Former Nisei Week queens gathered on Aug. 10 for their reunion at the Japanese American National Museum. The annual gathering, named in honor of the late Em Kato Yamada, is an opportunity to share memories and welcome the new queen and court to their special sisterhood.
Front row (from left): longtime Rafu Shimpophotographer Mario Reyes; June Aochi Berk (1954); Penny Akemi Tani Sakoda (1960); Dianne Kubota Hamano (1961); Judy Chizuko Sugita deQueiroz (1953); Faith Higurashi Ono (1959)
Second row (from left): Princess Carina Sakimura; Princess Anita Komatsu; First Princess Seia Watanabe; France Yanai Wong (1962); Joyce Kikuchi Sumi (1971); Sandy Toshiyuki (1976); Joann Shin Cordeiro (1996); Queen Morgan Gee; Miss Tomodachi Amy Kubo; Princess Caitlyn Sasaki
Third row (from left): Meigan Everts; Tracy Isawa Ahn (1983); Naomi Ono Sognefest (1993); Nicole Cherry (2003); Nikki Kodama (2004); Traci Murase Tanaka (1999)
Fourth row: Jill Hiraizumi-Artino (2008); Tamlyn Tomita (1984); Kaitlyn Chu (2023); Kristine Yada (2022); Lauren Kinkade Wong (2001); Monika Teuffel Moorlach (2007)
Top row: Alice Amano (2018); Juli Yoshinaga (2019); Lauren Iwata Hui (2013); Jaclyn Tomita (2016).
Aochi Berk, who was Nisei Week queen in 1954, tells Hiraizumi-Artino about how when she was queen, the court did not travel to Japan or Hawaii, and that the furthest place they went was Rancho Cucamonga. Her prize for winning was a steam iron. Her advice to the younger generation is to keep giving back through volunteering and also remember the sacrifices of our parents and ancestors. She explained that being born Japanese, we take on the mindset of “on(obligation), giri(sense of duty and honor) and gimu(responsibility).” Those values are what Berk said drives her work in the Japanese American community.