Meet Yuichi Yamakawa - President of Kintetsu Enterprises Co. of America

When the SF Japantown Foundation first announced its matching fund campaign to raise funds to help Japantown nonprofit organizations overcome the financial hardship they are facing because of the COVID19 crisis, one of the first donors to come to the rescue was Yuichi Yamakawa, President of Kintetsu Enterprises Co. of America.  Mr. Yamakawa remains our largest donor of this campaign.

Now residing in Southern California, Mr. Yamakawa was transferred to San Francisco from his head office in Japan and served as Kintetsu’s Controller here from 1982-1988.  Even though it has been over 32 years since his transfer to SF, he continues to hold fond memories of his experience here and thus generously wrote a personal check of $20,000 without any hesitation.

“When I worked in San Francisco, I lived on 6th Avenue in the Sunset District, and my daughter was born there in 1986.  At that time, the interest rates were very high and the unions were very strong so running the hotel was quite a challenge.  However, our company made a commitment in the 1950s to make an investment in San Francisco even though we were not able to make a profit for the first 30 years here and therefore we had to do the best we could have given the external circumstances that we faced.

I was born during the baby boomer era where we learned about the Flower Power movement in San Francisco so I was excited about my transfer to SF.

During my time there, I met many Taisho born people [persons born between 1912-1925] including Jack Hirose, one of the founding members of the SF Japantown Foundation.  It was a great experience getting to know them and working with them.  My grandfather was a teacher so I think I learned about Japanese Americans and their history before moving to the US but to actually have an opportunity to work with them and attend their events was something that I will always remember and look fondly upon.

Japantown was very active at that time with many activities. All of my weekends were filled with Japantown related events.  There was Sakura Matsuri; activities planned by the Japantown Merchants Association; summer and fall festivals,  and the yearly mochi pounding at New Years where I was named the “man of physical labor” because I was the youngest staff member and was often required to participate in manual labor work.  I even remember that I had to wear a Santa Claus suit throughout the entire month of December in 1983!

I want to see SF Japantown continue to exist for the future.  Even though our company no longer has property in Japantown, I believe it is still important to support it and I thank the community for the wonderful memories and experiences it has provided me.”

Thank you Mr. Yamakawa, both for your generous support and your wonderful reflections on your experience in Japantown and how it is important for us to keep our community alive!

Hotel Kabuki Donates $34,000 to Japantown Foundation

Hotel Kabuki General Manager Alex Prouty presented San Francisco Japantown Foundation Board President Donald Tamaki with a check for $34,000 at our New Year Celebration with Osechi Ryori event on January 9, 2020, held at Hotel Kabuki.

The generous donation continues the foundation’s philanthropic partnership with Hotel Kabuki that started in 2013. The Japantown Foundation receives funds raised through the hotel’s You Can Make a Difference program, which asks guests to donate when they stay at the property.

The donations from Hotel Kabuki – combined with proceeds from our annual New Year Celebration and from our original endowment – enable us to provide annual grants to qualified Japantown community organizations.

The Japantown Foundation board of directors expresses its appreciation to Prouty, who is also a foundation board member, and the staff of Hotel Kabuki for continuing this valuable partnership.

You're Invited to our 2020 New Year’s Celebration with Osechi Ryori!

The San Francisco Japantown Foundation’s annual New Year’s fundraiser once again features Osechi Ryori, the traditional dishes carefully prepared and presented for the New Year to wish for good health, happiness, and prosperity.

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This special dining experience is only possible through the generous assistance of the owners and chefs at Pabu, Yama-Sho, Sanraku, Sushi Ran, DELICA, and Azuma Foods.

Thursday, January 9, 2020 (Facebook Event)
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Hotel Kabuki in Japantown

See photos from our previous event.

This is the San Francisco Japantown Foundation’s primary fundraiser and allows us to continue providing grants to Japantown and Japanese American-related nonprofit organizations.

About Osechi Ryori

Osechi Ryori refers to a number of unique dishes that are prepared once a year to celebrate the New Year. Many of the items require hours of preparation, and are preserved in ways to make sure that they are delicious to eat throughout the first three days of the year–the traditional way of celebrating the Japanese New Year.

Many of us remember waking up on New Year’s Day to have our bowl of ozoni and then patiently wait as all of the other osechi items were unveiled by our grandparents and great grandparents for us to eat. Being able to eat osechi ryori today, however, is a rarity.

That is one of the reasons the board of the SF Japantown Foundation continues to hold our annual Osechi Ryori event. It allows us to introduce and re-introduce the special food items that are prepared during the New Year that will bring us good luck, good health and prosperity throughout the year.

With the generous assistance of our restaurant partners, we are able to share authentically prepared osechi dishes that are expressly prepared for the event. We sincerely thank our culinary experts for supporting us in carrying on this important culture and tradition.

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Our 2019 New Year's Celebration with Osechi Ryori is sold out!

Our 2019 New Year's Celebration with Osechi Ryori on January 10, 2019, at Hotel Kabuki is sold out! Thank you to our sponsors and guests that made this possible.

2019 New Year's Celebration with Osechi Ryori
Thursday, January 10, 2019
6:00 p.m.
Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco's Japantown
MAP

San Francisco Japantown Foundation 2018 Grants Program to Focus on Cultural Arts and Capital Project Planning

Update 8/25/18: The applications deadline has passed.

The San Francisco Japantown Foundation’s 2018 grants program is now accepting applications for grants related to cultural arts and Japantown capital project planning. Applications are due August 24, 2018.

Applicants for arts grants may request up to $5,000. Applicants for capital project planning grants may request up to $10,000. The Japantown Foundation may award grants in amounts lower than requested based on funding availability.

While the foundation previously provided grants for capital project planning, the focus on cultural arts is new and a change from previous grant-making. The Japantown Foundation board of directors is prioritizing this year’s grants to provide resources to artists, projects, and organizations that promote and preserve Japanese and Japanese American art in both visual and performing arts form.

The foundation this year will not award grants to applicants without a specific focus on Japanese and Japanese American cultural arts, or capital project planning.

Applicants must be a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, or be fiscally-sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization, and demonstrate a current and historical relationship with Japantown, or provide services to the San Francisco Japantown community. Previous recipients of Japantown Foundation grants must submit grant reports before being eligible to apply for 2018 funding.

Applications are due August 24, 2018. A committee will review qualified applications and submit recommendations to the foundation board of directors. The board will render final decisions on grants at its meeting in September and awards will be announced in early October 2018.

Download the grants application at http://japantownfoundation.org/grants. The application contains more details and requirements. For questions about the grants program, contact foundation board member Diane Matsuda at 415-305-5438 or dianematsuda@hotmail.com.

About the San Francisco Japantown Foundation Grants Program

Grants from the San Francisco Japantown Foundation are made possible through the original endowments by Kintetsu Enterprises of America, Jack Hirose, Hats and Amey Aizawa, Union Bank, and Minami Tamaki LLP. We also use proceeds from our annual Osechi Ryori New Year’s celebration fundraiser, supported by generous sponsors and guests.

Another significant portion of the funds available for these grants comes from our philanthropic partnership with Hotel Kabuki. The Japantown Foundation receives funds raised through the hotel’s You Can Make a Difference program, which asks guests to make a donation when they stay at the property. The Japantown Foundation expresses our appreciation to the Hotel Kabuki and to General Manager J.P. Oliver for continuing this valuable partnership. J.P. is also a member of our foundation board.

Since 2007, the Foundation has provided more than $700,000 in funding to the community.

Join the Japantown Foundation’s email list to be notified about grants program updates.