Kokoro: The Heart of the Community
When
12:00 pm Reception | 1:00 pm: Luncheon
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Awards Program & Live Auction
Attire
Dressy Hawaiian
Where
Price
Individual Ticket: $300.00 (+$30.00 fee)
About
Join us for Kokoro: The Heart of the Community — a heartfelt afternoon celebration and fundraiser in support of JACCC — on Sunday, June 29, 2025, at the iconic Isamu Noguchi Plaza.
This special event honors extraordinary individuals whose lifelong dedication has preserved and enriched the cultural legacy we cherish. Through music, storytelling, and shared reflection, we will come together to celebrate their profound impact on our community.
Kokoro is more than a celebration — it is a moment to honor our heritage, express deep gratitude, and reaffirm our commitment to passing down traditions to future generations. Your presence and support make this possible. Together, we can ensure these vital legacies continue to thrive. We look forward to celebrating with you as we honor the very heart of our community.
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Honorees
Gerald (Jerry) Fukui, 2025 President's Award
Gerald, the great-grandson of founder Soji Fukui, is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences in 1975. After graduating, Gerald followed in the tradition of providing caring and compassionate services to families.
Active in the funeral industry since 1970, he is a member of the California Funeral Director's Association and the National Funeral Director's Association. Being a licensed funeral director since 1980, Gerald has carried on the legacy of Soji by providing a needed service as well as supporting the community and its many organizations. Gerald is an active member of Nisei Week, Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Kizuna, Keiro, Japanese Optimist Club, Little Tokyo Service Center, and more.
Don Tahara, 2025 President's Award
Don Tahara is a Little Tokyo restaurateur and caterer. His earliest remembrance of Little Tokyo was his mother taking him on the street car to his doctor’s appointment on 1st and San Pedro Street in the 1950’s. He took Japanese cooking classes there in the 1970’s and started catering in Little Tokyo in the 1980’s at JACCC. He witnessed with pride the early years and growth of JANM in the 1990’s. He participated in LTSC’s Tofu Festival for ten years, and their Sake Festival in recent years. Don signed a lease in 1994 with LTSC for the former Far East Cafe restaurant and with his partners opened Far Bar, whose mission statement described a community focused business serving goodwill and good food. He and his partners opened Sake Dojo in 2017 on historic 1st Street and then sold the restaurant in 2023. Starting with the pandemic and through the current year Far Bar has provided senior meals Mondays-Fridays for the Little Tokyo Nutrition Services program. Currently Far Bar is providing once a week lunches to Pasadena Buddhist to aid the fire victims.
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Don has not only catered events at JACCC, JANM, and LTSC, but has done numerous
events with LTBA, LTCC, Budokan, Go For Broke, Keiro, Nisei Week, Visual Communications, East West Players, Professional Associations, and Japanese Consulate of LA, He has catered weddings and celebration of life events, as well as family celebrations, corporate and government events.
It was through his work with Little Tokyo non-profit entities and organizations that he became impressed by the hundreds of volunteers and the leaders who were dedicated to the betterment and sustainability of Little Tokyo. They have served as a role model template for Don and Far Bar.
Don was born, raised, and educated in Los Angeles and is a dedicated Trojan, Dodger, and NBA fan. He and his wife Jocelyn were married at Nishi Temple and daughter Jill and son-in-law were married at Budokan, so Little Tokyo is a very special place for Don.
Entertainment
Daniel Ho
Daniel Ho beams with music—you’ll find him enveloped in the next melody for an original composition or tapping out a rhythm on just about anything within reach. He is an ‘ukulele virtuoso, slack key guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, singer-songwriter, producer, audio engineer, and record company owner. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner, twelve-time Grammy Award nominee, six-time Taiwanese Golden Melody Award winner, and recipient of multiple Hawaiian Music awards.
His collaborations transcend genres – from traditional and contemporary Hawaiian Music to World Music with Taiwanese aboriginals and Mongolian nomads, to duets with Pepe Romero the maestro of classical guitar, to contemporary jazz and rock with Tak Matsumoto of the Japanese supergroup, B’z. Daniel’s music has been featured in film and television in projects such as The Descendants, Soul Surfer, the TV series Hawaiʻi Five-O, and NHK (Japan). A notable mention is his performance of a Hawaiian-language rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” for the end credits of the 2008 movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
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Always looking to inspire and share, Daniel performs concerts and teaches workshops throughout the US and internationally. As an American Cultural Ambassador, he has toured Japan, Australia, Brunei, and Thailand. He is the co-designer of the Romero Creations Tiny Tenor ‘ukulele, the Ohana Bongolele and Shakerlele line of percussion instruments, and his ‘ukulele is currently on display at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles. A new skill picked up during the pandemic: music video production! Daniel has been channeling creativity into filming and editing music videos that add a new and energetic dimension to his repertoire.
Thank You
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Co-chairs
- Dolly Oishi
- Sandy Sakamoto
Members
- Kathryn Doi Todd
- Jennifer Hirano
- Tom Iino
- Atsuko Kanai
- Nancy Matsui
- Jane Matsumoto
- Alan Miyatake
- Kay Niizawa
- Nancy Okubo
- Joanne Sasaki
- Susan Sasaki
- Lisa Sugimoto
- Carol Tanita
- Stacy Toyota
Things To Know
Accessibility
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. To be respectful of those with allergies and environmental sensitivities, we ask that you please refrain from wearing strong fragrances. To request an accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact info@jaccc.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
Event Questions
- Who can participate? Anyone can participate in the in-person event, as long as they have a ticket or are part of a sponsor table. For the online silent auction, please note that you must be 18 years and older to bid on our online auction packages and 21 years and older to bid on any alcohol-related auction package.
- I cannot attend. How can I participate? You can make donations to JACCC at any time before or after June 29th by visiting jaccc.org/donate. If you’d like to participate in our online silent auction, you can place bids anytime between Friday, June 13th at 9:00 am PDT and Friday, June 27th at 9:00 am PDT.
- Can I pay by cash/check by mail or in person? We are only accepting checks by mail in addition to online credit card payments. Please make the check payable to ‘JACCC’ and in the memo, write in the sponsorship level or indicate it’s a donation. To make sure we receive the payment on-time, please send all checks before May 30, 2025.
- Are my contributions tax-deductible? If you are a sponsor or donating to JACCC, your contribution is tax-deductible (minus goods and services received). All contributions are tax-deductible except $300 per person for a seat and obento. Auction packages won above the fair market value are tax-deductible in the amount of the difference. For federal income tax purposes you may be able to deduct the portion of your purchase price that exceeds the item’s fair market value (FMV), if you paid the excess with the intent to make a charitable contribution. Please note that transaction fees and taxes associated with your contribution are not tax-deductible. For any additional questions, please consult your tax advisor.
- Will I receive an acknowledgment letter for my tax records? Acknowledgment letters and tax receipts will be mailed the week following the event. To ensure your letter and receipt are correct, please make sure to double-check the spelling of your name, address, and email.
Plan Your Visit
JACCC is a 7-minute walk from the L.A. Metro Rail's Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, which connects to both the A and E lines via the Regional Connector.
For additional transportation options and parking details, check out Go Little Tokyo's Guide to the area here.