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Finally, after watching both Jordyn and Tyler attend Nakayoshi Gakko for the past few years, Connor finally got his chance to go too. While at Nakayoshi, Connor will learn Japanese culture in the forms of music, dance, food, flower arranging, origami, and anime. He'll also make new friends that we hope will be life-long.

in line

In line for Morning Taiso.

taiso

Taiso.


me and Mason

Me and my buddy Mason.

Pandas

Pandas.


Sempai Kiana

Sempai Kiana.

Sempai Cori

Sempai Cori.


singing

Senseis Ashley and Nicole teaching us singing.


This is what morning taiso looks like.


mochi

Vicky helping me pound mochi.

in costume

In costume.

performing

On stage.


Panda dress rehearsal.


Youtube video of Open House performance.


This was Connor's second year at Nakayoshi Gakko. This year he was in Saru (monkey). He continued to learn Japanese culture in the forms of dance (odori), painting (sumi-e), music (ongaku), flower arranging (ikebana), origami, drawing (anime), and cooking.

in line

Front of the line for Taiso.

bend

Bend.


panda & saru

Panda and Saru.

front of the line

Front of the line again.


stretch

Stretch.

reach

Reach high!


Rachel Sempai

Rachel Sempai.

Rinka Sempai

Rinka Sempai.


pounding mochi

Mochi.

pounding mochi

Pounding mochi.


mon

Family mon on diplay at Open House.


puppet

This is a puppet of me that was also on
display at Open House.

envelope

Envelope.

mon

Mon.


map

Map.

fish

Fish.


Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fuji.

book mark

Book mark (that Mommy took).

turtle & cherry blossoms

A turtle and cherry blossoms.


fan

Fan with the Rising Sun.

Japan

Map of Japan.

house

Diagram of a Japanese house.


fire signal

Fire Signal.

wrap

Decorative wrap.

ikebana

Ikebana.


fish

I gave this to Tyler for his birthday.


Saru doing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.


Connor attended Nakayoshi Gakko again this summer. This year he is in Kuma (bear). Some highlights this session included a field trip to Hakone Gardens and a Sumo wrestling demonstration by former World and US champions.

Connor at morning Taiso - sigh (no audio due to copyright).


sumo

Former World Champ Byanba and former US Champ Kelly!


Kuma

Kuma Connor!


This is Connor's fourth year at Nakayoshi Gakko. He's in Zou (elephant) which means he's half way through. This year he went to the Don Edwards San Francisco Wildlife Refuge Center where he learned about ocean life and seaweed. He also read Japanese folktales (Urashima Taro), learned about Japanese New Year, and Japanese Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. We're always shocked how much information the kids are taught in such a short amount of time.

Zou

Zou field trip.


eye dropper

Getting plankton to view with the magiscope.

magiscope

Using a magiscope to see plankton.


Sempai Braden

This is Sempai Braden.

Ikenaga Sensei

Ikenaga Sensei.


open house

Singing at Open House.


Connor's in Kirin this year (giraffe)! Here are a few pictures from the past few days. There will be more to follow.

1st Day

Morning Taiso - 1st Day (6/13/16).


Sempai Rossten

Sempai Rossten.

star

Kirin got the star (6/14/16)!


Kirin

Kirin (6/14/16)!


Afternoon Demo
6/17/16

Nakayoshi Gakko always has afternoon demos. Today's demo (6/17/16) showcased Emmy Award Winning NBC Traffic Anchor, Mike Inouye. Mr. Inouye does a different demo for Nakayoshi every year. One year he showed how traffic congestion in one place affects traffic all over. Another year he brought in a bunch of his comedian friends and performed a routine. Whatever he does, it's always fun and entertaining. This year he used a bunch of students to show how a morning newscast works. He had two main news anchors along with a meteorologist, finance anchor, traffic anchor, and a sports anchor. He also had students behind the scenes working a camera and mic. He prepared scripts beforehand and directed everything to show what goes on to pull off a morning news show. Also, part of his demo included an interview with former Nakayoshi Gakko student and Sempai, Kyle Nishimoto. Kyle works for the Golden State Warriors now and received a championship Warriors ring from last season. He brought it out so everyone could take pictures. Mr. Inouye even brought out one of his Emmy's too!

ring

2014-2015 Golden State Warriors NBA
Championship ring!

Emmy

A real Emmy Award!


Open House
6/24/16

program

Program.


This year, Connor's in Tora (Tiger)! Every morning the kids at NG line up in the gym for morning taiso. If you're familiar with the way they're arranged then you know they go from youngest class to oldest class - left to right. It's hard to believe but Connor's on the right side of the gym now which means he's officially one of the older kids.

First Day
6/18/17

1st day

First day. In line for Morning Taiso.


Hakone Gardens Field Trip
6/27/17

bridge

Using bridge to feed the koi.

field trip

Mason and I looking for a good place to feed
the fish!


gate

Class picture in front of gate.

bridge

Class picture on bridge.


Cooking Class

cooking

Cooking class with Nakamura Sensei.

ingredients

Getting our ingredients ready to cook.


Open House
6/30/17

bento

Bento box.

haiku

Haiku about the four seasons.


bonsai

Bonsai.

seasons

Seasonal artwork.


sempai

Sempai Caitlyn.

sensei

Nakano Sensei.


Tsuru (crane) is the last year for students at Nakayoshi Gakko. Connor has participated since entering the First Grade (he missed last year, Ryu, because he took a summer math bridging course so he could enroll in Advanced Math). He has made many friends at Nakayoshi Gakko, and while he might not be able to attend as a student anymore he can still come back as a Sempai after his Freshman year in High School.

USS Hornet field trip
6/21/19

Hornet

USS Hornet.

view

View from the flight deck.


Hornet

442nd Museum Docent, Lt. Col. Brian Shiroyama (Ret.).

view

442nd Flag.


442

Edward M. Sato, 100th Battalion, 442nd RCT.

MIS

Clarence Y. Omoto, MIS.


Open House
6/28/19

Open House

Open House performance.

taiko

Taiko.


Tsuru taiko performance.


container

Container.

ikebana

Ikebana.


Brian

Tamekuni Sensei.

Sempais

Sempais Shelby and Kimberly.


Last year Nakayoshi Gakko was canceled due to the COVID-19 situation. Now, a year later, with nearly 56% of California residents fully vaccinated (and almost 11% partially vaccinated) the state reopened with much looser restrictions and protocols. Despite the changes, Nakayoshi still wasn't ready to open up completely. Ultimately, they decided to adapt their curriculum to an online format (much like regular school). They still have a vast array of rich Japanese and Japanese American cultural activities like taiko, anime, origami, Japanese, soroban (abacus), and arts and crafts.

High School students can apply to be Nakayoshi Gakko Sempais upon completion of their Freshman year. After being a student for many years, Connor applied and interviewed for a Sempai position months ago and was selected to be Ryu (dragon) Sempai. This was also fortuitous because when Connor was a student at Nakayoshi, Ryu was the only class he didn't take. That year he elected to take a summer math bridging course so he could enroll in advanced math the following fall. So, he lucked out because after this summer he can truthfully say he took all the classes at Nakayoshi Gakko.

sempai

Ryu Sempai in 2021 Nakayoshi Gakko t-shirt.


badge

Connor's Sempai Name Badge.


Connor's two weeks of Nakayoshi Gakko happened to coincide with our bathroom remodel. He found it difficult to work in his room with all the noise associated with the construction. So, Mom suggested she and Connor would go to her office on the days he had to work since there wouldn't be anyone there (COVID). It worked out really well. Mom was able to do her work without distraction while Connor had an entire conference room to himself to spread out and help the kids in Ryu.

taiso

Morning Taiso
(6/17/21).

origami

Origami on Zoom
is hard (6/24/21).


Panda Express

Panda Express fundraiser (6/23/21).


2021 Nakayoshi Gakko Sempai Skit!


Last year Connor was Ryu Sempai at Nakayoshi Gakko but in an online format. This year he's Ryu Sempai again but in-person. In past years the Mountain View Buddhist Temple hosted Nakayoshi Gakko so they could use the gym, classrooms, meeting rooms, etc.. However, the pandemic continued to be something that needed to be addressed in a careful and responsible manner, so all classes were held outdoors. Connor enjoys helping and he loves being able to give back to Nakayoshi. Most of all, the friends he's made, first as a student and now as a Sempai, are the most important and fun aspects of his time here.

Ryu 2022

Ryu 2022.


name tag

Connor's name tag.

dragon masks

Ryu masks.


cooking

Cooking.

painting

Painting.


poster

Poster.

Semapais

Sempais.


dinner

Sempai dinner.

outside

Outside.


rehearsal

Sempai skit rehearsal.

skit

Sempai skit.


2022 Nakayoshi Gakko Sempai Skit!


Sempai 2022

Nakayoshi Gakko Sempai 2022.


Connor was Assistant Head Sempai this year! His primary duty was to oversee all Program Sempai during the two week program. Program Sempai are the backbone of Nakayoshi Gakko. They take care of set up, prep work, clean up, and everything in between. At first he had difficulties in delegating tasks, but as the session wore on he learned to distribute jobs so everyone got involved. In the end, like every year, he had the best time being with his friends and giving back to Nakayoshi Gakko.

Sempai 2023

Nakayoshi Gakko Sempai 2023.


As Assistant Head Sempai, Connor was pretty busy all day long. We've never seen him so tired in the evenings. Going to bed at 9:00pm was commonplace every night. In any event, while at work, he didn't get many opportunities to take pictures of kids or activities. Any pictures he did take were of issues that needed addressing (mic doesn't shut off, chipped sink, ball on the roof, sponge on the roof - don't ask, broken bins, etc.).

chip

Chipped sink.

sponge

Sponge on the roof.


NG Open House 2023

Nakayoshi Gakko 2023 Open House.


2023 Nakayoshi Gakko Sempai Skit (look for Connor as the Lorax)!


Connor was chosen to be Head Sempai for the 25th Anniversary of Nakayoshi Gakko this year! Similar to last year when he oversaw all the Program Sempai as Asst. Head Sempai, this year he also took charge of the Classroom and Cooking Sempai. He found his duties a little easier this year having peformed similar tasks from last year. He understood how to delegate better and ensured everything got taken care of efficiently. None the less, he was really exhausted at the end of each day, but he had the best time spending the two weeks with some of his oldest friends!

first day

Morning Taiso on the first day (6/17/24).

sponge

Fundraiser at BJ's Brewhouse (6/25/24).


2024 Sempai skit.


last day

Last Morning Taiso (6/28/24).


this side

One big circle.

that side

Other side.


Open House
6/28/24

2024 Open House

2024 NG Open House.

2024 Head Sempai

Head Sempai.


head sempai

Head Sempai - Connor Sato.

all the sempai

All the Sempai.


senior

Special gift for the
graduating senior.

4 seniors

Four Nakayoshi Gakko
graduating seniors.

Ken

I'm just Ken from the Barbie
Movie during the skit.