GOTO-HEALTH

 It was the Friday evening session of the 2026 Japan Fair at the Bellevue Meydenbauer Center. My red ticket stub numbers matched the numbers drawn and called out by Tom Ikeda. I was sitting with Lori Matsukawa, retired King 5 TV anchor.  “Kirigami” is Japanese cut paper art. As I sat back down holding the framed art, Lori said, “The picture reminds me of Kip Tokuda.”  That’s because Kip passed away fishing in Puget Sound July 13, 2013.

 

I will credit Kip for the publication of our first professionally published OMOIDE IV book with a grant from his Washington State Civil Liberty Grant, distributed by the WA State Department of Education. 

 

Aki Sogabe has donated her art for the covers of our OMOIDE publications IV, V & VI and I will choose to use this drawing for OMOIDE VII. Our first three publications were hand copied at Kinko and hand stapled with cover stock titled paper. 

 

Kip was the state representative from the 37th district and wanted to honor his parents and the memories of their unfair incarceration as Americans of Japanese heritage during WWII with Japan. His father ran the Tokuda Drug Store on Main Street. His mother, Tama, was an actress with the Asian Theater group and she was part of the first OMOIDE writing group. Sister Wendy was a TV Anchor in San Francisco and has written the forward for my daughter, Kelly’s, SEATTLE SAMURAI.

 

This is how I got involved in 2003 with the Civil Liberties Act passing. Kip was trying to get his Civil Liberty Bill passed with the Washington State legislators. Kip needed just a few more votes. At that time Jim Honeyford of Sunnyside, WA, was the WA State Senate majority whip. Jim was a classmate of mine growing up in Eastern Oregon and his father was the Reverend Honeyford of the Ontario First Baptist Church my family regularly attended.

 

Jim’s Story will be in OMOIDE VII. It is the story of how several of the churches in Ontario would not allow Mr K Wada of the Japanese community in Ontario to start their development of the Ontario Japanese Methodist Church gatherings. Reverend Honeyford welcomed them.

 

Back to remembering 2003. That’s when Kip Tokuda, Lori Matsukawa and Ron Mamiya chose to be co-presidents and helped the launching of our JCCCW (Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington).  I chose to be Treasurer. From the start I’ve wanted to see the “J” (JCCCW) art and cultural activities such as the OMOIDE writing group benefit our Seattle and Pacific Northwest community.  

 

Let’s keep winning 100+ years from now!!!