Jack Sakaji served as master of ceremonies and led us through a moment of silence and the singing of a New Year's Song (一月一日). Then, we listened to New Year's greetings from our officers. We also received a New Year's Message from Governor Niisaka of Wakayama. Jack and Erika Fisher read the message on behalf of the governor in Japanese and English, respectively. George Mori from the Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai (Japanese Prefectural Association of Southern California) also gave a speech in English and Japanese. Mari Shirai explained our financial reports from 2015 to the general members. She also explained the new "committee system" for our kenjinkai and announced the chairperson for each new committee. For more information on our new organizational system, be sure to click the "committees" on the menu of this page. Mari then presented plaques to Toshi Arichi and Atsuko Fisher as a thank you for completing their four year terms as president and treasurer.
We enjoyed lunch after Masao Iriyama gave a toast for the New Year! After lunch, Erika Fisher served as M.C. for the entertainment portion of the program. We watched a DVD about Taiji in honor of the Taiji Club's centennial celebration last year. It was great to learn more about the culture and heritage of the small town. Next, we watched a slide show presentation of NWK's trip to Wakayama in Fall of 2015 for the National Athletic Meet. It looks like our members had a great time. Finally, Kotobuki no Kai, a minyo dance group led by one of our members, Susan Imoto, performed several dances to Wakayama folk songs. Our members enjoyed watching and singing along with the familiar tunes.
Many attendees went home with raffle prizes including a gift basket by Maeda-en, bags of rice, and other prizes prepared by our Fujinkai.
A special thanks to our New Year's Party committee led by Mari for all of the time and work they put into coordinating a great event. Thanks to Atsuko and Erika for serving as receptionists, and to Tom Hirami for setting up our sound system.
Thank you for coming to our New Year's Party. We hope that everyone had a good time.
