2013 Membership Dues

January is when it's time to renew your FWJS Membership but you can still renew at any time! Join us at one of our monthly luncheons or send a check. Check our Membership page for details.

January Wrap up

Thanks also to John Powell for coordinating and providing the materials for the annual Kadomatsu Workshop. We always have a good time making the “door pines” for the coming New Year season and John is always wise and generous in leading this event.

Thanks to everyone for making our new year’s Oshogatsu luncheon a great success! We had about 110 seats and we still had about a half dozen attendees without seats, so we had a very good showing. The raffle brought in about $1,500 which is a good number (we’ve ranged between $1,400 and $1,700 the past 5 years). Profound thanks to the many generous donors and to Elaine Yamagata for donating the two 40” flat screen televisions as our Grand Prize. Congratulations to the raffle winners! We all benefit when we pull together at Oshogatsu and throughout the year.

Very importantly, we have new board members, David Bakutis (DonDoko Taiko), Kevin Martinez (chef at Tokyo Café), Liz Love (Language school adult student), and Alexandra Stokes (Julia Dunaway’s daughter).

Mochizuki – Japan America Society of Dallas Fort Worth

January 20 - This will be at the Fujitsu Network Communications cafeteria, 2801 Telecom Parkway, Richardson, TX. There is an admission fee of $5 (JASDFW members) $10 (nonmembers) and will have a wide variety of booths, performances, and rice pounding. The JASDFW supports and advertises our events, so we are happy to support and advertise their events. Events are from 2:00pm - 5:00pm.

February Luncheon: John Stich and Chirashizushi

February 24 - Our speaker will be Honorary Consul General of Japan in Dallas, John Stich. John is a great and familiar friend of the Fort Worth Japanese Society and we always look forward to his up-date presentations. Food for the event will be chirashizushi provided by Julia Dunaway and the Events Committee. Cost for lunch will be $12 for adults, $8 for children 8-12, children 7 and under eat for free. Reservations are needed for the lunch. Join us from 12:30pm at the Yamagata Center (3608 Park Lake Dr, Fort Worth).

Consul General’s Presentation to the Fort Worth City Council

March 5 - Consul General Jota Yamamoto will return to Fort Worth to convey the appreciation of the Nation of Japan to the City of Fort Worth for two extraordinary things that have happened here this past year. This event at the Fort Worth City Hall will be the formal presentation of the plaque from the Nation of Japan to the City of Fort Worth commemorating the donation of 20 kwanzan cherry trees grown from cuttings from the original trees given to the United States by Japan in 1912. Fort Worth is one of only 36 cities that have received 20 of these cuttings. In addition, Fort Worth will also be presented a Letter of Appreciation from the Nation of Japan for our hospitality during the international Japan America Grassroots Summit in the Metroplex at the end of August, last year. The organizers were especially impressed with the Fort Worth City Tourism Bureau’s care and attention as well as by Fort Worth’s enthusiasm to welcome visiting Japanese into our homes, assist with translation and chauffeuring, and attending the events connected to this international meeting.

We are encouraged to have a large turn-out at this City Council meeting, with adults and children in kimono, if possible. This is an important opportunity for the Fort Worth Japanese Society to be identified as a significant presence within the cultural richness and diversity that makes Fort Worth great. Please come and especially invite all of your Fort Worth Japanese and Japanese-American friends. City Council Chambers are located at 1000 Throckmorton Street.

Dondoko Taiko Drum Group

This is one of our popular programs. If you want to learn how to play these Japanese Drums, have Sunday evenings open for practice, and have opportunities to perform at public events like the Japanese Garden Spring and Fall Festivals.

Japanese Language Class

Spring Semester will start on Monday, January 21. Please refer to our school website for our refund policy.

Earthquake & Tsunami News

去る3月11日に起きました東北関東大震災、またその直後に東北地方太平洋沿岸を襲った大津波により、1万人を超える尊い命が奪われ、今なお1万人 を超す行方不明の方がいらっしゃることに、フォートワース日本人会の会員一同、心よりお悔やみ申し上げます。　また、日本にご在住の皆さまのご家族、ご友 人のご無事をお祈りいたします。

わが日本人会でも、こちらに居住する日本人および日本を愛する者たちとして、被災地から遠く離れたフォートワースで何ができるかを考え、今までに募 金活動やベイクセール、折り紙プロジェクトなど近郊団体などと力を合わせて行ってまいりました。　また、来月にフォートワース日本庭園で開催されます春祭 りでも、フォートワース姉妹都市協会などの他団体と同様に募金活動を行います。　それ以外にも、当会として募金活動や支援活動などに関わる際には、随時お 知らせしていく予定です。

現在、さまざまな団体、組織が義援金を募集しています。　オンラインや小切手送付にて寄付をお考えの方、アメリカ赤十字社（http://redcrossdallas.blogspot.com/） やダラス日本人会（http://godja.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=60） でも、募金を受け付けていますので、ぜひご協力お願いいたします。

われわれフォートワース日本人会でも、小規模ながら、これからも日本を応援し続けていきたいと考えています。　

On Friday March 11th, a strong earthquake struck the north east part of Japan.  More than 10,000 people have lost their precious lives and about 16,000 people are still missing from earthquakes and subsequent huge tsunami caused by the quake.  Our thoughts go out to the people of Japan who were affected by the disaster.   We hope that your family and friends in Japan are safe and well.

We, Fort Worth Japanese Society, have been involved in Japan relief fundraising; bake sales, and senbazuru (thousand origami cranes) projects, cooperating with other organizations and societies in our local  communities, hoping we could be of some assistance to people in Japan, even though we are far away.  At the Fort Worth Japanese Garden Spring Festival in April, you will see our donation boxes as well as those many other groups, such as Fort Worth Sister Cities.  Regarding the details for upcoming relief activities and charities, we will keep you posted in our website.  

Other than ourselves, there are lots of organizations who are currently raising donations.  For those who wish to contribute to a relief fund by check or online, you can do so with American Red Cross of Dallas (http://redcrossdallas.blogspot.com/) and Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth (http://www.jasdfw.org/pages/news_earthquake.html).

Though we are rather a small organization, we will continue to pray and assist people in Japan with relief fund and recovery effort.

Sincerely,

Japanese Class of Fort Worth Japanese Society

Upcoming Charity Events

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