Sakura Gardens’ Sushi Day

On Saturday, March 29, JRA—the Japanese Restaurant Association of America held a “Sushi Day” event at Sakura Gardens, a senior living facility in Boyle Heights.

The JRA is a nonprofit organization of about 200 members, including restaurant owners, food producers, and wholesalers, dedicated to promoting Japanese cuisine and culture.

This volunteer event, where residents enjoy freshly made sushi, has been held every year since the days of Sakura Gardens’ predecessor, the Keiro Retirement Home. This was the 23rd year of the event.

All ingredients, including fish, nori, and wasabi, were donated by 13 member companies, and skilled chefs from renowned restaurants, including Sushi Katsu-ya and Sushi Gen, prepared the sushi with great skill.

The sushi was carefully prepared and plated, with 100 servings completed.

The entire staff joined together to distribute them.
Residents happily savored each piece of sushi, made with heartfelt care.

At the end, a resident representative gave words of thanks and orchid flowers to the JRA, participating restaurants, and partner companies.

He went on to say,
”The gardening profession not only became a livelihood for people returning from the internment camps after the war, but also helped build an invisible yet invaluable asset for the Japanese American community: trust within American society.”

The event concluded with the presentation of the Special Awards.

INC Banquet

The INC Banquet, a party hosted by INC, the Southern California Intercollegiate Nikkei Council was held in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, April 20.

INC is an organization formed by NSUs, the Nikkei Student Unions from universities in Southern California.
It focuses on networking among Nikkei students and fostering connections between local Japanese American communities and students. Currently, 12 university Japanese American student organizations are members.

The INC Banquet is an end-of-year event where officers from each university’s INC gather. This year, approximately 200 people attended.

After dinner, entertainment was presented by representatives from each university, celebrating the successful completion of the year’s activities.
A scholarship award ceremony was also held.

And next year’s co-presidents, Adam Kim from UC San Diego and Julia Endow from UC Irvine, were introduced.