Pictured (back row, from left) are Lindsey Sugimoto, Nisei Week Princess Caitlyn Sasaki, Nisei Week Miss Tomodachi Amy Kubo, Nisei Week Princess Anita Komatsu, Joann Shin Cordeiro, Kenko Sone, Mami Sone, Nisei Week First Princess Seia Watanabe, Nisei Week Queen Morgan Mayuko Gee, Nisei Week Princess Carina Sakimura, Joyce Nakashima and (front row, from left) 2024 Nisei Week Pioneer Spirit Awardees Grace Shiba, June Aochi Berk, Diane Watanabe, Barbara Shirota, Margaret Shimada, Gwen Muranaka and Patricia Kinaga. (Photo: George Toshio Johnston)
Men out to lunch as new Nisei Queen, Court assist in recognizing Pioneer Spirit honorees.
By P.C. Staff
Four days after the 82nd annual Nisei Week coronation, the new queen and court took on one of their first official duties.
On Aug. 14, they helped escort seven other remarkable high- achievers, all of whom also happened to be women, into the Golden State ballroom of Doubletree by Hilton Los Angeles in Little Tokyo. The occasion was the Nisei Week Foundation’s Pioneer Spirit Award luncheon.
Proceedings got underway as Queen Morgan Mayuko Gee (Venice Japanese Community Center & Venice-West Los Angeles JACL) and her court — Nisei Week Princess Caitlyn Sasaki (Orange County Nikkei Coordinating Council), Nisei Week Miss Tomodachi Amy Kubo (East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center), Nisei Week Princess Anita Komatsu (Gardena Evening Optimist Club), Nisei Week First Princess Seia Watanabe (Japanese Restaurant Association of America) and Nisei Week Princess Carina Sakimura (Pasadena Japanese Cultural Institute) — each escorted (with an assist by 2024 Nisei Week Foundation President Joann Shin Cordeiro) to the dais this year’s honorees: June Aochi Berk, Patricia Kinaga, Gwen Muranaka, Grace Shiba, Margaret Shimada, Barbara Shirota and Diane Watanabe.
The Pioneer Spirit Award recognizes dedicated, long-standing Japanese American community volunteers and leaders.
One of the dignitaries in attendance, Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles Kenko Sone, got laughs when he, as the luncheon’s sole speaker to possess XY chromosomes, expressed hope that the 2025 crop of Pioneer Spirit Award honorees might include a male.
Twelve months forward, maybe. This year, however, was a show of ladies might, with honorees who would shine in any year.
Berk, who trained in Japanese dance and kabuki with the renowned Fujima Kansuma, has an association with Nisei Week that stretches back to dancing in the celebration’s first parade in 1936 at age 4, and as the 1954 Nisei Week queen, worked as the secretary for legendary JACL leader Minoru Yasui when he was the Mountain Plains JACL director. She was also the executive assistant to Irene Hirano, founding president of the Japanese American National Museum, which has since immortalized Berk as one of its future digital avatars (see June 2, 2023, Pacific Citizen). Berk is also a member of the San Fernando Valley JACL chapter and is an advocate for the preservation of historic sites such as the Tuna Canyon Detention Center.
Grace Shiba speaks as (from left) Margaret Shimada, Lindsey Sugimoto, Morgan Mayuko Gee and Joann Shin Cordeiro listen. (Photo: George Toshio Johnston)
Berk told the Pacific Citizen that “this has to be one of the highest honors, to be recognized by your community and join the other ladies. It was really fun.” Recognizing that the JACL just had its National Convention in July, she also noted that she was at the 1950 JACL National Convention in Denver that was attended by “my boss” (Yasui) and his fellow JACL luminaries Mas Satow and Mike Masaoka.
“Not only that, I worked for the Southwest JACL here in L.A. with Tats Kushida, Saburo Kido and Edison Uno. . . . Long live JACL! I always hope that JACL continues on. It’s very important.”
Attorney Kinaga’s credentials include producing short documentaries, serving as a past president of the Japanese American Bar Assn. and working with such organizations as Asians and Pacific Islanders With Disabilities of California, domestic violence shelter Asian Pacific Women’s Center, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Go for Broke National Education Center and JANM.
Kinaga told the Pacific Citizen that being honored was special because she felt that both her father, who died several years ago, and her mother, who is 101 and was unable to attend, were nevertheless there with her. She recalled attending the most-recent obon festival in San Jose, where she grew up, and telling her aunt, “I think I am who I am because I was raised between the San Jose relatives and the L.A. relatives to be . . . immensely proud of being Japanese American.
“I think my dad’s service in the 442 as one of the original volunteers — our family’s life revolved around the 442 and the JA community — that’s why I’m here, and that’s why being recognized by the community is particularly special.”
Excelling as both a journalist and cartoonist, Muranaka, editor-in-chief of Rafu Shimpo, got her start in the profession in the 1990s at Pacific Citizen, working with former editor and general manager Harry Honda. “It’s really ironic. I find it sort of a full circle that Harry received this award, I think, the first year I covered the Nisei Week coronation,” she said, harking back to 2001.
Although it’s not the first award she has received for her dedication to journalism — the Society of Professional Journalists presented Muranaka with its Distinguished Journalist Award in 2023 — she did note that it was the first such award she has received from the Japanese American community for being a journalist. “Everyone keeps telling me that I’m a little young to be a pioneer, so I guess it probably speaks to how central what we do as journalists is to keeping the community connected and informed — and somehow united. I think it’s more about the community than it is about me.”
Speaking from the dais to represent all the honorees, Shiba — who has been active in the past with JACL, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California (currently its executive vp), the Japanese Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai, the Nanka Shizuoka Kenjinkai and is the executive director of the University of Southern California Asian Pacific Alumni Assn. — said: “I’m deeply honored to express my gratitude for the 2024 Pioneer Spirit Award on behalf of the remarkable individuals being recognized alongside me.
“Today, we celebrate our achievements and the collective spirit of perseverance, dedication and passion that drives each of us in our respective organization. This award is not just a recognition of our individual efforts, but a testament to the collaborative spirit that fuels our success. To my fellow honorees, you inspire me with your unwavering commitment to excellence. Each of you has made significant contributions that have shaped organizations, transformed community and profoundly touched lives.”
Shimada’s résumé includes serving as director of service programs with the Little Tokyo Service Center (she retired after 16 years in March), serving on the board of the Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Keiro, Koreatown Youth and Community Services, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Center for Pacific Asian Families, Pediatric Therapy Network, Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team, Asian American Symphony Guild, Nichi Bei Fujinkai, Peninsula Committee of the L.A. Philharmonic and UCLA Stein Eye Institute.
Attorney Watanabe, who earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, where she helped found the Asian Law Student Assn., went on to a 45-yearlong legal career.
Along the way, she used her legal expertise to obtain and maintain nonprofit status for numerous Japanese American community organizations — pro bono — that provided youth services, veterans support and charitable outreach throughout Southern California. She also has served as the president of the Orange Coast Optimist Club and has for more than 20 years served as president of the Orange County Nikkei Coordinating Council.
Shirota, a recipient of a 2024 Woman of the Year Award in March (see July 5, 2024, Pacific Citizen) from the Japanese Women’s Society of Southern California and the Downtown Los Angeles JACL, has been active with the West Covina Buddhist Temple (board of directors) and the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center, serving as its first woman president.
In memory of her late husband, George Yanase, she has sponsored scholarships at Southwestern Law School. She also has established the ESGVJCC scholarship for graduate students in memory of her late husband, Jon Shirota, and continues to contribute to her graduate school alma mater, the University of La Verne.
Shirota admitted to being “overwhelmed,” adding: “It’s a good feeling.”
The luncheon’s opening welcome was from 2024 Pioneer Spirit Award Chairperson Joyce Nakashima. Serving as mistress of ceremonies was Lindsey Sugimoto. The congratulatory toast was by Shin Cordeiro.
Table centerpieces were from Scotty’s Flowers. Honorees’ leis were from the So Cal Flower Market and the printing of the programs was thanks to Fukui Mortuary.
