Champions of the Quarter
Champions of the quarter - fall/winter 2023
Three cheers for our next Champions of the Quarter, Stew and Trish Kume! If you’ve seen SJT perform in the last 20 years, you’ve probably seen this dynamic duo on stage. Current Performing Member (PM) Stewart Kume (Stew) joined SJT in 1998, while Alumni Member Trish Kume joined the group in 1995. What you might not know is that these veteran performers are also SJT Champions!
Both Stew and Trish are (mostly) local; Stew grew up in Belmont, while Trish was born and raised in Sacramento. Stew spent the first years of his career in the Midwest, but grabbed the opportunity to move home to California when it arose. Trish came to San Jose for grad school and quickly laid down roots. Ironically, neither of them had much performance experience before joining SJT (although Trish has been a member of the Sacramento Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps when she was a kid). Trish’s introduction came through her college roommate, an SJT member who encouraged her to take a workshop, while Stew was looking for a fun physical activity where he could explore his musical interests and cultural roots. “At the time, I was unaware that SJT was one of the premier taiko groups in the country,” says Stew. “Had I known, I likely would have been much too intimidated to pursue things further!” (Selfishly, we’re glad he didn’t know - SJT would have missed out on 20+ years of Stew’s friendly charisma.) SJT is somewhat known for the number of happy marriages that have come out of our group, and Stew and Trish are on this list, having met through SJT.
SJT performers donate hundreds of hours of sweat equity, and it means so much when they also make monetary donations. Trish and Stew started donating because they hold SJT and its work close to their hearts. They value our legacy as a pioneer and leader in the international taiko community. At the same time, they commend SJT’s deep investment in Japantown, San Jose, the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, the arts ecosystem, and many other communities. Stew and Trish also appreciate how SJT is revisiting its roots in social activism in response to growing political polarization and anti-Asian hate. They think highly of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion through taiko and appreciate this renewed connection to identity and core values.
When they’re not playing or teaching taiko (which Trish now does through Jun Daiko and the Mountain View Buddhist Temple), Stew can be found at his “day job” with a medical device start-up company, while Trish can be found working as a medical speech pathologist and taking care of her Mom. Two of the cutest Australian Shepherds you’ll ever see round out this happy family. Please join us in extending a huge thank you to Trish and Stew for everything they’ve given to SJT!
Champions of the quarter - winter/Spring 2023
Please join us in recognizing our Champions of the Quarter, Ryan and Taryn Komagome! These long-time Bay Area community advocates recently moved home to Hawai’i (Ryan is originally from Honolulu, and Taryn grew up on Molokai). Both had long dreamt of moving back to Hawai’i to raise their kids, closer to family and the special culture of the islands. Last March, the dream came true when Ryan’s job gave him the option to work remote full-time, making Ryan the first fully-remote Board member in SJT history.
We have Taryn to thank for Ryan being on the SJT Board (thank you Taryn!). She first saw SJT perform at an event in 2006 and never forgot it. When Ryan started looking to join an organization that served the community they lived in and had a mission he felt aligned with, Taryn suggested SJT. After talking to Wisa and learning more about us, it was clear to Ryan that he had found his match. He misses regularly seeing his fellow board members and SJT staff in person, but feels lucky that he can attend Board meetings by Zoom, and always tries to see folks or attend meetings in-person when work travel brings him to San Jose.
Ryan and Taryn have long appreciated SJT’s work in Japantown. Performances and events like Nikkei Matsuri and Halloween in Japantown highlight the vital role SJT plays in this iconic neighborhood, bringing communities together and serving youth, seniors and everyone in between through performances and educational programs. They donate to SJT in part because they recognize and value how we’re a pillar of the Japantown community. “As a board member I get to see first hand what a well run organization SJT is and how dedicated the staff and performers are to the mission,” says Ryan. He’s excited to be on the Board at such a momentous time for SJT, celebrating our 50th AND getting closer to establishing a permanent home in the heart of Jtown.
Their three kids (ages 6,3 and 8 months) keep Ryan and Taryn pretty busy, but when they have free time, Ryan coaches high school basketball (he’s done it for 15 years!) and Taryn is an avid tennis player now trying her hand at pickleball. They haven’t tried taiko themselves but it’s high on the list of things to do in Hilo. Thank you, Ryan and Taryn, for being SJT Champions!
Champions of the quarter - FALL 2022/winter 2023
This quarter we say an enormous thank you to Champions Dan and Julie Sueyoshi! These California natives (Dan’s from San Bruno, Julie grew up in the Central Valley) are the type of people whose hard word, dedication, and generosity keep the world around them humming smoothly, but who never seek out recognition for the important roles they play.
Both Dan and Julie moved to San Jose for work and we feel very lucky they decided to stay. Dan’s been familiar with SJT performances for most of his life, having seen us at Obon when he was a kid in the 80s, but he didn’t realize how much we do until his friend and Board member Jeremy Nishihara invited him to join the Board “for a few months.” That was in 2006, and Dan has been a steadfast member of our Board ever since! His induction to the Board was Julie’s introduction to SJT.
They began donating to support SJT’s connection and symbiosis with the Japantown community, and continue to donate because of the way we express Japanese, Japanese American, and Asian American culture through music and entertainment. They see huge value in the JT program, which their son Dylan participated in, and the way it teaches the value of hard work and practice, along with taiko. They are fans of some of SJT’s “greatest hits,” with Dan listing Jeremy’s song Hayaku as his favorite piece and Julie appreciating Ei Ja Nai Ka and the opportunity to dance it at Obon every year.
This busy duo doesn’t have a great deal of free time, but both have found an opportunity to pick up bachi themselves. Dan tried their son’s practice drum, and the pointers Dylan gave him led him to conclude that taiko is much harder than SJT makes it look! Julie did a Public Workshop and found it enormously fun. Please join us in extending the deepest appreciation to Dan and Julie for everything they do to support Jtown and SJT!
Champion of the quarter - Spring 2022
This quarter we celebrate SJT Champion and SJT Alum Janet Koike. Janet joined SJT in the early 1990s, drawn to the group by our egalitarian and peer-based leadership structure. Prior to that, she worked as a creative movement and dance artist throughout the Bay Area, teaching at many schools and appearing on countless stages, including as a member of Keith Terry’s touring ensemble. She “retired” from SJT and founded her own group, Rhythmix world percussion ensemble, in 1998, opening the celebrated community arts space Rhythmix Cultural Works (RCW) in Alameda in 2007.
As someone who has spent much of her life immersed in creating and teaching movement, music, and taiko, Janet knows the power of these arts to promote joy, positive energy, connection, and empowerment. She experienced this firsthand as a performer then staff member with SJT, building performances where the shared ki of the group led to dynamic displays of human potential that inspired audiences. SJT’s work as ambassadors of Asian American art and culture strikes a deep chord with her as well. She sees SJT’s signature piece Gendai ni Ikiru, with its ties to the earliest days of North American taiko and powerful, infectious joy, as iconic of this element of SJT’s work. These ideas align closely with the mission she fulfills at RCW, and she supports San Jose Taiko’s work because of these shared values.
Janet keeps busy as a performing artist, producer, director, and teacher. Taiko plays a big role in her most recent work, Uprooted, the third installment in her Island City Waterways project. A site-specific performance of dance, theater and music, Uprooted celebrates the history of Alameda’s unique waterfront and will feature a taiko piece played by SJT Alums. Janet marvels at the way their shared ki returned, even after years of not playing taiko together! Tickets for Uprooted are free and can be reserved through RCW. (Although admission is free, you must reserve a ticket to attend.) When she’s not creating, performing, teaching, or directing, Janet spends any free time camping in the desert and is especially fond of the Colorado Plateau.
Please join us in thanking Janet for the many ways she’s been a friend, Champion, and member of the SJT family!
Champions of the Quarter - Winter 2022
This quarter it gives us great pleasure to honor San Jose Taiko Champions Ray and Lucy Matsumoto. Like all of our Champions, their friendship and support have made an enormous difference for SJT, especially in these pandemic times.
Ray was born over 91 years ago, his father serving as the midwife, in his family’s San Jose farmhouse at Trimble Road and North First Street. (Click here to see what that area looks like now!) Ray remembers that Santa Clara County was nothing but orchards and small farms at the time. Growing up in a farming family of 12 taught Ray how to share and to make do with what's at hand. When WWII started, twelve-year-old Ray and the rest of his family were harassed into leaving San Jose, and moved to Colorado for the duration of the war. In preparation for that trip, Ray got his first new pair of shoes; before that, his shoes had been hand-me-downs that his father kept in good repair.
After the family returned to California, Ray attended Santa Clara High School and then trade school in Los Angeles. He was soon drafted and sent to fight in the Korean War. Upon discharge, he became a mechanic and started gardening. He met Lucy, who was born in San Juan Bautista, at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin and the two married. Both are still active supporters of the Betsuin today.
Ray united his interests in gardening and mechanics in 1960, starting Gardenland Power Equipment. Lucy helped him with his business for years. “You are what you want to be,” says Ray, reflecting on how he fulfilled his youthful dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur. “I didn’t go to college, barely graduated high school, but I went to trade school, and wound up starting my own business.” His business is still thriving today, on its third “generation” of leadership. When Ray retired, he jumped into a new business - manufacturing battery powered garden equipment - to keep his mind busy. He also enjoys spending time helping others with financial affairs, playing golf, and working in his backyard.
Although neither Ray nor Lucy claim to be musically inclined, they are active in Japantown and have seen San Jose Taiko perform countless times, finding an indescribable appeal in our performances. They’ve deepened their relationship with SJT because of how they’ve seen young people in taiko grow and build life skills as they learn about the art form.
Thank you Ray and Lucy for being SJT Champions!
Champions of the Quarter - Fall 2021
We’re happy to shine a spotlight on the good works carried out by our Fall 2021 Champions of the Quarter, Wayne and Shizuko Adachi. Longtime pillars of San Jose Japantown, Wayne and Shizuko have been living in Mountain View where Wayne’s parents started a chrysanthemum growing operation in 1950. They’re deeply committed to Jtown and San Jose, having done everything from starting the Wesley Jazz Band to helping those from Japan get settled in their new city. When there isn’t a pandemic, they are avid travelers and have visited all 7 continents - even Antarctica!
Wayne and Shizuko have known about SJT as long as we’ve been in existence - Wayne even remembers when the power and vibrations of SJT rehearsals set off an alarm at a neighboring bank “back in the day.” They donate because they are moved by the work SJT has done over the decades to support, represent, and give voice to Japantown and the Japanese American and Asian American experience.
You may recognize Wayne as the director of the Wesley Jazz Ensemble, a key collaborator in Swingposium. Wayne remembers his excitement when Franco approached him with the idea of combining taiko, swing, and immersive theatre to tell the history of Japanese American internment in WWII. The project was transformative for Wayne and he looks forward to future performances of Swingposium after the pandemic has passed. Shizuko also had the opportunity to share the stage with San Jose Taiko at a Chidori Band concert around 15 years ago, when she sang the lyrics to Ei Ja Nai Ka while the two groups performed.
These days, Shizuko can be found gardening, cooking, and volunteering, while Wayne has launched a collaboration with the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, based on his experience with Swingposium. He and other community luminaries are creating an immersive musical theater show that will tell the history of Japantown and include a sock hop, the opportunity to dance the “Tanko Boogie, ” and more! We can’t wait.
Thank you Wayne and Shizuko for being San Jose Taiko Champions!
Champions of the Quarter - SUmmer 2021
Please meet our inaugural Champions of the Quarter, Cheryl and Adam Sweeney!
A San Jose native who’s been part of the San Jose Jtown community since she was young, Cheryl grew up seeing SJT perform. She and husband Adam, a Florida transplant, (re)connected with SJT when the group performed at Suzume no Gakko when their daughter Melody was a student. Melody signed up for the Junior Taiko program as soon as she was old enough and participated all the way through, eventually becoming a member of the Junior Taiko Performing Ensemble. Their son, Kimo participated in the Junior Taiko program for a number of years, too!
The Sweeneys started donating to SJT because they were struck by how the JT teachers give so much of themselves in their classes, and have continued to donate because they love how SJT brings people together and shares Japanese-American culture. Cheryl says “The arts are such an important way to connect people of different backgrounds, now more than ever. None of that can happen without financial support, so we’re happy to do our part to help make it possible.”
In her free time, Cheryl enjoys volunteering at the SJ Buddhist Church, jogging, going to Broadway shows and live concerts with friends and family, and watching TV shows and movies (especially cheesy romances on the Hallmark Channel). Adam spends too much time working at Arista Networks, tries to fit a bit of exercise in there somewhere, and spends the rest of the time with family. These long-time fans are especially fond of Oedo Bayashi and Ki, written by their friend and SJT Performing Member Matt Ogawa. They love how the performers share the high energy, excitement, and spirit of taiko with the audience in these songs.
Thank you Cheryl and Adam for being part of our SJT family!