Organization
Hokka Nichi Bei Kai, also known as The Japanese American Association of Northern California, is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation established under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is known as the oldest Japanese American community organization in the Bay Area.
History:
Established in 1893 and its organizational structure and names have changed several times during the past 120 years. The present organization was formed in 2000 by merging Nichi Bei Kai (The Japanese American Association) and The Japanese Speaking Society of America (Beikoku Nichigo Kyokai) and named Hokka Nichi Bei Kai.
Purposes:
The purposes of the organization are (1) to promote the Japanese language and Japanese cultural programs, (2) to provide facilities and opportunities for others to sponsor Japanese cultural programs and activities, and (3) to promote goodwill between the people of the United States and Japan.
Programs & Activities:
Annual programs include Japanese speech contests for American children, middle/high school students, college students, and adults, tea ceremonies, and Bunka Hall of Fame to recognize those who have made significant contribution in introducing Japanese culture in the Northern California area. Occasionally other Japanese cultural programs are sponsored such as musical programs, lectures, and informational seminars in Japanese.
A long-term project is being considered to publish the history of Japanese American Community in Northern California.
Location:
Hokka Nichi Bei Kai’s building at 1759 Sutter Street in San Francisco is a three-story structure with the first floor used for meetings, conferences, seminars, cultural exhibits, etc. The second floor has several office spaces used by Hokka Nichi Bei Kai and other non-profit organizations. It also houses Bunka Hall of Fame with the pictures of those inducted into the Bunka Hall of Fame. The third floor contains the Japanese Tea House for tea ceremony activities. The building is also currently used by other organizations offering flower arrangement classes, Japanese calligraphy classes, Japanese dancing classes, Japanese Tea ceremonies, and Japanese chess (Shogi) games.
Membership:
Membership is open to any person or organization in the Northern California area who or which supports or endorses the purposes of Hokka Nichi Bei Kai.
The current annual membership dues are (1) Individual Member $40, (2) Family Member $70, and (3) Supporting Member $175. There also is a category called “Group Member” with various due rates based on the number of people in each group. ($40/ person)
Please click here for the membership form.
Management:
The Board of Directors and the Officers manage Hokka Nichi Bei Kai. The 25-member Board of Directors is elected bi-annually by general membership. The Board elects the following officers bi-annually: President, three Vice-Presidents, Recording Secretary, Assistant Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, and two Auditors.
The current (year 2017 - 2019) Board members and Officers are:
President: John Nishizawa1st Vice-President Masahiko Minami
2nd Vice-President Yasuaki Miura
3rd Vice-President Hiroshi Sengoku
Secretary Mayumi Tanaka
Asst. Secretary Masami Saisu
Treasurer Tomoaki Takashima
Asst. Treasurer Noriko Kashiwabara
Auditor Eddie Moriguchi
Auditor Takashi Matsuoka
Other Board members are:
Setsuko HandaNobu Kurashige
Midori McKeon
Shiz Mihara
Tomokazu Morikawa
Tatsumi Saito
Mako Sakamoto
Mikiko Shimabe
Fusako Takahashi
Takako Ueda
Motomi Ui
Kuniko Yagi
Past Presidents are: (Prior to 1949, we do not have any records as to the names of Presidents)
1949 – 1952 Sasato Yamate
1953 – 1958 Motoji Kitano
1959 – 1965 Shichisaburo Hideshima
1966 – 1968 Eizo Miyahara
1969 – 1971 Motoo Itatani
1972 – 1975 Takeshi Koga
1976 – 1976 Yoshio Watanabe
1976 – 1986 Yukio Sekino
1987 – 1991 Kazuaki Kuwada
1992 – 1994 Sanae Tomoyasu
1995 – 1995 Steven Doi
1996 – 1996 Higashi Fukawa
1996 – 1998 Kojiro Iwasaki
1999 – 2000 Osamu Machida
2001 – 2004 Kanji Kuramoto
2005 – 2006 Eddie Moriguchi
2007 - 2008 Kiyoshi Naito
2009 – 2010 Mikio Okada
2011 – 2014 Kuniko Yagi
2015 - 2016 Kozo Kimura
2017 - present John Nishizawa