By Emi Ono
NAP Contributor
The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation is delighted to announce five major awards to preserve and share Japanese American history and culture. Listed in alphabetical order, these organizations have been instrumental in the preservation, amplification, and dissemination of Japanese culture and the Japanese American experience:
- Densho
- Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California
- National Japanese American Historical Society
- Nichi Bei Foundation
- Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival
These grants, totaling more than $8.5 million, recognize the ambitious and varying approaches of community-rooted organizations to ensure Japanese American history and culture is preserved and maintained, and inspire action in the future.
“Our partnership with the Takahashi Foundation has made it possible for Densho to think bigger about how Japanese American history can be preserved, shared, and connected in the digital age,” said Naomi Ostwald Kawamura, Executive Director of Densho. “Through this support, we are able to launch a first-of-its-kind effort to identify, map, and connect Japanese American archival materials across institutions and communities which will help ensure that these histories remain visible, accessible, and meaningful for generations to come.”
Larger than any of its previous grants, these awards mark a shift in the Takahashi Foundation’s grantmaking. The Takahashi Foundation will pivot from accepting applications for review to making grants directly to select nonprofit groups.
Going forward, the Takahashi Foundation will no longer accept unsolicited letters of inquiry, proposals, or nominations for grants. “The focus during this next phase is to ensure the grants we make will have a lasting impact on the preservation of Japanese and Japanese American history and culture,” said Masako Takahashi, president of the Takahashi Foundation. “It is our hope that these grants, as have many of the activities we have supported in the past, will resonate for generations to come.”
“At a time when sweeping budget cuts threaten our nation’s parks, archives, and public broadcasting networks, these extraordinary grants from the Takahashi Foundation affirm the importance of Japanese American communities interpreting, recording, and safeguarding our own history,” said Nancy Ukai, Board of Directors Chair of the Nichi Bei Foundation and director of the 50 Objects website.
“The Nichi Bei Foundation is deeply grateful for this generous grant, which will help us establish an endowment and continue preserving our community history through digitization.”
“Henri and Tomoye Takahashi and Martha Suzuki established their foundation to celebrate our rich Japanese cultural heritage and support the Japanese American community. The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California is grateful for their continued support since 1971,” said Paul Osaki, Executive Director. “The most recent grant honors the legacy of those who paved the way before for us—by supporting programs that promote passing on our cultural heritage and advocate to sustain Japantown’s future and preserve its history.”
About the Takahashi Charitable Foundation
Established in 1986 by Henri and Tomoye Takahashi, together with Tomoye’s sister Martha Masako Suzuki, the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation is dedicated to honoring Japanese American culture and fostering understanding of Japan.
During World War II, over 125,000 people of Japanese heritage were imprisoned in incarceration camps throughout the country. The Takahashi family was sent to Topaz, Utah, where the current foundation president, Masako Takahashi, was born. The foundation has devoted the last 40 years to the truthful dissemination of that period of history as well as to the support of Japanese and Japanese American culture and traditions.
“We wish we could fund every project, but we cannot,” notes Masako Takahashi. “We thank the Japanese American community for carrying on the traditions and culture of our proud heritage, and we thank all those who support the unique traditions of Japanese culture.” To learn more, see: www.takahashifoundation.org.
