Chicago Japanese Club Celebrates Its 30 Years of History
The members of the Chicago Japanese Club and guests make a toast for CJC’s achievements and success in the future.
Yuki Juretic, Vice Chair of CJC
The Chicago Japanese Club celebrated its 30th anniversary on November 4 at the Doubletree Hotel Arlington Heights, and about 100 people of guests, founding members, and past and present members attended. Vice President of CJC, Yuki Juretic, emceed the celebration, and its history video was presented to look back at its activities along with its mission.
The mission of CJC is as follows: based on interaction and mutual help among members, we strive to promote cultural exchange, mutual understanding, and education as a member of the local community and aim to participate in the creation of a healthy and prosperous community.
Deputy Consul General Naoya Kishi
Deputy Consul General Naoya Kishi congratulated on the 30th anniversary of CJC and said, “I would like to pay my sincere respect to all the members of CJC, who have supported the Club activities, leaders of the Club, who have prepared for today’s celebration event, and all the successive Chairmen from the first Chair Ogino to the present Chair Fujimoto have overcome any difficulty with their wisdom.”
Deputy CG Kish mentioned about Japanese/Japanese American summer picnic, where CJC’s shaved ice service was always popular among the diverse participants, and said, “I was impressed that CJC and other community organizations had already collaborated at the picnic to promote exchange and mutual understanding among Japanese, Japanese Americans, and Americans who had interests in Japanese culture. That is exactly what the Consulate General’s Office in Chicago has been working on,” and thanked CJC and all other organizations for doing that.
Mayor Tom Hayes of the Village of Arlington Heights
Honorable Tom Hayes, Mayor of the Village of Arlington Heights, and his wife Sue have been familiar faces at CJC’s New Year’s Party every year. He said, “Thank you for 30 years now over a great partnership that we had. My predecessor Mayor Arline Mulder started this relationship about 30 years ago, almost the entire time of the Club being existence. So I really thank her for doing grand work for our great relationship that we have for so many years now.”
Mayor Hayes said that in the CJC’s celebration evening, he also represented mayors of other communities where Japanese Americans live and work, “So I want to thank all of you on behave of all the mayors for all the contributions that the Japanese American community has made.”
Mayor Hayes mentioned that Arlington Heights has become a diverse place to live and work, and said, “I and the Village Board want to make sure that everyone, who chooses to live and work in our community, feels welcome here in Arlington Heights, and other mayors in the town to do the same things as well. So we make great efforts to make sure that you are incorporated into our community and you feel part of the community.”
When you meet Mayor Hayes, a question you eagerly want to ask is about the Chicago Bears! He responded to the eager audience and gave them updates. Although the Bears purchased the property in Arlington Heights, negotiations on stadium construction and total site development have been ongoing.
Mayor Hayes said, “We are meeting with them this coming week, so we are very encouraged that things are moving in a very positive direction.” He emphasized that they had been working very hard on that effort because having Bears was not only going to be good for the Arlington Heights community but also going to be good for the whole Northwest suburban region.
Arlington Heights missed the Arlington Park Racecourse, which was the great community partner for almost 100 years. “Now we are hoping to find something that is very exciting and be feeling of the legacy of horse racing track that we had here in our community. I think that we found a community partner in the Chicago Bears as going to befit that very special legacy that race truck had,” the Mayor said.
CJC Chairman Koh Fujimoto
CJC’s current Chairman Koh Fujimoto welcomed all the participants to the 30th anniversary celebration and thanked the founding members, past members, and current members who helped create the organization and continued to carry out CJC’s activities. Especially, he thanked Vice Chair Yuki Juretic, and the Board members Miki Yoshida, Harumi Ichikawa, and Yoshiko Menzia for their hard work to make the celebration event possible. He also thanked Kazuhiro Sue for his quick response to carry CJC’s commemorative gifts to O’Hare from Tokyo.
Fujimoto expressed his appreciation to the surrounding community members such as the Village of Arlington Heights, the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, Kikkoman Foods, many other local businesses, spouses of the members, donors, and many volunteers. And then he raised his glass and made a toast to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Chicago Japanese Club.
Founder and first Chairman Toshio Ogino
Toshio Ogino, the founder and first Chairman of the Club, thanked everyone who prepared to host the 30th anniversary celebration saying, “Due to everybody’s hard work, I’m enjoying having a good time here at this party,” and talked about the seven years of pre-establishment period of the Club.
According to Ogino, the idea of establishing a Japanese club started seven years before 1993. The 13 of initiators including Ogino had numerous meetings and discussions for seven years. The agendas were:
1. Whether a need for a Japanese club exists among Japanese people who came to the Chicago area for their businesses. They were called “Shin Issei,” newcomers to the U.S. after WWII.
2. What is the meaning of opening a Japanese club?
3. What kind of a role can Shin Issei take in the already established Japanese-American organizations if they join them?
4. Does a Japanese club have meaningful contributions to Shin Issei and their families if the initiators open a club?
At that time, the initiators were in their 50s and were full of energy to overcome any uncertainty or question. In June 1993, about 80 members of a club got together and finally held an inaugural general meeting.
Ogino recalled their activities in the pre-establishment period and said, “Thirty years of the time is very long. We were all in the 50s, but now in the 80s” and introduced three other initiators who attended the celebration. Those gentlemen were: Shuji Hoshina, Yoshio Goto, and Takeshi Tanimoto.
Ogino said in his profound voice, “With the members’ involvement and board members’ services, the Chicago Japanese Club has continued its activities. I think the 30 years of existence is proof that we, the initiators made the right decision. I’m pleased to see today’s celebration.” He continued, “Toward the future, I want the CJC members to promote Shin Issei’s participation in the club, and want you to let them understand our mission, and all of you operate the club along with the trends of the era. The Chicago Japanese Club will last forever! Please support CJC.”
The participants of CJC’s 30th anniversary recall their activities while they are listening to the first Chairman Toshio Ogino’s speech.
CJC Video Presentation
The Chicago Japanese Club started in March 1993 under the name of the Mid America Japanese Club (MAJC), and 75 members embarked on its activities along with the mission.
MAJC formally merged with the Chicago Japanese American Association in 1998 and took over the Japan Festival which had been held in the Botanic Garden for years until 1997. The Japan Festival was picked by the local media and became more famous in the Chicago area. That fact brought more membership and volunteers.
In 2005, the venue of the Japan Festival moved to the Forest View Educational Center in Arlington Heights. The new location allowed visitors easier access, and its popularity increased. The Japan Festival became a big event in the Chicago suburb region.
Years later, the whole operation of the Japan Festival was taken over by the Chicago Japanese American Council, and the Festival has been held in downtown Chicago. However, the popularity of the Festival owes to the experiences and know-how that CJC has developed for years.
Other than the Japan Festival, CJC has hosted an annual New Year’s Party, seminars, grand flea market, and so on beyond the Japanese community to serve the people in local communities.
In 2013, MAJC changed its name to the Chicago Japanese Club.
CJC also has “Otasuke Team” which helps repair homes, fun events like golf competitions, picnics, karaoke events, computer salons, and networking events to expand its service and contribution to its members, non-members, and local communities.
During the time of COVID-19, CJC gave out hand-made masks made by its members and held seminars about the disease by a certified physician, who is a member of CJC, to relieve anxiety from the people in the community.
CJC has continued to make progress in response to the change of the society. Printed publication “Shimpu” became a net-based newsletter, and board meetings were changed to online or hybrid. In the time of COVID-19, CJC implemented New Year’s Party and concerts virtually. So the CJC members became familiar with digitalization, and the CJC’s operation and activity got into the era of the digital world.
In recent years, CJC’s homepage design has been renewed, and CJC puts out more information through SNS such as Facebook and Instagram. CJC’s membership has increased by nearly 200, and the members’ ages and occupations have been more diversified. CJC continues to respond to changes in time, but its mission has not changed. CJC continues to work based on mutual wellness among the members and contributes to promoting cultural exchanges, mutual understanding, and education as a member of the local community and aims to participate in the creation of a healthy and prosperous community.
At the end of the video presentation, many CJC members appeared on the screen and repeated saying, “We are CJC.”
The video presentation was made possible by the collaborative effort of Richard and Yoshiko Menzia, and narrated by Richard Meher.
The 30th Anniversary Commemorative Concert
After a delicious dinner, a commemorative concert was held by Nami Sagara and her band members.
Nami Sagara (L2) and her band members perform at the 30th anniversary of the Chicago Japanese Club.
Nami Sagara graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts, Department of Vocal Music.
Classically trained as a Soprano, Nami’s singing portfolio ranges from very soft angelic to opera, jazz, rock and more. She has released five CDs from Epic Sony in Japan under the name “The Eccentric Opera”.
She writes and arranges music, and has performed with many renowned artists worldwide. She has also performed at the Japan Festival for several years, and this year, she took the stage with anime songs. Her beautiful and rich voice attracted the audience.
Due to her great ability to perform a wide range of music, CJC members had requested her to sing classic pieces in the good old days. She sang six pieces both from Japan and the U.S.
The pieces were:
1. “Itsudemo Yumewo (Our Continuing Dreams),” Duo by Yukio Hashi and Sayuri Yoshinaga (1962)
2. “Soshu Night Song” by Yoshiko Yamaguchi (1940)
3. “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley (1961)
4. “Seishun Jidai (Once Youthful Days)” by Koichi Morita & Top Galant (1976)
5. “My Kind of Town” by Frank Sinatra (1964)
6. The last piece was, of course, “Furusato (My Country Home)”
Commemorative Gift from CJC
CJC gave a someye-tenugui (printed Japanese towel) to each participant as a commemorative gift. The tenugui was made by the Fujiya in Asakusa, a long-established tenugui shop over three generations.
Inspired by famous artist Katsushika Hokusai’s big waves, the first generation of the Fujiya designed waves for a someye-tenugui. The same design was used for the gift tenugui with the name of CJC.
Vice Chair Yuki Juretic told the participants, “Such waves remind you of the challenges and difficulties that you have faced and overcome since you had come from overseas.”
At the end of the celebration program, Juretic said, “We trust this celebration has been an opportunity to renew our commitment to bring CJC further success and prosperity,” and closed the celebration.
For your information, CJC’s 2024 New Year’s Party will be held on Saturday, January 20, 2024. Details will be available at https://chicagojapaneseclub.org/.