The Terasaki Nibei Foundation presents “Southern California Shonien (Children Home) Story “ by Mikko Arimoto Henson on Tuesday, March 20, at 6:00 pm at its building, 11570 West Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Free admission. For more information, contact Naoko Okada, coordinator of the Terasaki Nibei Foundation, via nibei@nibei.org or (310) 479-6101 ext. 134
The Nanka Shonien, Japanese Children’s Home of Southern California which was established in 1914, was once a shining example of Japanese American social establishment before World War ll.
Speaker Mikko Arimoto Henson spent more than past ten years researching the institution’s founder Joy Kusumoto who came to the US in 1905. She discovered remarkable untold history.
In 1916, Kusumoto saved and adopted an abandoned horribly abused and maimed 2-year-old girl and he named her Yasuko Grace.
Kusumoto wanted to help Chinese orphans during the Sino-Japanese war. He sent his adopted daughter to do the job in 1939. At the age of 23 this Nisei girl bravely ventured into China alone to establish another Shonien.
The orphanage, named Chunichi Shonien was established in Quinsan (near Shanghai) by Yasuko and funded by Southern California Japanese American Christian Community.
However Yasuko had to overcome suspicious local residence prejudice. She won the trust of local people with her acts of love and sincerity. 14 children were under her care when the official opening ceremony was held in August of 1940.
Because of the war, by the end of 1942, fund from Southern California were cut off. She had to manage by herself after this. Children under her care grew to 100 and she came to be known as the Guardian Angel of Quinsan.
Documentary book based on this study was published in Japan last year.
Speaker Mikko would like to share this inspiriting unknown story along with the long history of the Shonien and give tribute to our predecessors who built this Japanese American Community long ago.
Short Documentary on Shonien will be shown in the beginning.
Dr. Ford Kuramoto will join at Q and A session.
English booklet “New Story of the Shonien” is available at the printing cost of $5.00