Posted on June 9, 2026
A funeral service celebrating the life of Kyoko Nancy Oda of Van Nuys, educator and community leader of Japanese American in Los Angeles, was attended by more than 400 people at Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo on Sunday, June 7, 2026.
Funeral Service for Kyoko Nancy Oda (May 20, 1945 – May 15, 2026)
Sunday, June 7, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple
815 East First Street, Los Angeles, California
Order of Service
Officiant: Rimban William Briones
Ministers: Rev. George Matsubayashi
Rev, Jean-Paul deGuzman
Chairperson: Mr. Gregg Kita
Organist: Ms. Eiko Matsuyama
Tolling of the Bell
Kanzen Chanting of Sutra
Presentation of Buddhist Title
Sutra Chanting
Incense Burning: By Family, Relatives, and Honorary Pallbearers
Opening Message —- Chairperson
Musical Tribute: “A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke” —- Monique Oda
Incense Offering, Representing:
Consulate General of Japan —- Deputy Consul General Naoko Kamitani
Los Angeles City Councilwomean —- Monica Rodriguez
San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center —- Bing Lau
SFVJACC Athletics —- Dana Chow
SFVJACC Senior Hot Meals & Homebound Deliveries —- Kei Inoue, Pauline Kaku
San Fernando Valley Japanese Language Institute —- Kiyo Watanabe
San Fernando Valley Judo Club & Senshin Dojo —- Glenn Whitesell
San Fernando Valley Meiji Senior Citizens Club —- Kay Yamada
Valley Japanese Community Center —- June Kageyama, Christy Inouye
Manzanar Committee and WRA Camps —- Bruce Embrey
Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition and DOJ Camps —- Claudia Culling, Donna Sugimoto
WWII Camp Wall —- Nancy Teramura Hayata
ABC School District Day of Remembrance —- Jenny Chomori
Japanese American Citizens League —- Nancy Takayama
Riverside Drive, Canterbury, Haddon, Hubbard, Maurice Sendak Elementary School and the Kit Kats —- Janet Beardsley
EGAO (Smile in Japanese) —- Yoshiko Kawada
Friends —- Tim Hawkins, Chizato Kanagi, Tangee Mason, Mario Nava, Julie Pritikin, Roy Rodriguez, Emi Scott, Sue Wong
Personal Remembrances —- Alexander Oda, Areille Oda, Devon Oda, Vivien Lou Chen, Hiroshi Shimizu
Musical Tribute (Cello Solo) “West Side Story: Somewhere by Leonard Bernstein” —- Mary Szanto
Dharma Message —- Rimban William Briones
Words of Appreciation: On Behalf of the Family —-Tyler Miyagishima
Recessional of Family
Incense Offering by Congregation
Reception was held at the Kaikan building of the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple.
Short Biography of Kyoko Nancy Oda
Kyoko Nancy Oda was born on May 20, 1945, at Tule Lake Segregation Center. She dedicated her life to education, community service, and preserving the memory of Japanese American wartime incarceration. Named 協子 (Kyoko), meaning “child of harmony,” by her father Tatsuo Inouye, her early life was shaped by the injustice of incarceration and her family’s resilience. These experiences made a lifelong commitment to remembrance, advocacy, and building community understanding.
After World War II, Kyoko’s family returned to Boyle Heights. She attended Maryknoll School in Little Tokyo, participated in the Drum and Bugle Corps, and marched in the Rose Parade. Influenced by her father, a skilled judo master, Kyoko trained with her sisters and earned a black belt from Senshin Dojo through the Kodokan in 1963. At Garfield High School she was homecoming princess and student body president, signaling emerging leadership roles that would define her career and civic life. She married her high school sweetheart, Kay Oda, in 1964; they raised two sons, Jon and Daron.
Balancing family needs and personal ambition, Kyoko supported her household while Kay worked long hours. She attended community college and later graduated from UCLA. She pursued a career in education, teaching at Riverside Drive and Canterbury Elementary Schools before rising to Assistant Principal at Haddon Elementary and then principal at Hubbard Elementary School. Kyoko emphasized holistic education, integrating music, arts, and athletics into school life to nurture the whole child. She brought instruments, artists, and music teachers into schools, expanding students’ opportunities and leaving a lasting impression through her warm leadership and dedication to student development.
Retirement did not diminish Kyoko’s activism. She focused intensely on preserving and publicizing the history of wartime incarceration, particularly her father Tatsuo’s Tule Lake Stockade Diary, written on scraps of paper during his detention. The diary, later translated by Professor Masami Izumi and her team, became a vital personal testimony used to help future generations understand the human costs of wartime policies. Kyoko considered sharing this diary and the stories of internees a central mission of her life.
Kyoko played a pivotal role in civic and educational efforts to memorialize wartime injustices. In 2013 she helped secure designation of the Tuna Canyon Detention Station as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and co-founded the Coalition to preserve its history. She guided development of a traveling exhibition and educational materials based on interviews with descendants and scholarly research; the exhibit has been shown internationally and is used to teach about detention practices affecting Japanese, German, Italian, and other immigrants. The Coalition also established the Marc Stirdivant Scholarship for Justice to support high school students and continues its work under new leadership.
Her advocacy extended into schools and public memorial projects. Kyoko was instrumental in instituting the Day of Remembrance program at ABC Unified School District, arranging for camp survivors to speak to students and making Day of Remembrance instruction a required part of the curriculum. As Vice President of the WWII Camp Wall project in Torrance, she furthered efforts to honor the more than 120,000 people unjustly detained during World War II. For over five decades she served the San Fernando Japanese American Community Center, including a term as president from 2011 to 2013, and organized fundraising for disaster relief after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
Kyoko’s work earned broad recognition: Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays (2020); awards from Japanese women’s organizations and Los Angeles civic bodies; California Assembly and City of Los Angeles commendations; the 2023 Nisei Week Pioneer Spirit Award; and the 2024 California Senate AAPI Community Champion distinction. These honors reflect her impact in education, historic preservation, and community activism.
Family and tradition remained central. Kyoko and Kay shared a devoted partnership. She treasured family gatherings, New Year celebrations, and a pilgrimage to Tule Lake to reconnect with the site of her birth and her father’s legacy. Kyoko was predeceased by her parents, two sisters, and her son Daron. She is survived by her husband Kay; son Jon and his wife Monique; daughter-in-law Yvonne; grandchildren Alexander, Arielle, Devon, and Kyle; and a broad circle of relatives, students, and community members who continue her work and carry forward her message of harmony and justice.