for basketball at OC Rhythm Basketball Club (two years) and SEYO basketball club (11 years). In basketball, her awards include team most.
August 3rd marks a long-anticipateddate for the Little Tokyo community: the groundbreaking of the TerasakiBudokan, a multi-purpose facility that will be in Little Tokyo. This facilityhas been in the making for over 40 years and its mission is “to providea facility in Downtown Los Angeles for youth, families, and seniors that offerssports, community activities, and opportunities to connect visitors to JapaneseAmerican culture and to a vibrant, sustainable Little Tokyo.” But the TerasakiBudokan is more than just a facility; for the community, it has been a long-termdream come true - one that will bring people back into Little Tokyo and unitegenerations.
Like many community accomplishments,there have been many people involved in making the Terasaki Budokan possible. Twoof those people are the dynamic father-son team, Alan and Aidan Kosaka. Alan Kosakaserves as the Budokan Capital Campaign Chair and his son, Aidan has volunteeredhis time to raise awareness and fundraise for the facility. Aidan has also been a participant in Kizuna's own Summer Camp, Leadership, AND Service Learning programs! We had theopportunity to interview the multi-generational team to talk about theirinvolvement, their hopes for the facility, and what the Terasaki Budokan meansto them.
Kizuna: First of all,can you two give a brief introduction of yourselves?
Alan: I'm a hybrid Sansei (Dad is Issei; Mom,Kibei Nisei) raised in Sylmar, CA, and now living in the Orange County withwife Sandi, and sons Austin (20) and Aidan (15). I’m also the Vice President ofEngineering for a security company in Torrance.
Seyo Basketball Tournament
Aidan: I was born and raised in Orange County. I have enjoyed visitingLittle Tokyo ever since I was very young. I am currently a sophomore at KennedyHigh School in La Palma and have been playing SEYO basketball for Orange CountyOptimist (OCO) since I was 5 years old. I am currently part of the Yonsei 23team, participate in several of the Kizuna programs, and am a chartermember of CiTC (Changes in The Community), a giving circle comprised of JapaneseAmerican high school students motivated to give back to the Japanese Americancommunity.
Kizuna: In your words, please explain what the TerasakiBudokan is and what it means to you.
Alan: I’ve always believed that this project was beyondsports. I wanted kids to really understand the meaning of Little Tokyo, itsroots, its history and why it’s an important place to remember. Familiesweren’t coming to J-town on their own, so it’s our hope that engaging the kidsthrough sports will be a great lead-in to share stories from grandma andgrandpa about their history with Little Tokyo. I think everyone from mygeneration has heard a great story about hamyuat Far East Café, manjyu atFugestu-do, or their first purchase at Bunkado. We need to continue talkingabout those positive stories and then continue into a deeper dialogue on thehistory of immigration and the struggles of discrimination.
Aidan: The Terasaki Budokan is a second chance for the Japanese Americancommunity to help stop the gentrification that is currently hurting thebusinesses, which have been owned by Japanese American families for a longtime. Also, it is a place where I can play basketball and hang out.
Kizuna:What do you think the Terasaki Budokan means for your specific generation?
Alan:I give credit to Alan Nishio who said that it was time for us (Sansei-third-generation) to give back. I really didn’t understand that until hedetailed how we Sansei have become successful on the coattails of our parentsand grandparents and have nothing tangible in Little Tokyo that demonstratesthat we gave back. The Issei (first-generation) struggled and persevered (gaman) through discrimination to buildLittle Tokyo’s foundation. Then the Nisei(second-generation), who fought war-time hysteria and battled through even morediscrimination, built what is Little Tokyo today. As Sansei, we can help build this project tohonor those pioneers like Dr. Terasaki, who provided so much to us and continueto further the Japanese American culture through their philanthropy.
Aidan: The younger generations will finally have a place to playbasketball and get back in touch with their roots. Free download iso psp games assassin creed. It will serve as a centerwhere the upcoming generations can have a place to meet and have fun. Driving license information.
Kizuna: How did youbecome involved with the Terasaki Budokan and the Japanese American community?
Alan: It began in1998, when I volunteered at Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC)’s inaugural SanTai San basketball tourney in the streets of Little Tokyo. It was in conjunctionwith the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) Children’sDay Celebration and watching all the kids shooting hoops gave me the bug. Ifigured it would be great to see our project to completion. Initially named theLittle Tokyo Rec Center, the project costs were around $12 million and we werelooking to complete it in five years. Unfortunately, there were numerous delays within City government and theinability to find a site sidelined us until the City granted us site control inMay of 2011.
Kizuna: Alan, we haveseen that your family and kids are involved with the project in raisingawareness and fundraising, how did they get involved and interested?
Alan: Of course,my kids had no choice when they were young. I dragged them everywhere, and it’salways easy to promote when you have a baby or cute puppy. As they got olderthough, they realized that dad was on a mission and I think now, theyunderstand the cultural relevance to the project. It didn’t hurt that JerryWest came out to support us, and gave Aidan a one-on-one mentorship onshooting. That was a moment that I will never forget.
Kizuna: Aidan, isthere anything that you have learned from your father and his involvement withthis project?
Aidan: I learned that this gym is being built for me and the generationsthat follow me. I hope it will be used as a gathering place for the JapaneseAmerican community to meet. My dad taught me to look towards the future, pasthis or my lifetime, because we want our kids and grandkids to experience thelittle things, like eating manjyufrom Fugetsu-Do and to remember the stories of our past.
Kizuna: What challenges have you had to overcome on making the facilitya dream come true?
Alan: Our biggestfrustration was finding a suitable location. In the late ‘70s, the project wasoriginally penciled in to be where the current JACCC plaza is today. A designerdidn’t want it there, so it took over 40 years of grass roots community effortand the help of then Councilmember Jan Perry to secure our site. It was nearlyimpossible to solicit donors for a project with no site. But that changed inMay of 2011. Our current challenge is to raise the remaining construction costsand then begin a sustainability fund that will ensure the wellbeing for futuregenerations. Crysis 1 windows 8 64 bit crack download.
Kizuna: Is thereanything that you would like the Japanese American community to know about the TerasakiBudokan? How about the larger public?
Alan: I thinkthere’s a misconception that this is just a sports facility. Actually, it’savailable for many different activities and events. There’s an outdooramphitheater to have events outside.
Hmmmm, perhaps to remind them that our project is just that– our project. Whether you live in SantaClarita, Oceanside Ventura or Corona, this is our facility. Our campaign sloganwas, “A home court for all.” I want everyone to know that we are building thistogether, and no matter where you live, we want you to visit and enjoy it asone big community. And we’re still not quite finished. We need your help toraise the last of the construction funding.
Aidan: I want the youngerJapanese Americans to realize that this is for them, to thank those who havespent more than 40 years of their lifetime to build something for us, to playbasketball, and meet somewhere where we can reconnect with our roots. I wantothers to experience Little Tokyo because Japanese American culture is rich andpeople need to know about the concentration camps, as well as the 442ndRegiment.
Kizuna: The groundbreaking iscoming up very soon (this Thursday, August 3rd) and we’re definitelyexcited! How do you feel? What do you want people to know about the groundbreaking?
Vfw Basketball
Alan:It’s obviously been a long road since the initial idea first surfaced inthe ‘70s. I feel sad for those who championed this in the early days and willnot see it come to fruition. For me it’s another motivating factor to ensurethat we get this done.
Aidan: I am extremely excited to have somewhere to meet and play becauseI have grown up playing basketball since I was five years old. Having a placeto meet will also bring the community even closer together.
Join us on Thursday, August3, for the long-anticipated groundbreaking of the Terasaki Budokan. To learnmore about the event and the Terasaki Budokan, please visit the website: https://www.terasakibudokan.org/. Thank you to Alan and Aidan for your time and thoughtful responses!