By MAKI HIRANO, Rafu Contributor

In the fall of 1903, seven farmers from Mie Prefecture gathered in a Riverside field after working hard all day long and talked about their homeland. They had a passionate discussion about forming a kenjinkai for mutual support and friendship, and this was later called the “Riverside Oath,” the beginning of Nanka Mie Kenjinkai.

The kenjinkai celebrated their 120th anniversary last Sunday at Miyako Hybrid Hotel in Torrance with about 70 people in attendance.

Among the participants was 33-year-old Aaron Takigawa, a grandson of former Mie Kenjinkai President Masakazu Takigawa, 98.

“Being Japanese American, we don’t always practice Japanese traditions on daily basis. Even speaking Japanese is difficult for me,” said Aaron Takigawa, a dentist from Irvine. “But I know that having Mie Kenjinkai always allowed us to reconnect.

“For me personally, I was able to go back to Mie one time when I was in high school because of Mie Kenjinkai to see where my grandparents came from. It was very special. Even now, whenever I think about Japan, I feel very connected to the land and the people.”

He attended the celebration with 13 family members from four generations, including two babies who are the fifth generation of the Takigawa family.

Consul General Kenko Sone and his wife Mami, who is from Ise City, Mie Prefecture, attended the celebration as guests of honor.

Mie Prefecture Gov. Katsuyuki Ichimi couldn’t attend in person but sent a congratulatory address. He praised the kenjinkai members as a great pride and asset to the prefecture, and paid tribute to the bonds and efforts of the members, who have built a long history.　　

The address was read on Ichimi’s behalf by emcee Kazuyo Saeki. The governor mentioned that Riki Ito, who came to the U.S. from the former village of Katada on the Shima Peninsula in 1889 at the age of 17, created the immigration boom from Mie Prefecture.

He also noted that the kenjinkai must have been a great emotional support for those from Mie Prefecture as they experienced hardships in their adopted homeland, including the anti-Japanese American movement and forced incarceration during World War II.

Ichimi thanked the kenjinkai for being a bridge between Mie Prefecture and California, including donations when the prefecture was hit by natural disasters and cooperation in sister-city exchanges.　

At the beginning of the celebration, Vice President Grace Maeda mentioned how sad she was that several former presidents of Mie Kenjinkai had passed away last year and this year, including Kanichiro Tsutsui, Tomio Ito, and Masanobu Hayashi, and a moment of silence was offered by everyone in the hall.　

Tsutomu Ota, who has served as president of the kenjinkai for 14 years, gave an address, introducing the “Riverside Oath.” At that time, the number of Mie Prefecture immigrants to the U.S. had grown to 30 families and nearly 100 people, and Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Miyagi had already established kenjinkai.

Ota explained that the kenjinkai also served as tanomoshiko— mutual support networks of villagers — for those who could not obtain bank loans because of their immigrant status, to purchase agricultural trucks and other equipment. By 1940, the Mie Kenjinkai had grown to over 1,000 families.

Ota also spoke about the longevity of the association, noting that for a human being, the age of 120 would be called daikanreki.

Consul General Sone, a native of Hokkaido, talked about his ties to Mie in addition to his wife’s hometown. He mentioned that he met a teammate from Nabari, a city in Mie, when he was a member of the basketball team at his high school in Nara Prefecture, which is adjacent to Mie Prefecture. Also, he was in charge of public relations at the prime minister’s official residence during the 2016 G-7 Ise-Shima Summit held in Mie.

Sone praised the long history of the kenjinkai and said, “You all support the friendly Japan-U.S. relationship. I wish for the further development of the association in the future.”　

Kazue Kitagaito, president of Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai, the association of Southern California kenjinkai, followed with a congratulatory speech in which she humorously enlightened the audience about the similarities in dialects between Ishikawa Prefecture, where she is from, and Mie Prefecture, where her husband is from, and about the character or kenminseiof the Mie natives.

She then introduced the fact that more than half of the 39 prefectures that are currently members of Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai have a history of more than 100 years, and that Mie Kenjinkai, founded in 1903, is the fourth-oldest after Kagoshima (1899), Kumamoto (1901), and Miyagi (1902).

Kitagaito attributed Mie Kenjinkai’s 120 years of continuity to its strong unity and mutual support.

Nowadays, with the passage of time and the instantaneous availability of information via the Internet, the significance of a kenjinkai’s existence has changed since at the time of its founding, and some kenjinkai are no longer active due to declining membership and aging members, she noted.

“I hope that Mie Kenjinkai will continue to develop in the future by learning about the footsteps of our predecessors and firmly engraving our roots,” Kitagaito said, adding that Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai would like to focus its efforts on revitalizing each kenjinkai in the future.

Two members in their 90s participated the celebration: Masakazu Takigawa, 98, a former president, and Michiko Sakakura, 93, a former president of the Women’s Club. Five young people who were participating for the first time were introduced.

Mami Sone said that she felt a sense of closeness when she met people from her hometown, and expressed hope for further connections between the kenjinkai and Mie Prefecture in the entertainment and business fields.

“I would be happy to help in any way I can, as I have many opportunities to meet people from different fields,” she said. 　

Tomomi Shimomura, a native of Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, who attended the kenjinkai event for the first time, said that although she has been in the U.S. for 28 years, this was the first time she had met someone from Mie Prefecture. She said that she was unable to return to Japan for a while due to the pandemic, and when she returned to her hometown this summer for the first time in a long time, she realized the importance of where she came from.

She returned to the U.S. feeling homesick and wishing she could meet people from the same prefecture here. Then she learned about Mie Kenjinkai.

“I enjoy talking with people from the same prefecture and feel at home,” Shimomura said. “I would like to continue to participate in activities to expand exchanges and volunteer as much as possible. I look forward to the next event.”

A sumptuous lunch of sashimi, tempura, and other delicacies was served by the Japanese restaurant Iseshima. Musician Michael Murata, who is also a scientist, sang and played the piano, and all participants enjoyed singing “Ue o Muite Arukou” (known in the U.S. as “Sukiyaki”) and Mie Prefecture’s anthem, for which lyrics were handed out. A shakuhachi performance by Greg Matsuura and koto performance by Toshiko Okawa were also well received.

The final event of the day was a raffle drawing where “everyone gets some goodies.” Some lucky winners were presented with a prize from Mitsugu Nakanishi, who has operated Mie Pearl, a pearl specialty store on the Redondo Beach Pier, for 35 years and is retiring this year.

Photos by MAKI HIRANO

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