the ambassadorTHE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN • FALL 2010 Paul Tange redesigns the face of ASIJ the architecture issue 4 contents cover story A Man with a Plan Architect Paul Tange talks about his plans for a new-look for ASIJ. 4 features Head of School’s Message Head of School Ed Ladd on “The Alchemy of ASIJ.” 3 Campus Timeline A look at ASIJ through the ages. 10 A Plan for the Future An introduction to the 4 x 4 Campaign and the campus improvements we have planned. 14 16 24 Modern Living Parent, architect and writer Naomi Pollock talks about her passion for the modern Japanese house. 16 ASIJ Architect: Hana Ishikawa ‘01 ASIJ Architect: J.C. Schmeil ‘86 Chinese to Go! Staff writer Lucy Williams takes a look at ASIJ’s growing Chinese language program. 20 22 24 Ballplayer is in a League of Her Own Profile from The Japan Times of high school ballplayer Bessie Noll ’13. 28 The Write Stuff A report on Scholar-in-Residence Alan Gratz’s visit to the Middle School and his work with budding authors. 30 FALL 2010 the ambassador 1 features MESSAGE Editor | Director of Communications Matt Wilce Art Director | Photography Francine Flora Head of School Ed Ladd Director, Center for School-Community Partnership Tim Thornton Alumni Relations | Communications Lucy Williams Data Officer Kanako Sato features HEAD OF SCHOOL’S MESSAGE Music Man Artist-in-Residence Linsey Pollak brings his unusual vegetable instruments to the Elementary School. 34 Alumni Authors: Setting Sail Alumna author Pia Tipper Fenton ‘77 launches herself as a novelist with her debut historical romance. 36 The Alchemy of ASIJ he faces of schools change all the time, yet the rarified ethos of a school is created over time. This dynamic of new and old creates a natural tension that allows for opportunities to become realities, and for realities, over time, to become part of the place we call ASIJ. In some ways, I think this description is very apt for my entry into the ASIJ community. The blend of old and new is an alchemy of sorts, not to magically create gold as believed in medieval times, but to transmute the “new” into the old: in a sense to absorb and make something its own. In the case of ASIJ, everything over time becomes part of the legacy and tradition of the school and community. I can truly say after three months that I feel more and more like a “mustang.” ASIJ is working its magic on me, and every smile and hello from a passing student in the hallway, every greeting from a parent, or invitation to a classroom by a teacher is transforming me. I particularly felt the tug of this transition during the recent “Spirit Day.” Watching the interactions of our community on a beautiful Saturday afternoon of football was mesmerizing, and talking to alumni at their reception on the terrace made me feel more and more that this was home, that I was part of this place called ASIJ. This same transformation takes place at many different levels and on many different planes at our school as curriculum changes, our physical space is redesigned, or a new event is added to our social calendar. In this issue of the ambassador you are going to read about our Chinese program, about our building project, and about our architect, Paul Tange. All three of these elements possess their own alchemy, and while they will impact and change our school, they will eventually become part of ASIJ as well. It should be no surprise to anyone that the meteoric rise of China over the past decade, in addition to the sheer size of this country and its influence, not only in Asia but also throughout the world, has been a catalyst for the development of Chinese language programs. To this end, ASIJ began a Chinese program last year that will eventually expand into a full-blown program for teaching Chinese as a foreign language at ASIJ. We are very fortunate to have had Joyce Huang join our faculty last year to spearhead this language initiative. I had the pleasure of visiting Joyce’s classroom the ambassador is published by the Center for School-Community Partnership, The American School in Japan. ASIJ alumni, families, faculty and friends receive the ambassador. We solicit your comments and encourage you to submit ideas and articles for consideration. Letters and inquiries may be addressed to: the editor, the ambassador, The American School in Japan, 1-1-1 Nomizu, Chofu-shi , Tokyo 182-0031, Japan. Tel: 81-422-34-5300, ext.700 Fax: 81-422-34 5304 Email:
[email protected] http://community.asij.ac.jp 2009-10 fundraising report The Power of Giving A message from Jere Miller, Chair of the Fundraising Committee. T 40 Gift Clubs Honor Roll of Donors Matching Gifts Planned Giving Board of Trustees and Board of Directors 41 43 48 49 50 alumni section Back on Campus Class Reunions A look at this summer’s reunions and events 51 52 Class Agent List The Chochin Goes Digital In Memoriam Photograph and Cover Design by Francine Flora 58 60 61 64 2011 Stateside Receptions last year during one of my transition visits, and her dynamic style is one that engages students actively in the nuances of tones and articulation. The inclusion of Chinese in our school has the potential to have great impact for all future learners at ASIJ. Paul Tange’s imagination and creativity are only matched by his sartorial taste. The genius behind the “cocoon” building, one of the most recognizable structures in Tokyo, Paul is now bringing his talents literally to the front gate of ASIJ. As an ASIJ parent, Paul understands the role that a campus plays in the life of a school and in creating those memories that our alumni carry all over the globe. In the first phase of a two-phased process, Paul has designed a new façade for our front entrance that is both striking and functional. This façade, along with a new building under which to park our buses with tennis courts and a fitness center on top and complemented by spaces for wrestling and dance, will give ASIJ an entire facelift. This stunning creation will connect all elements of our school’s architecture into a cohesive whole, resulting in a safer flow of buses and children to and from school, better security, and a more aesthetic welcome to all visitors who cross the new piazza to enter the school. There is, indeed, magic in the alchemy promised by this bold new design. Phase Two of our project will address a number of programming and curricular issues and enrich the learning experience for students throughout the school. I am especially excited about the plans to realize the vision of our “action plan” to design a Japan Center on the campus. While ASIJ has a long history of interacting with the culture and language of Japan, this new learning space will cultivate greater focus on the context in which we all live and enrich the experience of Japanese language and culture, both inside and outside the school. I believe that this is the kind of alchemy that can create a “gold” standard within our school and enlarge the experience of what is ASIJ. So, as you can see, there are many new “faces” to ASIJ, but over time these too will become part of the legacy and tradition of our school. I think all of us should be enthused to be part of such great “alchemy.” Warmly, Ed Ladd, Head of School FALL 2010 the ambassador 3 a with a man plan features PAUL TANGE Current parent and renowned architect Paul Tange talks about his designs for the latest campus improvement project 4 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 5 features PAUL TANGE Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower Shinjuku, Tokyo features PAUL TANGE I n architectural circles the name Tange is synonymous with cutting-edge grand designs and the creation of many of Japan’s iconic modern buildings. From the Hiroshima Peace Park and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium to the Fuji TV Building in Odaiba and the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, the work of Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kenzo Tange defines 20th century architecture for many Japanese. With the completion of the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower in 2008 and his current redesign of Roppongi Crossing, Kenzo’s son Paul Tange is continuing that work, helping create Tokyo’s future cityscape. In between large-scale projects in Singapore, where he is building a 38-story addition to the Overseas Union Bank Center, Paul has generously agreed to lend his expertise to ASIJ, redesigning a significant area of the campus. The two-phase project will focus on the front of school and the redevelopment of the old MPR building and is the culmination of a master plan to improve the school’s facilities that began in 1998 with the seismic retrofit (see timeline on pages 12-13). Did you know from an early age that you wanted to be an architect? My father was an architect and I suppose I didn’t know any better. I always ask myself when did I really decide and I don’t have an answer really. When I was growing up it was always architecture, architecture, architecture. When we had a family trip it was always visiting one of my father’s job sites. We went to interesting places like Nigeria, Tanzania, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Lots of places you wouldn’t usually go on a family trip. It was very exciting, but it was still architecture, architecture, architecture. I began thinking, well this might be what I want to do. But my real turning point came when I was a sophomore in college and I asked myself, is this really what I want? When I was in college, they didn’t have an architecture school, just liberal arts or science all the way until graduate school level when you choose a professional direction. I always liked math and physics, so as an undergraduate I was preparing myself to go to architecture school by doing an art and engineering double major. But then all of a sudden I came to a standstill and asked myself whether that what really what I wanted to do. So I changed my major to economics for a year. And I hated it with a passion. I was good in math, so I understood the curves of supply and demand and all of the different coordinates, but that meant nothing to me. So maybe I made a mistake there. That’s when I realized that I really did want to go into architecture. I refocused and carried on through my junior and senior years to prepare myself for architecture school. I think that was the best thing I’ve ever done because otherwise even today I might have been asking the same question — did I choose the right profession? Did your father give you any advice when you started out as an architect? I don’t think he knew that I wanted to go into architecture at the time. Especially after I changed my major I think he didn’t know what I was doing. One summer trip to Bologna, over a spaghetti lunch I told my father that I wanted to be an architect. In summertime in Italy during those days all of the restaurants closed for about two months, so we were in a restaurant in Bologna train station and it was the lousiest pasta I’ve ever had. That made me gutsy enough to tell my father what I wanted to do. There was sheer silence for about 30 seconds and he said “Well you live only once, do what you want to do.” I was very relieved but at the same time, now when I think about it I think those 30 seconds, as a father, he must have been happy that his son was going to follow in his footsteps but on the other hand he knew how tough it is to be an architect because that’s what he did. So it must have been a very confused feeling that he went through in his mind in those 30 seconds of silence. But by the end he came to the conclusion that there are so many people that live their lives doing a job that doesn’t necessarily make them happy—it’s just a job. But if you can find something to do that makes you happy, then think of yourself a lucky person. He told me that if that happens to be architecture for me then he would support that. That’s the only time he ever mentioned the architecture profession to me. How was it growing up in an architectural family? I was quite fortunate in that I got to go to many cities and my dad would take me to see the architecture there. In Italy there is architectural treasure everywhere, around every corner. In New York, it’s the same for modern architecture in Manhattan. Now that I think about it, it was a great experience—he explained to me what architecture is all about as we walked through the streets of Manhattan. Maybe I didn’t realize it was a learning experience at the time because he was my dad. In that way, I learned first-hand about architecture. 6 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 7 features PAUL TANGE HS gym main entrance features PAUL TANGE Where did the inspiration for the design you have done for ASIJ come from? Of course my daughter goes to the school and so I visit the school quite a bit. If we look back at our childhoods, there are some interesting memories and it is very important for a school to give people these kind of memories. That is why when we are talking about the planning of this new development, we can’t look at it only based on function—we have to look at the bigger picture. My approach comes from a very philosophical direction, by asking “What is a school experience?” and “What can we provide to create wonderful memories and inspire our children through that environment to go even farther in the future?” Whenever we approach a project, we are not just solving that particular issue but we look at the overall idea. If we build a building in the city of Tokyo, for example we are not just building an environment for Roppongi Crossing, we think about how Roppongi is related to Akasaka and how that is related to Nishi-Azabu, and how the flow of people moves through them. We are urban planners and architects. We have to see the bigger picture. When we came onto this project we wanted to present to ASIJ the possibilities of today and the possibilities of the future. To understand the possibilities of today we have to understand the history of the school as well. Can you talk us through some of the main elements in the re-design? We have to understand that this is a campus and every building has a specific function. We have to move things around into the right order to fit in everything. We have to understand what will happen, future potential developments, from the near to far future. In the far future we may not be around but the school will continue. Tim [Thornton, Deputy Head of School] explained to us how everything started and how it has evolved. This is not just a project, it’s a whole master plan. At this point we are in one phase and it can go on into another phase. It’s a process we have to present for the future. When it came to this particular site, we did a total analysis and one of the things we concluded was that even though there are those that commute by bicycle and train, the majority of students come in by bus and there is also car dropoff. Every one of the bus drivers deserves a gold medal because they are fabulous at what they do. But we thought that we should reduce the movement of the buses as much as possible. So when they enter campus, instead of going around every which way we should have a traffic flow with the buses able to get to where they have to be as quickly and easily as possible. Now there are too many interfaces with other students and vehicles. We thought that a parking structure would be the best solution. Once we’ve created a parking structure it’s a very simple exercise to lift up the tennis courts above. How will that change the face of the school? We can’t simply see the new facility as a parking structure and tennis court—as we have students coming in from the station one Overseas Union Bank Center Singapore Ricketson Theater ASIJ Project - Phase 1 features PAUL TANGE build a building for the parking and tennis courts, we can create an edge. Then we must think how to capture that space. That’s how we decided to make a kind of courtyard in between the new building and the old buildings. When students go through the gate we want their experience of school to start. Now, the space under the canopy of the high school building doesn’t offer any sense of arrival. Neither does the yard with the flagpoles. Unfortunately, because of the parking situation it’s not really an open space, it’s a parking lot. It’s not only ASIJ that faces this problem, many public buildings do. We have to redefine the spaces and understand the needs to make the campus active. We try to understand how each element fits together and with the help of the school we visualize various strategies to activate spaces. Hopefully once we finish the final two phases, we will create an experience for students to bring with them after they depart ASIJ. How did being an ASIJ parent affect your designs for the school? Was the process different to the other academic design projects you have worked on? Whether I like it or not I am much more personally involved. I get involved personally with all of the projects we do because that is our policy. If we cannot be involved, what is the purpose of doing that project? It doesn’t matter how big or small the project is, we are providing a service for our client. We are not artists, we’re service providers. If I cannot provide that service, I would rather not do the project, regardless of the size. With my daughter being here, that is an added interest on my part, but she is graduating soon, so the project is not for her personally. But I do see the school from a different perspective—not just from an architect’s perspective, but from a parent’s perspective. I asked not only my daughter, but other present students for their opinions. Because I have more access to these users’ opinions than usual, I hope that my approach is more accurate. I have incorporated students, teachers, and parents’ perspectives. They are all users, and I’m quite fortunate to have the opportunity to be involved with them personally. What makes for a successful design? Architects cannot make people think a certain way, we cannot tell them how to feel. Perhaps teachers are the same way in that they can give one possibility of how to think but cannot tell anyone to think that way. So what we do is we give people a lot of choices to have their own experiences. We create the hardware and from there we hope that it will give a certain feeling. We try to create architecture that gives emotion to the user. Hopefully our building will make people feel like they want to go in, or they want to come back, or they want to spend more time there. Or they stop and say “I like it!” or even if they stop and say “I hate it!” that’s fine. Architecture is successful if while people are going about their busy lives they stop and see it and it triggers some emotion. At the end of the day we are just a space creator. cafeteria building new building MS ASIJ Project -Phase 2 way and buses by another, we are creating a sense of arrival. It’s the place where people feel like they’ve come home as they reach the school. That experience is very important. Essentially we’ve analyzed what a school experience is in various ways and for us it is based around the gate, a sense of arrival, historic monuments, space, etc. A school has these various important elements. We realized ASIJ doesn’t really have a threshold when we arrive there. We have Nogawa Park, which continues on to the tennis courts and then open spaces and buildings and they are welcoming, but there isn’t an experience of arrival. So by creating this building for safety reasons and necessity, we realized that it is a chance to create the face of the school. It will be different, but it is what we think is important. What is your concept for the new front entrance? Students will come in from all directions into a central plaza and then move on to their destinations. It’s all about the flow of people. There are spaces in the school that are not yet well defined. So we are not creating the front plaza only, but also analyzing the little spaces in between because that is what people use as a communicating space. What role does good design play in an educational environment? My father, who was an architect from the age of 33 until he died in 1991, was also an educator and he had a strong belief in school architecture. What I was taught by my father is that the most important part of an educational building is the corridor. The corridor is where people meet, talk and chat. The corridor can then extend out into a school yard. Everyone thinks the classroom is important, and yes it is very important, because that’s where students learn and teachers teach, but education is not all one direction of learning, teacher to student. It’s also student to student communication and informal student to teacher environments. In our designs for educational buildings, corridors are much wider because it’s not just an area for people to walk through but to sit and enjoy like a plaza. We have to think how we can turn not very utilized space into active spaces for students. That’s where we came up with the idea of a plaza in the front. Since we have to 8 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 9 features timeline Nakameguro YMCA Kanda The Tokyo School for Foreign Children begins classes at rented rooms in the Kanda YMCA building, but soon outgrows the facility. It moves after only four months to the Episcopal Mission in Tsukiji. campus MASTERPLAN From humble beginnings in rented rooms and mission properties in Tsukiji to the spacious Chofu Campus and state-of-the-art ELC in Roppongi, ASIJ has moved and changed with the times. We look back at some of the significant points in the school’s 108-year history and also look to the future and the completion of the facilities master plan that began in 1998. Shibaura Board Member Everett Frazar constructs a new three-story school building on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay. The new school opens with a new name, becoming The American School in Japan. After an extensive search the Board purchases land in Nakameguro and a new school campus is constructed. Architect and parent Antonin Raymond assists with the re-design and re-construction of several of the school buildings on the new site. Chofu The iconic elementary school “donut” is the first building completed on the new Chofu Campus, closely followed by the high school, gym and little theater. Middle School The construction of a new middle school building sees the creation of a new division and the end of junior high classes in the high school. 1939–1945 WWII Nakameguro Campus 1902 1910 1918 1921 1923 1927 1939 1941 1945 1946 School re-opens 1962 1963 1968 1973 1983 New fine arts facilities 1985 N-K Roppongi The Community Nursery School merges with ASIJ to create the ASIJ Nursery-Kindergarten in a converted home in Roppongi. Great Kanto Earthquake School closed due to WWII On December 1, 1941 the Board signs over the lease of the school property to longserving staff member Kiyomi Hashimoto giving him free use of the buildings for the purpose of educating Japanese girls. Six days later the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and America enters the Second World War. An extension to the Ricketson Theater sees six new practice rooms, four classrooms and a radio and TV studio added to campus. #17 Tsukuji When the land owned by the Episcopal Mission is no longer available the school moves to the Presbyterian Mission and uses the old Union Church building, the foreign residence and playing field at #17 Tsukiji. Episcopal Mission Compound Tsukiji #54-56 Requiring more space, the school moves back to the Episcopal Mission compound at #5456 Tsukiji, changing its name to the Tokyo Foreign School. With the addition of high school courses the school soon graduates its first seniors. Friend’s Mission Compound Shiba Following the devastation of the Great Kanto Earthquake, the school buildings are no longer safe and classes resume at the former home of the Bowles Family on the Friends Mission Compound Shiba. N-K Nakameguro When the Roppongi site becomes too small, the Nursery-Kindergarten moves to a specially designed new building in Nakameguro 10 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 11 features MASTERPLAN features MASTERPLAN facilities master plan Over the last 12 years ASIJ has made many significant improvements to both campuses, following the Board’s facilities master plan laid out in 1998. As we near completion of that plan and the launch of the 4 x 4 Campaign, we look at how those changes have impacted students and the final two phases that will bring further enhancements. 1998–2014 Ricketson Theater If you asked us what we can do better than we could before, the answer is everything. We can provide students with a variety of performing arts experiences in a safer, less congested environment than our old theater. Not to sound clichéd, but we are really limited only by our imaginations. David Neale, Digital Film/Theater • Seismic retrofit • ES gym • HS entrance • HS expansion ES Playground MS Field Second Century Campaign Solar Panels 4 x 4 Campaign 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Phase 1 (2010-11) Phase 1 will see the front of school transformed with a new entrance and streamlined traffic system. The athletics program will benefit from new multi-use tennis courts and a new building housing a wrestling room, dance studio, fitness center, trainer’s room and athletics office. The high school lobby and admissions area will also be significantly improved. Cafeteria Building The cafeteria building is much more than a spacious dining hall and is used for a variety of activities. The second floor features elementary classrooms and the third floor is home to administrative offices and two classooms shared by the middle and high schools. Early Learning Center We have always had a great early childhood program at ASIJ, but when we made our move to the new, well designed, purposebuilt ELC, we finally had a facility to match our program. The design of our new facility in Roppongi took into consideration the most current research on early childhood programs to create an environment that is warm, inviting, safe and nurturing for our little ones. A facility does not a program make, but a good facility allows us to have the best possible program, one where kids are safe and happy and learning. We feel now like we have it all at the ELC. Judy Beneventi, ELC Director Lower Field The new field allows students to train and play in all types of weather on a safe and attractive looking facility. No longer do we have to cancel events due to bad weather. State-of-the-art facilities, including field lights, now enable us to host a wide variety of Kanto Plain events, day or night, with pride. John Smith, Athletics & Activities Director Phase 2 (2012-13) The second phase will see the old Multi-Purpose Room (MPR) transformed into a new facility housing classrooms, an elementary performance space, Japan Center and strings room. Improved science, art and music rooms, a new robotics lab and an expanded MS Library will further enhance the curriculum. A revamped side entrance to the school, new kiosk/bookstore and health center, new offices and other facilities will also impact campus life. 12 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 13 features ANNUAL CAMPAIGN features ANNUAL CAMPAIGN a plan for the M future aster schools need master plans and ASIJ’s project to improve and update its campuses, which began in 1998, is near completion. The final two phases will bring dramatic enhancements that will help us realize the full potential of our school and create a more secure and richer learning environment for our students. Phase 1, which will begin February 2011, will see the front of school transform both inside and out, with a new main gate and remodeled high school entrance. A new suite of athletics facilities that includes a wrestling room, dance studio, fitness center and six tennis courts will enhance our current curricular and co-curricular programs. The elevation of the tennis courts will allow us to create a designated bus drop-off and pick-up zone with covered bus parking. Phase 2, beginning in 2012, will focus on the current MPR building, which will be replaced with a new two-story building. Housing elementary classrooms for art and science and a new ES performance space, the facility will also include a new strings room to be used by all the Chofu divisions. The creation of a Japan Center will add specialist resources to support our Japanese studies program at all levels. Cross-divisional services, such as the kiosk, bookstore, health center and curriculum office will move to the new building, creating space in the middle and high schools for additional learning spaces. To help us realize this vision of educational enrichment and facilities fit for the future, we are launching the 4 x 4 Campaign— for more details on the campaign, see page 40. Y400 million 4 years For ASIJ FALL 2010 the ambassador 15 14 the ambassador FALL 2010 features ALUMNI PROFILE C Current parent, architect and writer Naomi Pollock casts her eye over Tokyo’s skyline 16 the ambassador FALL 2010 overed in concrete, laced with overhead expressways and peppered with garish neon, Tokyo is not exactly a beautiful city. Unlike New York, Chicago or San Francisco, it has no discernable skyline, turns its back on the waterfront and is not organized around a central square or major park aside from the imperial palace. And those tree-studded grounds are all but closed to the public. At the same time, Tokyo is an architect’s paradise. It has vitality. It has charm. And, since few buildings are made to last, it constantly reinvents itself. In Tokyo, there is always something interesting to see. The trick is in knowing how to look. As an architect and a writer, I have been sending this message to readers for over 20 years. I began retraining my own eye almost as soon as I stepped off the plane at Narita in 1988. A newly minted architect, I took a leave from my job at a large Manhattan firm to accompany my husband on a three-year assignment in Tokyo. Having lived here on and off all his life— including his middle school years at ASIJ—my husband David Sneider ’75 was keen to come back. Fortunately this opportunity also offered me chances to advance my own career. I fleetingly considered entering a local design office but after I won a scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education, I enrolled in a master’s degree program at Tokyo University instead. Unlike in the United States, where graduate education in architecture centers on building design, academic research is the focus at many Japanese universities. Shortly after arriving on campus, my advisor, a part-time professor and a fulltime architect, asked what I planned to study. At the time I knew very little about Japan, let alone Japanese architecture. Yet I was struck by the contrast between American and Japanese buildings. In Tokyo, for example, many seemed oddly shaped, tightly crammed together and, for the most part, unrelated to each other. I decided to find out why. But if I wanted to understand the new, I needed to study the old as urged by my advisor. So I chose historic minka farmhouses as the subject of my thesis. While I spent my weekdays investigating these thatch-roofed homes, I spent many weekends visiting brand new steel and concrete buildings alongside my fellow students. In Japan, architects have a wonderful custom of inviting peers, professors and parents to preview their newly completed works before handing them over to clients. Eager to get up to speed quickly, I attended as many of these events as possible. When a magazine editor I knew back in New York got wind of my adventures, she asked me to write an article about Tokyo architecture. I gladly accepted her offer and then, bitten by the writing bug, began seeking out journalistic opportunities on both sides of the Pacific. Shortly before my graduation, I became the Tokyo correspondent for Architectural Record, a leading American magazine geared towards architects. Initially convincing the New York-based magazine to publish buildings located in places no one could pronounce and designed by architects no one had ever heard of was a hard sell. But as Japan’s Bubble Economy grew and the country living features ALUMNI PROFILE modern The Balcony House FALL 2010 the ambassador 17 features ALUMNI PROFILE features ALUMNI PROFILE became a source of work for architects around the globe, the appetite for information about Japanese design grew steadily and my workload increased exponentially. While reporting on new buildings in Japan and other parts of Asia, I noticed that libraries, museums and office towers had begun to look more and more alike. It did not seem to matter whether they were in Seoul, Tokyo or Hong Kong. Yet houses seemed immune to this trend. Instead they remain stubbornly rooted in the local lifestyle and traditions, especially in Japan. Here international standards suffice for commercial buildings but most homeowners still want to exchange their street shoes for slippers and soak in a steamy ofuro bath when they come home. Though the contemporary homes I visited as a journalist bore little outward resemblance to the historic houses I observed as a researcher, the two were clearly and inextricably linked. Viewed through the lens of tradition, even avant-garde contemporary homes made sense. This idea became the theme of my book, Modern Japanese House. Due to the rapid rate of construction here, many books on contemporary Japanese architecture are out of date before they even go to press. Determined not to fall into this trap, I aimed to provide background information and analytical ideas that readers could easily extend beyond my book to buildings they might encounter on their own. Midway between a coffee table portfolio and an academic tome, the book presents 25 houses organized by type, such as the tiny house, the indoor-outdoor house and the vacation house. Based on site visits plus interviews with architects and clients, each profile includes a written explanation, professional photos and simple architectural drawings. While it was not easy to select just twenty-five houses from the hundreds I visited, I had strict, self-imposed criteria. Since I wanted to engage general readers as well as design professionals, every house had to be architecturally innovative but have plenty of human interest. One of the houses that made the strongest impression on me was a weekend retreat near Zao Mountain in Miyagi Prefecture. A warm wooden home organized by a dynamic, pinwheel-shaped floor plan, the house was practically devoid of windows – a curious condition that conflicted with just about every weekend home I had visited in the United States. But on the ground floor, its backside was made largely of glass doors opening onto a covered porch. Modeled after a traditional engawa veranda, it ran the width of the house and overlooked a densely wooded ravine that seemed to go on forever. Built for a media executive who liked to hike and hunt for wild mushrooms in his spare time, the house was the product of a young designer from Sendai, Hitoshi Abe. Shortly after Modern Japanese House was released in 2005, my publisher and I began talking about doing a monograph featuring the work of a single designer. Having dealt with 23 architects and almost as many photographers for the previous book, the idea of delving deeply into the work of one designer was enormously appealing. Though there were many possible candidates, we both agreed on Abe, a young whippersnapper with a strong design sensibility and, we were guessing, a rosy future ahead. Unlike most designers of his generation, Abe did not head to Tokyo for graduate school or apprenticeship in an established firm. Instead, he went to California for school and then stayed on to work. This overseas stint came to a screeching halt when, on a lark, he entered a government-sponsored competition to design a 40,000 seat soccer stadium back in Sendai. Amazingly, the then 30-year old designer beat out famous architects and construction companies alike. This was a truly remarkable feat, but it required Abe to relinquish California to set up shop back home. The stadium was only the beginning of Abe’s success. What followed was an impressive array of buildings that including an award-winning community center on a remote island off of Kyushu, elegant restaurants in Sendai and an array of inventive houses for both foreign and Japanese clients. Over the course of a couple years, Abe and his staff took me to see as many of these buildings as possible— an outstanding extension of my education and the basis of my monograph. While writing the book, I hoped Abe would land another high-profile commission. Instead he was offered the chairmanship of the school of architecture at UCLA, an appointment that enabled him to return to LA, and the book to benefit from his new notoriety in the US. After the release of Hitoshi Abe the book in 2008, a London-based colleague and her husband, an architectural photographer, invited me to join them as co-author of a survey book featuring 100 new buildings throughout Japan. An opportunity to acquaint myself with buildings I did not know as well as re-visit some of my favorites, I gladly accepted their offer. The product of our collaboration, New Architecture in Japan, made its Tokyo debut this past spring. More recently, I have completed magazine articles about a bank in the Tokyo suburb of Tokiwadai, an orthodontic clinic in Omotesando and a brand new, environmentally sustainable city 40 miles from Seoul. Occasionally I miss design and in interviews find myself reconfiguring floor plans and elevations in my head as architects explain them to me. But journalism enables me to stay connected to architects around the globe. And through buildings I continue to gain a deeper and more profound understanding of Japan. Photographs courtesy of Naomi Pollock, Phaidon and Merrel. 18 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 19 features ALUMNI PROFILE features ALUMNI PROFILE Mary Bartelme Park ASIJ D architects: Hana Ishikawa ’01 esign, whether it is a single chair or a large-scale entertainment complex, is similar to a math problem. There may be multiple correct answers, some problems will be more difficult than others, and there are obviously wrong answers. The good projects are functional, the better projects will last, and the best projects are also aesthetically pleasing. After several years at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), a sustainability-oriented, conceptual-design-driven architecture program and several more at the famed utilitarian you-can’tteach-design Mies Van Der Rohe program at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), I graduated even more convinced that the profession was meant for me. Architecture to me has been a delicate balance beam bridging art and science, and through it, I could do both. Despite always knowing that I would one day major in architecture, I only knew several major architects’ names when I was interviewing for colleges during my senior year at ASIJ. I did however possess an eye for aesthetics. Growing up surrounded by family and friends who were designers whether it was in fashion, illustration, or construction, I was able to see their vibrant world. I managed after one year at CMU to gain an internship at Nomura Kougei, Inc., under a famous creative director by the name of Shigechiyo Suzuki. I was drawn to his work, which was vibrant, outlandish and full of life and color. During your first week at a design firm nobody expects your boss to be searching for “castle goods” so that he could build a castle-like African themed spa. Needless to say, my experience diversified quickly at Nomura. During my five years of internships during the summers and winters in Tokyo, I worked on everything from high-end office interiors, sustainable-themed cafes, the Aichi World Expo grounds and booths and smaller graphic design jobs to an entertainment complex that spanned multiple blocks in Yokohama. After graduation with a plethora of odd projects on my resume, I set out to work at a startup firm as a creative director in Chicago, Illinois. The firm aimed at marketing undervalued commercial office buildings without the use of major construction. This involved graphics, interior renovations, signage programs, marketing rooms, creating marketing collateral and logos. While the ability to work on magnificent, historically significant properties—even ones that would change the Chicago skyline— fascinated me I left the firm to search for an opportunity to create from the ground up. I still have not worked at a true architecture firm, and have stepped into the landscape architecture field. I found out today that Stearns Quarry Environmental Park, also known as Henry C. Palmisano Park, won the Chicago Athenaeum Award. The 27-acre lot was previously a 350-foot deep limestone quarry in a residential district of Chicago called Bridgeport. The quarry closed its doors over a hundred years ago, the city turned it into a construction material dump, and working alongside multiple city agencies and firms, Site Design Group, Ltd., amongst others, developed a plan to turn the landfill into an educational wetland park. It is difficult to fathom that within the flat Great Plains, a park that had over 50 feet in elevation change could exist. The park is sustainably designed so that all the water on the site, even from “Mount Bridgeport”, ends up in the tiered native wetland system where it cascades down multiple recycled limestone and sidewalk concrete waterfalls and finally into the fishing pond below. The water is then pumped up to the top to be re-circulated down to the pond again. Most recently, I was involved with a project that saw Mary Bartelme Park take down its fences and open up to the neighborhood. Five stainless steel fountain gates at the northwest entry act as an iconic gateway to the park. Using only three gallons of water per minute, the fountain cools off visitors by emitting a fine mist of vaporized water, immersing the area in a cloud. A fully accessible playground allows for inventive, explorative play complete with mounds, depressions, and custom equipment for the site. There is also a dog park, a quieter seating area, and a viewing mound that takes advantage of the Chicago skyline and a lawn. Each of my past projects (post my paradigm-shift at Nomura) have been done with the passion of an artist but with the logic of an engineer and during any design decision, still, I often have a fear that any part of my project could fail. After the successful opening of Mary Bartelme Park the contractor commented that “the playground’s success could be attributed to a child’s mind designing it.” And that, I’m okay with. Photographs courtesy of Site Design Group, Ltd. Stearns Quarry Environmental Park 20 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 21 features ALUMNI PROFILE features ALUMNI PROFILE J.C. Schmeil ‘86 O ne of my first memories of ASIJ (which I attended from 1979-86) is of the elementary school “donut” building—I loved how it formed a garden courtyard and created a connection between the classrooms and the exterior. In my senior year, I took a mechanical drawing class, taught by Gerry Hoops (FF 1978-90). Though I couldn’t have predicted at that point that I would study architecture, it’s interesting to note that Jennifer Sands Marsh ’89 was in the class as well, and we are now both practicing architects in Austin, TX. At Stanford University, I studied international relations with a focus on the Japanese political economy. Perhaps the most influential class I took in college, though, was one called visual thinking, an introductory class in the mechanical engineering curriculum in which we invented mechanical devices and kept an idea journal; the most important lesson I learned was that every idea has merit, and shouldn’t be rejected without consideration. After graduation, I moved to New York where I started work as a metals trader at Mitsubishi International Corporation. My office was two blocks from the Museum of Modern Art, and I spent many lunch hours there finding inspiration, ultimately deciding to apply to architecture school. My last year in New York, I shared a loft in Tribeca with Steve Knode ‘86, Ken Sackheim ‘86 and Maya Sackheim ‘83. We had a lot of fun, and it was a creative environment that helped me make the decision to move on from my job at Mitsubishi. I attended the Master of Architecture program at the University of Texas. During my third year there, I applied for an internship with the French architect Christian de Portzamparc, who had recently won the Pritzker Prize. I sent portfolio images for his review—he described them as “seductive,” though I’m sure that was mainly a response to the fuzzy blackand-white images faxed across the Atlantic. My wife and I sold our car and moved to Paris for seven months. I was the only American in the office, but there were other student interns from Switzerland, Belgium and France. Portzamparc’s office had a collegial atmosphere; people worked hard but also went out together almost every day for lunch, even when project deadlines loomed. After a while I realized my small stipend couldn’t support a regular lunch habit, so I began to stay in the studio working on models of projects that were in the design phase. On occasion Christian would come by my desk during lunch hour, and we would sit together and discuss the models I was building, which was a formative experience. My leisure time in Paris was spent exploring buildings, taking photographs and making sketches—it was probably the most free time I’ve ever had to think about architecture and urban design. I graduated with a Master of Architecture degree in 1998, and accepted a job in Austin with a small firm. I worked there for four years, on a variety of project types: theaters, schools, fire stations, houses, urban design. In 2002, I joined two former classmates who had started a design-build firm and gained valuable experience there helping to build the projects I was designing. I decided to open my own office full-time in 2004. I’ve been fortunate to work on a variety of projects in California, New Mexico and Texas, and have had several projects featured on local Homes Tours. My work has mostly been residential, though in the past couple of years I have had the opportunity to expand into urban design and historic architecture. I recently completed a project with my wife’s environmental consulting firm, overseeing the relocation of a historic farmstead. In March of 2010 I returned to Japan, spending four weeks in Osaka on a Rotary-sponsored Group Study Exchange writing a blog, “An Architect in Japan” (anarchitectinjapan.blogspot. com). I met local architects and toured buildings designed by Tadao Ando, one of my favorite architects. After the exchange, I spent a couple of days in Tokyo visiting with old friends from ASIJ. Norie Fukuda ’86, who is also an architect, took me on a tour of some buildings in Tokyo. I also visited Jun Watanabe, who was my first studio professor at UT, and now has a firm in Tokyo. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to visit ASIJ during my trip, but I remain appreciative of my experiences there and the influence they have had on my design philosophy. This fall I will teach an introduction to architecture class to elementary school students, and look forward to showing them photos of the ASIJ donut. Photographs courtesy of J.C. Schmeil Trails End (Dripping Spings, TX) Painter’s Studio (Austin, TX) 22 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 23 features CURRICULUM features CURRICULUM chinese Lucy Williams heads to class to learn how ASIJ’s Chinese language program is expanding to go! tep into Joyce Huang’s high school Chinese II class and you might forget that you’re in Japan. Though it’s only the beginning of their second year, the students are already posing questions about grammar entirely in Chinese. Joyce knows how to immerse the students into the language, only using the occasional linguistic term in English, but otherwise speaking Chinese at the student’s level and expanding with pantomime and gestures to get the point across. The students are not shy with their responses, more than a lecture it feels like a room-wide conversation. Suddenly there is silence as everyone jots Chinese characters across their notepads when Joyce asks them to make up questions for a set of the hypothetical “answers” on her next PowerPoint slide. After a few minutes they begin comparing answers and discussing all of the possible options and sentence forms. Chinese II student Angela Squillacioti ’14 likes the style of the class, “Ms. Huang gives us examples that are easy to use in real life. It’s not just memorization. Most of what we use is not from a textbook so we get to be creative.” she explains. Jeremy Homler ’11 agrees, “The class is really engaging, I never zone out.” It’s easy to see why Joyce considers the first year of the Chinese program at ASIJ to have been a big success. “The students are focused and active. They always want to know more Chinese characters and they really like the language. When they like it and they want to continue it, and I can tell it’s going to be part of their life, that’s when I feel that I’ve been successful as a teacher.” That’s not to say that it was not a challenge to build a Chinese program from the ground up. Joyce acknowledges that there is always a stereotype that Chinese is a hard language to learn, even though most students later find that’s not the case. So the main struggle initially was enrollment, but in only the program’s second year there are 18 students in high school Chinese I and 15 students S 24 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 25 features CURRICULUM features CURRICULUM in Chinese II. There are also 12 students now studying it in middle school, showing that the program is expanding quickly. Leslie Birkland ‘66, head of the foreign languages department, recounts: “Chinese classes are now vying for ‘a piece of the pie’ along with Japanese, French and Spanish, and there had been some concern about lower enrollment in the other language classes. However, surprisingly, the other languages are maintaining their enrollments and in some cases their classes are bursting at the seams due to increased interest from students in picking up multiple languages. So, with the addition of Chinese, we are all able to ‘have our pie and eat it too!’” Indeed, sometimes the perception that Chinese is difficult is an advantage, “Students that take Chinese are students that are up for a challenge,” Joyce confides. Though there are other obstacles to introducing a new program, it’s not Joyce’s first time setting one up; she previously founded a Chinese program for Millburn High School in New Jersey after gaining experience by teaching at the university level in the United States. Although she has now taught for over 10 years, she started out in TV and newspaper journalism in Taiwan. Working in the media gave her the confidence to engage an audience and her interest in the power of communication eventually led her to teaching. When asked how it is different teaching students at ASIJ who have mostly been exposed to an Asian language already, she admits that having a knowledge of kanji makes it possible to intensify the reading and writing aspect of the class, but overall it’s not the students’ experience but their open attitude about language learning that makes the difference. Students who have lived abroad come into the classroom understanding the value of a foreign language and ready to learn. “I don’t just teach reading or speaking, I aim to teach communication. When it comes to real communication in a new language, everyone starts from scratch. So I have to create an environment where they are comfortable with each other and invested in learning together, where they are never afraid to communicate.” Yun-Joo Park ’14, a Chinese II student confirms, “When we have assignments it’s not just to memorize something. We always have to work together in class so it’s never boring or stressful. It feels easy and fun.” ASIJ’s growing Chinese program is just one example of how Chinese language instruction is expanding throughout the world. In fact, the number of students in North America studying Chinese is estimated to be as high as 50,000 today. This is unsurprising seeing as Chinese is the most widely spoken first language in the world and is used in many areas outside of China itself. China has always had a major international cultural presence — in literature and cuisine, music and film, dance and art, religion and philosophy— drawing on its tremendous heritage as the most enduring civilization in the world. In recent years rapid economic growth and increasing participation in the global market has made China a point of interest for those looking to learn a language that will enhance their career. Additionally, China’s political importance in the Asia-Pacific region is broadly acknowledged and, particularly since 9/11, its help has been sought on difficult issues like North Korea and terrorism. Collaboration with China is increasingly deemed essential for solving a range of global issues, from nuclear proliferation to the environment, from currency exchange to trade laws. Leslie Birkland explains, “Because we live in an international community in Asia, there is ample opportunity for our students to speak Chinese. As the Chinese language gains popularity in the world, many of our multilingual students will be better prepared as global citizens.” ASIJ students are taking these possibilities into consideration when they study Chinese. Jeremy’s reason for choosing Chinese reflects these trends: “It’s a growing language. It’s expanding. More and more people are learning it around the world because it’s so useful.” Alto Ono ’14 says that he chose to learn Chinese so that he can use it both personally for travel, and professionally for business. Out of the 15 students in Chinese II, 13 are continuing students from Joyce’s class last year. Richard Rowland ’13 is one of the continuing students who made the decision based on the progress he made in his first year. “I wanted to continue to build on the foundation I have,” he said, noting that he was able to come so far in the first year that it would be a waste to not make use of his new ability. In fact, several students, such as Mia Tsusaka ’11, want to get a head start by learning Chinese in high school because they have already decided to study it in college. Mia explains, “Then by the time I graduate university I’ll be fluent, and I’m sure I can use it in whatever I do in the future.” All of the students have put a lot of thought into their decision and want to make the most of this opportunity. Two students even participated in an independent program in China over the summer break. With good reason, Joyce strongly believes that ASIJ’s Chinese program will open doors for her students, even if they can only participate for one or two years. “I hope that experiencing the language and the culture will enrich their life. My goal is not just to teach them, but to inspire them to keep learning,” she says. Having seen the way in which many students have been motivated by their experience in her class, she is excited about the plans to expand the program over the coming years. Levels will be added with each year so that students can continue on to more advanced courses. Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Patty Butz also expressed enthusiasm for the growing program, revealing that it is a plan that has been in the works since the ASIJ visioning process in 2004-05 which showed a strong interest among stakeholders in taking advantage of our position in East Asia through a Chinese language program. Now with the program proving so successful, ASIJ plans to offer Advanced Placement (AP) in Chinese language and culture in the near future. The College Board began offering the course for the first time in the fall of 2006 and as of 2008 there were over 3,500 students taking the exam. Patty and Joyce have been working together to put ASIJ on the leading edge of language learning by preparing for the introduction of the AP curriculum. Whether students choose to take the AP exam or not, they are already proving the benefits of learning the Chinese language as they use it in their travels, continued study in university, or as a step in their future careers. Perhaps most of all, what Joyce would have them take with them is the confidence that comes from rising to a challenge and working together collaboratively. These are the keys to communication that she hopes to instill through her class and the reason behind the soaring success of the Chinese program at ASIJ. 26 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 27 ballplayer STUDENTS features features STUDENTS Bessie Noll ‘13 hopes the skills from her Musashi Fuchu stint earn her a spot in a university club, reports Japan Times writer Kris Kosaka is in a league of her own essie Noll won’t celebrate her 16th birthday for another year, but she’s already got a sweet swing on her future. Noll hopes her experience as the starting center fielder for Musashi Fuchu’s little league baseball team in the competitive Tokyo League will give her an edge toward securing a softball scholarship at a Division 1 university in the United States. She believes her experience within the competitive system of maledominated Japanese baseball has given her perseverance, determination and a reflective perspective to bridge cultural divides. Noll came to Japan with her parents when she was 8 years old, a third-grade tomboy with a passion for sports. Enrolled at The American School in Japan, where her parents are both teachers, she immediately joined the elementary-school swim team. T-ball had been her favorite sport back in Minnesota, so as soon as her parents settled from the move and found a little league team nearby, Noll joined. Although she did not realize it at the time, Noll’s entry to the team was unusual to say the least. Only the second girl to go through their system and the first foreigner, Noll recalls the day with a full awareness now of the strange scene they made: “We rode up on our American bikes that we had shipped over, a Burley hooked up to the side of my dad’s bike so my little brother could come along. I was dressed in just a shirt and pants, and all the Japanese kids were so formal in their uniforms.” What she remembers most is the hospitality the team showed that first day: “Some of the older kids were very nice, and there was one girl there, the first one in the system, Megumi. They sent me off to practice base-running from home to first. They all kind of laughed at me, but by the end of the day we were talking, asking questions in basic English, and I felt welcomed.” For the next six years, Noll played for the Fuchu team, a Tokyo powerhouse that regularly qualifies for the Little League World Series. Her highlights include some big at-bats when she was 11 years old against “a team twice our size and twice our age, but I hit two home runs in one game.” A year later, she took a no-hitter into the bottom of the last inning.“I bumbled their bunt and ruined my own no-hitter,” but the memory is still a good one, almost as good as Noll’s lead-off homer against Team Korea in 2008, along with a diving catch in the outfield that earned her the front cover of Japan’s Little League Baseball magazine, Bokura Little League. Throughout Noll’s years with the team, her natural determination hardened into steadfast discipline, thanks to the Japanese way of baseball. “It taught me how to become a person. The whole basis of Little League in Japan is to build strength.”Of course, Noll’s strength in baseball increased, but more importantly, she attests to an increase in mental strength. “Being a girl and a foreigner, it was hard to assimilate completely. Sometimes I felt like an outsider, looking in. It taught me to be OK, and comfortable, with being alone sometimes as a person,” she said. Noll believes the Japanese system, in contrast B to American Little League, encourages effort over fun. “It is definitely the time put into everything. As you get older, practice starts earlier and finishes later,” she said. “By my sixth year, I was there by 7:30 in the morning until 6 at night, every Saturday and Sunday, year round. We only took one weekend off for Japanese New Year’s, and whenever there was a national holiday, you were expected to be at practice.” Noll credits this disciplined, repetitious approach with her own high skill level and ability to work hard. She also admits she finds it hard to relax. “It drives my parents crazy,” she says, laughing, “but I always have to be doing something.” Noll is still working hard to improve her softball skills, her goals predictably high. She plays for a competitive summer league in the U.S., gaining the opportunity to showcase her ability at various tournaments attended by a range of Division 1 university softball scouts. Despite her success, Noll’s experiences in Japanese baseball were not always positive. In addition to the years where she felt like an outsider, there were also many cultural aspects she found difficult to accept. “Some things can’t help but look sexist,” Noll says, citing the example of toban: “Once a month, each mother has to take a turn for the entire day of practice, and what you do, basically, is feed the men and clean the bathrooms.” Noll also found the high level of competition tended to spoil team unity because players looked toward their own improvement first, especially as she got older. “Senior League in the Japanese system is even more intense . . . it’s seen as your recruiting chance into Japanese high schools, and boys were mean to each other, mean to me. As a first-year, you don’t get any playing time on the field at all, so you have to wait a whole year for even a chance to play.” And Noll’s focus has always been to play. Turning her attention to softball during the summers, she keeps up her athleticism by taking advantage now of the three sports seasons at the ASIJ. In fall she runs cross-country, in winter, plays girls basketball, and in spring she takes the field with the ASIJ baseball team. Noll keeps in touch with the friends she made in the Japanese system and clearly relishes many happy memories. She realizes a girl in a competitive American system would have faced similar difficulties. “The biggest problem was I didn’t know how to stand up for myself because I couldn’t speak the language well enough. I could get by, but it is not the same as if someone told me something in English that I didn’t like.” Noll recommends Japanese sports to anyone interested in improvement, but has no real advice to give.“You are going to hate it more than you love it, especially in the winter when you get up on those cold mornings and you don’t want to go. But if you really want to get better, if you want to become strong, you just have to do it.” Reprinted with permission of The Japan Times, Oct. 23, 2010. 28 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 29 features VISITORS the A Author and Scholar-in-Residence Alan Gratz shares his expertise with the Middle School lan Gratz, wildly popular children’s fiction writer whose first novel, Samurai Shortstop, was named one of the American Library Association’s 2007 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, was ASIJ’s Scholarin-Residence for six weeks last spring. Born in Tennessee, Alan started his career as an eighth grade English teacher and in addition to fiction has written for the stage, magazines, TV and radio. Alan got connected with ASIJ when former seventh grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher Chris Rose’s class read Samurai Shortstop last year at the recommendation of MS Librarian Martin Swist and had a Skype visit with Alan as part of the unit. Dan Smith’s seventh grade class read the book as well, which led Dan to propose Alan for the Scholar-in-Residence program, made possible by donations to the Annual Fund. Students in the seventh grade were practicing research papers before Alan came, but with his assistance they were able to delve into historical fiction and see an entirely different way to use their research skills. They could construct different places and time periods through their writing that they had never seen in person, all through careful research. Although Alan’s debut novel was set in Japan, this was his first trip to the country that inspired him. To write Samurai Shortstop, which is set in Meiji-era Tokyo at a well-known school of the day, he relied exclusively on research, reading over 30 books ranging from history to baseball. A big baseball fan himself, writing about a high school youth’s quest to make the school team was no stretch, but immersing himself in Japan was a challenge at first. Eventually he became fascinated by the country and culture. During his time at ASIJ, Alan was able to pursue many cultural explorations when not in school, posting his observations and photos on his official blog. During his six weeks here, Alan worked with just about every middle school student individually at one point. The sixth grade worked on short story writing, the seventh grade on historical fiction, and the eighth grade created one-act plays. Dan Smith believes it is this direct contact with students and the clearly visible impact on their writing and the way that they think about literature that shows the effectiveness of the Scholar-in-Residence Program. Alan’s authentic real life experience and his skillful way of explaining his writing process gave the students genuine tools they could use in their own work, “It was a lesson for the teachers as well, giving them the confidence to incorporate a wider range of topics and teaching methods into the curriculum for the following years based on the projects we did together during Alan Gratz’s stay,” Dan Smith explains. The seventh grade classes will continue to read Samurai Shortstop and to use the lessons from Alan in order to apply their research skills to creative writing. Dan explains that it is difficult to teach historical fiction with the right balance, so that it is a good history lesson but also enjoyable as literature. Alan was able to provide projects that met this balance perfectly. Middle School English teacher Mark Burpee can see the effect of last spring’s program on his new incoming eighth graders as well. They come in with more knowledge and tools from their sessions with Alan. “We are now doing a unit on analyzing and writing short stories and the results are better than I’ve ever seen,” Mark says. Many of the writing and analysis techniques that Mark is teaching his eighth graders this year are not entirely new to them—they have already created a foundation from working with Alan last year and write stuff features VISITORS 30 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 31 features VISITORS now Mark is able to reinforce, build on, and go more in-depth with these concepts. Mark also agrees that Alan wasn’t only instructing the students.“The teachers were able to glean new ideas from him and this influence has affected the way I teach my students this year,” he says. Mark also is confident that his eighth grade students from last year will have gone into high school with an advanced array of tools at their disposal. While working on one-act plays with Alan, eighth graders were able to better analyze, understand and appreciate plays after the experience of writing one of their own. They also received practical advice from Alan, who is a playwright himself, such as the importance of the unity of location to minimize set changes and the use of minimal special effects to make the play easily performable in a variety of settings. Students came out with an understanding of the constraints of playwriting versus fiction or a movie script, but they also learned the importance of action that is driven by characters, not events, which spans all forms of creative writing. More importantly, Mark explains, “Alan emphasized that no matter what you are writing, from fiction to reports, it is always important to be aware of your audience.” That awareness will benefit them whenever they put pen to paper in anything they do. Cloe Gagnon ‘14 confirms this, saying, “I learned a lot about summarizing my ideas, which helps in more areas than just an English class.” She also enjoyed the process, explaining that Alan gave them guidance initially but then let them have freedom to come up with their own storyline. Once they had completed their rough draft he was available to consult with each student personally. “He advised, commented and personally helped us ‘clean up the rough edges’ of our plays,” Cloe adds. Meredith Beed ‘14, also now a high school freshman, felt she had improved as a writer as a result of working with Alan last spring while in eighth grade, both overall and especially in her understanding of writing for theater. “I have never been to a school before where you have actual authors coming and helping you with your writing. I felt it was a great learning experience to work hand in hand with a professional who could help and encourage us to do our best work,” she said, adding that she would like to have the opportunity again. On the last day of Alan’s stay, the MS student body gathered in the Ricketson Theater for a “writing celebration,” a multimedia presentation featuring highlights of his time at ASIJ. Each student had a piece they could be proud of, and the seventh grade was even able to publish their works online. Students cheered and clapped for each other as they shared their writing at the final gathering, a show of support and camaraderie that may have been the most encouraging result of the program overall. 32 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 33 features features VISITORS man Artist-in-Residence Linsey Pollak, the Australian musician and instrument maker, charmed the elementary school with his unusual musical creations. music VISITORS M aking innovative instruments from such diverse materials as a carrot or a rubber glove, Linsey Pollak has traveled all over the world performing and teaching about his methods. This October he joined ASIJ as an Artist-in-Residence in the elementary school thanks to sponsorship by Friends of the Fine Arts (FOFA). The students were delighted to learn how to make and play some of these unique instruments as well as to invent some of their own. “The children have taken home their excitement and have shared their enthusiasm with their friends and relatives. I have had children say they forwarded YouTube clips and Linsey’s website to their grandparents for their enjoyment,” says ES music teacher Karolee Kent . In Jody Fuller’s Grade 4 class, Rogier Fransen came into school the day after Linsey presented and brought a special homemade instrument he had produced based on the principle of the vibrating membrane that Linsey had explained. Twins Rikako and Ryusei Kent also made a carrot clarinet at home by following Linsey’s instructions. Jody adds, “In a recent activity, Grade 2 students wanted to explore several ways of adding instruments, testing out various mallets to change the tone quality, and looking beyond conventional musical instruments to see if other items in the music room could become percussion instruments and still add the integrity we sought in our song accompaniment.” In addition to using unusual materials, Linsey also makes use of digital sound effects and other technology. “Linsey really opened our eyes to new possibilities, and he was kind enough to give us a professional development session on the operation of these machines, which we also found really useful,” Karolee explains. “Jody and I are now pumped to access some of this wonderful technology in our music composition/creation activities with students.” 34 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 35 features ASIJ AUTHORS features ASIJ AUTHORS Pia Tapper Fenton ‘77 launches her debut novel – a romance that follows a journey from East to West 36 the ambassador FALL 2010 et in 1731-32, Trade Winds is the story of handsome Scotsman Killian Kinross, who goes to Sweden in the hope of making his fortune. There he meets strong-willed Jess van Sandt, a merchant’s daughter, who believes that she’s being swindled out of her inheritance by her stepfather. They join forces for mutual benefit and enter into a marriage of convenience, but then Killian is offered the chance of a lifetime with the Swedish East India Company. He sets sail for China, but the journey doesn’t turn out quite as he expected ... My three years at ASIJ were some of the best of my life and while I was in Japan, I fell in love with all things Oriental. When I started trying to write a novel, it therefore seemed obvious that I had to set it at least partly somewhere in the Far East. Since I’m half Swedish, I decided to combine the two, and the idea for my story took shape when I came across a replica of an old sailing ship used by the Swedish East India Company. Although I ended up with my hero going to China, my own experiences of living in Japan helped me with his reactions to such a foreign country. His feelings of delight and wonder at the sights he sees are very similar to how I felt when I first arrived in Tokyo. It was all just so amazingly different to what I was used to and I’m sure that would have been even truer back in the 18th century. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Japan a couple of times recently and I still find everything about this country fascinating. When I attended the ASIJ ‘70s decade reunion in Orlando, FL, earlier this summer, I realised that I’m far from alone in feeling like this. My fellow ASIJ alumni all had a great time in Tokyo too and those years during our teens created an incredibly strong bond that still remains. Even after several decades, it was like we were family. We had a great time, both in our teens and now, and I can’t wait to meet up with them all again soon! I’ve always loved books and prefer reading to almost any other pastime. I spent many happy hours hiding away in the ASIJ library—or in the garden behind it—reading romance novels when I should probably have been studying instead. Likewise, the long train journeys from Mejiro to ASIJ passed much more quickly when I had my nose in a book. And it was in Tokyo I discovered just how many wonderful novels there are written in the English language and so many genres. (Thanks Mr. Boyd for starting up the “Futuristic Lit” class that introduced me to science fiction!) I was never very good at writing essays, however, so it didn’t occur to me that I could be a writer myself. I was brilliant at daydreaming, but who knew you could translate that into a job? Not me. When I had my first daughter, I was due to go back to work after six months, but by that time I’d realized I much preferred staying at home with her. There was so much I didn’t want to miss and I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her with strangers all day. So I thought – why not write a book? Then I could earn money while still being at home with her. I decided to try my hand at a Mills & Boon [standard romance novel]; they seemed simple enough so how hard could it be? Well, a lot harder S setting sail FALL 2010 the ambassador 37 features ASIJ Authors The Ultimate Japanese Phrasebook Kit Pancoast Nagamura Writer, editor, Japan Times columnist and current parent Kit Pancoast Nagamura’s witty and practical guide to Japanese as it is really spoken is already in its fourth printing despite only being on shelves for less than a year. Hollywood Savage Kristin McCloy ‘80 Like her previous works Velocity and Some Girls, Kristin’s third novel has received rave reviews. Written in a journal form, it follows a screenplay writer as he deals with the dark side of Hollywood. Melting Point - Bali Yoshitaka Saji Long-serving staff member Yoshitaka Saji has published a compilation of his amazing photos taken in Bali over the years. Kaba no Chindonyasan David Shapiro Alumni parent David Shapiro, professor at Ryutsu Keizai University, weaves a charming morality tale based on the young hippo Pippo and his dream of becoming a chin-don-ya, a gaudily dressed street performer. Encounters: A Lifetime Spent Crossing Cultural Frontiers Nancy Keeney Forster Born and raised in Asia during the tumultuous years before WWII, Clifton Forster later joined the US Foreign Service. His wife, educator and alumni parent Nancy Keeney Forster combined his records and her own into an account of the encounters and passions of a lifetime devoted to international understanding. than I thought. Trust me, they’re not written to a “formula” at all and getting them just right is an art form I’ve never mastered! Even though my first attempts were quickly rejected, I was bitten by the writing bug and from then on I kept trying. I wrote whenever I could and tried not to take the rejections personally. They just meant I wasn’t good enough – yet. It took me 18 years to finally get published, but it was definitely worth the hard work. The irony is that my daughter is the one leaving home now that I’ve made it, but luckily I was able to stay at home with her in any case, so it didn’t matter. If anyone is thinking of becoming a writer, the best advice I could give is to persevere. Don’t give up, and grow a very thick skin, because rejections are inevitable unless you’re extremely lucky and/or talented. It’s also essential to join writer’s groups or organizations—I belong to the Romantic Novelists’ Association here in the UK for example—attend talks and workshops to learn more about the craft of writing, but above all mix with other authors, published and unpublished. Being a writer can be very lonely and although family and friends try to be supportive, they don’t always understand. Other authors will though and if you can find a “writing buddy” you trust, someone to swap manuscripts with for constructive, honest criticism, that can be invaluable. There were many times when I thought of giving up, but then another story idea would worm its way into my mind and I’d be off again. Also, my writing friends refused to let me stop–I even made a pact with my writing buddy that neither of us could quit unless the other one allowed it. So far, we’re still writing. The great thing about being an author is that there is no age limit–the more you’ve experienced, the more you have to write about–and it’s something you can do any time of day or night. For someone who’s not a morning person like me, that’s perfect. And you can take time off whenever you want, plus you get to do some interesting research. While writing Trade Winds, for example, I went on board a sailing ship called the Götheborg, which is an exact replica of a ship used by the Swedish East India Company to go to China in the 18th century. It was fascinating. As I said, I drew on my own experiences in moving to Japan when I wrote Trade Winds, even though the hero in that story ends up going to China instead. My second novel, however, is set in Japan and for that I was able to use a lot of my memories from my time in Tokyo. It is called The Scarlet Kimono and will be published in March 2011. I can’t give any more details at the moment, but my research for that involved visiting Himeji Castle, Dejima in Nagasaki and, of course, eating lots of sushi and tempura. My family all love Japan as much as I do, so no doubt we’ll be back for another visit soon. Can’t wait! Trade Winds is published by Choc Lit Ltd, ISBN no. 978-1-90693123-0. Pia Tapper Fenton writes under the pseudonym Christina Courtenay: www.christinacourtenay.com 2009-10 fundraising report 38 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 39 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT Gift Clubs The Power of Giving The American School in Japan’s Gift Club program recognizes the outstanding and vital support of its most generous contributors. The objectives of the Gift Clubs are to strengthen the annual giving program and to help build an enthusiastic group of parents, alumni and friends who feel a particularly close association with ASIJ. Special recognition is given to members of these clubs. Please contact the Center for School-Community Partnership for further details. The Second Century Circle ¥5,000,000* or more in gifts within the current year. The 1902 Society ¥1,000,000–¥4,999,999* in gifts within the current year. The Headmaster’s Circle ¥200,000–¥999,999* in gifts within the current year. The Black and Gold League ¥100,000–¥199,999* in gifts within the current year. The Mustangs Club ¥50,000–¥99,999* in gifts within the current school year. The Decade Club Members who have donated consecutively for the current and previous nine school years regardless of the total amount. The Double Decade Club Members who have donated consecutively for the current and previous nineteen school years regardless of the total amount. The Triple Decade Club Members who have donated consecutively for the current and previous twenty-nine school years regardless of the total amount. * or US$ equivalent I n 1963, ASIJ moved from a downtown location in Meguro to its present location in Chofu. The purchase of property and subsequent relocation were the first steps of a forward-thinking governing body that realized the potential that ASIJ had to become a leading school in Tokyo and the need for better facilities. Today, ASIJ enjoys an outstanding, global reputation as a top international PK-12 college preparatory school. To maintain this position, ASIJ’s Board of Directors strives to be innovative and continues to focus on school improvement. Our planning is not just for today’s students, but also for future generations of ASIJ students. After several years of careful study, we are preparing to complete our 1998-2014 master plan for campus and program improvement. To achieve this, we are launching the 4 x 4 Campaign—a four-year fundraising program to generate ¥400 million for the project. ASIJ’s financial stability has allowed fundraising monies to be used for enhancements to our facilities and curricular programs. Through generous support, both campuses have improved dramatically during the last 11 years. The Chofu campus has a new cafeteria, new theater, two all-weather sports fields, field lights and a new elementary school playground. The former NK is now the beautiful Early Learning Center in Roppongi, with a model program that other schools study and look to for best practices. In addition to facilities, funds have been used to reduce our environmental impact by cutting our carbon footprint through a range of green initiatives and our curriculum has been enriched through the Scholar-in-Residence program (see page 30), which was funded entirely by donations. The final phase of the master plan (see pages 12-15) will see major improvements to the front of school, a new athletics facility, the redevelopment of the old multi-purpose room (MPR) and the creation of a Japan Center. The first enhancements to the curricular and co-curricular programs will impact students beginning next fall. Over recent years, the philanthropy of many has had a profound impact on ASIJ students. We are particularly appreciative of the Zwaanstra family, who generously funded the new Berger Choir Room; former Board Chair Thierry Porte who spearheaded the Second Century Campaign and made several significant gifts to the school; the Yonamine family for their leadership contribution to the lower field project; and Roy Ryu’s donation of field lights and invitations to impressive guest speakers. The financial contributions by current and former ASIJ families such as the Eharas, Schwarts, O’Bryants, Kindreds, Daniels, Pike/Forsters, Rothbergs, Siegels, Yamazakis, Thomas/Birds, Gregors, Kents, Mallat/Decks, and Schmidts have been exemplary. We thank them and the other donors listed on the following pages for their generosity. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I invite you to join me in supporting the 4 x 4 Campaign and help us build on the fantastic stewardship shown by our community over the past decade. Your gift will directly impact our students next year, as well as many more in the school’s future. Warmly, Jere Miller, Chair, Fundraising Committee Gift Club Members The Second Century Circle Zwaanstra, Shizuka M. ‘85 & John Piez, Catherine A. ‘82 Royer, Louis J. & Yuko Y. Schmidt, Fredrick K. & Schmidt, Miki ‘82 Seltzer, Theodore S. & Yuen-San Sipe, Eric & Emily Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda M. ‘72 Takemura, Shigeharu & Rino Tanaka, Takumi & Diana Toppino, Jon-Paul & Stephanie A. Tsusaka, Miki & Jun Young, Yuriko J. ‘84 & Brace Zavattero, Jeffrey J. ‘83 & Eri Nishimi, Tetsuya ‘94 Oline, Richard A. & Jean Peel, Jeffrey J. & Nawako Bailey, George & Pieper-Bailey, Susan Plum, John E. & Mimi K. Ras, Andrew A. & Mariko H. Raub, Joshua A. & Shimada, Mihoko Salsberg, Brian S. & Chessler Salsberg, Abbie Sasao, Toshiaki & Masami Shiroishi, Robert H. & Mayuzumi, Sue Singh, Jesse & Linda Sneider, David A. ‘75 & Pollock, Naomi Bird, Jack E. & Thomas, Karen C. Vickrey, Geoffrey & Kimberly Wisoff, Marshall D. & Therese A. Wu, Andrew C. ‘89 & Alice Yamasaki, A. Paul & Afifah R. Yoshii, Sakae & Mimi The 1902 Society Flannery, John L. & Tracy B. Godbout, James T. & Kelly R. Guild, Theodore & Yasuko A. Kent, Eric A. & Yasuko N. Nishida, Tina Y. ‘85 & David A. Forster, Louis J. & Pike, Kathleen M. Siegel, Kenneth & Michiyo Tange, Noritaka & Denise F. Wendel, Christopher & Hilary Yonamine, Paul K. & Lynda S. The Black and Gold League Downs, Vicky Finn, Robert G. & Kimberly A. Fujii, Daniel K. ‘82 & Yuki Gythfeldt, Magnus D. & Keeko O. Hudson, Christopher S. & Nicole Kindred, Jonathan B. & Sachiko McCagg, Peter B. & Yukari G. Miller, Bruce W. & Jere C. Nakayama, Tetsushi ‘84 The Headmaster’s Circle Lorentz, Douglas W. & Sukunya A. Maggart, Bradley J. & Leann L. Matthews, Jim & Amy Mistry, Azam & Halley Morgenstern, Frederick N. ‘83 & Kendra Neilon, Michael D. & Cora A. O’Bryant, Allan E. & Tina The Mustangs Club Abrell, Matthias & Jeanette Bernier, Jeffrey S. & Seiko S. Cohen, Frederick ‘69 & Topper-Cohen, Barbara 40 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 41 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT Cohen, Maury R. ‘76 Cox, William G. ‘62 & Joyce Doyno, David & Judith M. Duffy, Christopher A. & Lee, Min Jin Geis, Charles A. & Bernadette Glovins, Keith R. & Lisa E. Hatakeyama, Yasu & Maki Hofmann, Peter A. ‘77 & Ana B. Honaman, William F. & Eleanor Irvine, Peter Ishigami, Kumiko Kido, Shino ‘02 Kirkwood, Timothy C. & Julie S. Lee, Daniel W. & Park, Young-Sun Leoni, Michael A. & Allison D. Lury, Richard R. ‘65 & Gemma Matsunaga, Len & Naomi Maynard, Donald E. & Beneventi, Judith Moss, Carolyn M. ‘73 & Daniel J. Noddin, Robert L. & Janette I. Norris, Margaret ‘65 & Charles O’Donnell, Chris & Lynne Rosario, Jason & Allison Rossetto, Joy K. Smith, Rosemary B. Takagi, James M. & Tsukasa Turner, Sally A. ‘66 Whitehead, Charles K. ‘79 & Debbie Williams, John S. ‘87 & Heidi Wu, Chung J. & Yamada-Wu, Stella N. Zimmerman, Gary & Chana S. Bergt, David E. ‘60 & Jeannine C. Boatwright, David ‘73 Brooke, George M. ‘63 & Jane Bruns, David R. ‘68 & Shirley J. Burkart, Edward I. ‘48 & Pauline A. Carlin, Christopher D. & Donna K. Carlson, Ernest D. ‘39 & Joyce Colville, Glenn L. ‘68 & Dianne Conrad, Nancy A. ‘77 Crandall, Leslie G. & Aiko K. Davis, Jenny L. ‘72 DeLong, Paul H. ‘51 & Lynne Dennis, Thurman H. Durloo, Ruth S. ‘34 Farkas, Jennifer J. ‘65 & Arthur J. Fattal, Leon ‘57 & Suzanne Fielding, Raymond E. ‘48 & Carole Fisher, Carl M. ‘51 & Miriam Ford, Gregory R. ‘72 & Maita, Toni Fox, Eugene A. ‘50 & Chantal Franklin, Richard G. ‘50 & Gloria W. Frugoli, Susan F. ‘51 Haines, Andrew L. ‘60 & Elizabeth Hand, Richard A. & Yumi Hanson, Mirja P. ‘74 & Samuel Harkness, Donald R. ‘50 & Mary H. N. Harnik, Peter L. ‘69 & Yoko M. Harper, Flora ‘38 & Robert A. Hayao, Kenji ‘76 & Victoria W. Higa, Ernest M. ‘70 & Aya Honaman, William F. & Eleanor Horwitz, Elizabeth M. ‘76 & Barry Hsia, John S. ‘57 & Lynn W. Huskins, Shirley E. Jacobson, Kimberley A. ‘77 & Hutchison, Dennis James, Larry G. & Sharon Jones, Linda E. ‘69 Karcher, Carolyn ‘62 & Martin Kemmerer, Ruthli Kerr, Virginia M. ‘67 Kidder, David D. ‘70 & Jane D. Kidder, Paul M. ‘76 & Terry P. Kindred, Jonathan B. & Sachiko Kobayashi, Albert S. ‘42 & Elizabeth Kreyling, Peter A. ‘67 & Catherine S. Kurahashi, Nancy ‘65 Kuwana, Yumi ‘82 & Eiichiro LaDow, Kristen ‘77 & Richard J. Lank, Dannette L. ‘69 & Avi LaPorte, Charles R. & Sarah A. Lenz, Pamela L. ‘50 & Ben Leybold, Sandra L. ‘73 & Dennis Livingston, Jerry K. ‘81 & Bonnie Ludlow, Thomas W. ‘70 & Jane F. Lund, Andrew E. ‘81 & Denise Lury, Richard R. ‘65 & Gemma Magnuson, Jody ‘73 & Clark E. Martenstein, Thomas B. ‘50 & Carolyn T. McCoy, William L. ‘59 & Lynne V. McVeigh, Thomas R. ‘70 & Rebecca B. Meyer, Mary A. ‘65 Michalski, John J. & Nancy E. Mirah, Alan R. ‘76 & Therese Morgenstern, Frederick N. ‘83 & Kendra Moss, Carolyn M. ‘73 & Daniel J. Muhl, Richard R. Nicol, Joanna ‘52 Nicoll, Hilda K. ‘45 & Donald E. Peacock, Jeffrey D. ‘60 & Cynthia Pierce, Lucia B. ‘68 Pietraszek, Henry T. & Margaret Relnick, Philip R. & Nobuko Roeser, Patricia N. ‘72 Rossier, Beth ‘74 & Alan Sa, Sophie ‘61 Schmalz, Sally Burks ‘83 Skillman, Alan M. ‘70 & Reiko Smith, Rosemary B. Smith, Tara L. ‘78 & McSwiggen, Patrick Squier, Middleton P. & Carol L. Straus, Ulrich A. ‘44 & Sarah Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda M. ‘72 Tanaka, Richard E. ‘67 & Catherine Thede, Ann L. Turner, Barbara B. ‘40 Walsh, Robert R. ‘81 Yamada, Leslie L. ‘64 & Tadataka Yamasaki, A. Paul & Afifah R. Yusha, Alexander ‘42 Zimmerman, Suzanne ‘59 Bailey, Mark E. ‘78 & Denise Barrett, James H. & Sue C. Barry, James J. & Martha G. Maynard, Donald E. & Beneventi, Judith Berkove, Ethan J. ‘86 & Kyra Blizzard, Jan M. ‘71 & D. Craig Blum, Andrew W. ‘58 Borheck, Steven J. ‘76 & Antonina Bragg, G. Mark ‘75 & Debra Bruzek, Patricia A. Carlin, Amy E. ‘92 Case, Caleb B. ‘45 Caudron, Cordell R. ‘60 Clark, Barbara ‘78 Clark, Matthew R. ‘93 Clevenger, Thomas R. & Doris J. Cobb, Elizabeth S. ‘88 & Steven Coopat, E. Thomas & Cheryle P. Cooper, Peter R. & Pamela Cox, William G. ‘62 & Joyce Downs, Constance ‘81 Duke, Christopher K. ‘88 Duke, Susan N. ‘83 Ehrenkranz, Andra K. ‘83 & John Farrell, William R. & Marabeth Y. Francischetti, Mark P. ‘72 Fujii, Daniel K. ‘82 & Yuki Fujii, David K. ‘83 & Makiko Fujishima, Julie K. ‘84 & Takuya Fukuma, Lalaka ‘93 Fuller, Jody R. Gibson, Margaret G. ‘40 & Wallace Gilbert, Miriam C. ‘77 & Randall C. Gilman, Irene P. Gish, George W. & Yoko F. Gogerty, Daniel J. & Lana J. Greenberg, Myron L. ‘55 & Helga C. Grimes, William W. ‘83 & Melinda S. Haines, David W. ‘64 & Karen R. Harada, Mary ‘81 & Greg Harris, Bonita G. ‘61 & Gene Harte, Norman F. & Esther L. Hastings, James E. ‘53 & Constance Hermann, Kenneth W. & Beatrice A. Huo, Eugene J. ‘96 Huo, Jeffrey S. ‘94 Jones-Morton, Pamela Kamano, Hiroyuki & Harumi Kang, Edwin E. & Mae S. Kirby, Kyoko O. ‘80 & Peter S. Kohl, Kari O. ‘87 & David Kuroda, Mitzi ‘77 & Elledge, Stephen J. Larson, Nathanael C. ‘80 & Elizabeth A. Lee, Ronald E. & Toshiko A. Leonard, Elizabeth ‘75 Majid, Nasir & Chie Matsumoto, Tadashi C. & Mildred C. Mayer, Jean E. ‘38 McCoy, Julia L. McKee, Craig L. ‘60 & Kathy Meller, Louise S. ‘63 & Lukowski, Jay D. Mera, Yuhka ‘81 Miller, Robert X. & Lorraine Miller, Scott M. & Mary E. Moore, Craig K. ‘71 Muscari, Joseph C. & Donna M. Nagata, Paul ‘74 & Susan Neff Heath, Susan C. ‘69 Nishida, Tina Y. ‘85 & David A. Nishimi, Tetsuya ‘94 Norris, Margaret ‘65 & Charles Notehelfer, Fred G. ‘57 & Margaret Ogawa, Hiromitsu & Betty J. Okada, Elizabeth Okada, Mutsuko Oline, Richard A. & Jean Ondry, Pamela L. ‘77 & Mark A. Onishi, Randall & Susan Parr, Frederick L. ‘80 & Blair E. Phillips, James M. Phillips, Marjorie R. ‘77 & Carrig, Steve Plum, John E. & Mimi K. Potter, Meredith W. ‘52 Reckord, Josh G. & Nancy Reynolds, A-Lan ‘74 & John Rich, Miriam S. ‘76 Riecks, Robert E. ‘39 Rubinfien, Elisabeth S. ‘73 & Sneider, Daniel C. Sanders, Michael ‘87 Sapala, Elizabeth M. ‘61 Schlichting, Richard D. & Cynthia M. Schriever, Sandra M. ‘72 Shimizu, Louise L. ‘64 Shorrock, Hallam & Yasuko Snell, Richard T. & Francine J. S. Soga, Michitaka ‘81 Stauffer, Daniel B. ‘41 Stokes, Paul A. & Rose Struebing, Joel ‘78 Swann, Barbara ‘57 Tanimoto, Hiroshi & Michiyo Bird, Jack E. & Thomas, Karen C. Thompson, Heather M. ‘57 & Donald B. Toyama, Kentaro ‘87 Tunis, Jeffrey S. Turner, Sally A. ‘66 Umezaki, Margit Wakat, Barbara M. ‘88 Welti, Donald R. & Patricia R. Whitehead, Charles K. ‘79 & Debbie Wiederwohl, Mailyn G. ‘65 Wierman, Albert & Ineke Williams, Renee L. Witt, Eugene W. & Janet M. Yanagishita, Toshio Yang, James H. ‘62 Yao, Alejo & Lusan Yoshii, Sakae & Mimi Young, Yuriko J. ‘84 & Brace Zavattero, Jeffrey J. ‘83 & Eri Zwaanstra, Shizuka M. ‘85 & John Honor Roll of Donors Parents & Alumni Parents *Abrell, Matthias & Jeanette *Acito, Paul L. & Clouthier, Margaret M. *Adams, Jim D. & Nancy *Andersen, Robert P. *Avery, John W. & Carolyn C. Bailey, George & Pieper-Bailey, Susan *Barrett, James H. & Sue C. *Barry, James J. & Martha G. *Benack, Bill & Keri *Beneventi, Judith & Maynard, Donald E. Bernier, Jeffrey S. & Seiko S. Bird, Jack E. & Thomas, Karen C. *Blizzard, Jan M. ‘71 & D. Craig Bowers, Thomas A. & Kasahara, Michie The Triple Decade Club Cohen, Frederick ‘69 & Topper-Cohen, Barbara Downs, Vicky Glazier, Kenneth C. ‘67 Nielsen, Jeannette A. ‘59 Pariser, Rudolph ‘41 & Louise Shimizu, George ‘39 Teaze, Robert S. ‘43 Yamada, Roy H. ‘58 & Sandra A. The Double Decade Club Adams, Jim D. & Nancy Anderson, Russell D. ‘76 & Lori Armstrong, Peter H. ‘52 Barber, Martha M. ‘45 The Decade Club Amos, William H. ‘38 & Catherine 42 the ambassador FALL 2010 * Alumni Parents Repeat donors listed in bold FALL 2010 the ambassador 43 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT Brown, Arlo A. & Yuko S. *Butterfield, Peter T. & Joanne S. *Callanan, Regina & John J. Callon, Scott ‘83 & Janel A. Cannon, Alan & Kitakado, Fuyumi Capizzi, Peter & Gina *Carlin, Christopher D. & Donna K. *Carr, Timothy S. & Barbara *Chitani, Yinsei Chang ‘68 *Clevenger, Thomas R. & Doris J. *Coopat, E. Thomas & Cheryle P. *Cooper, Peter R. & Pamela *Crawford, David & Mary L. Culbert, Geoffrey & Ward, Emma *Dornoff, Jeffrey M. & Deanne M. *Downs, Vicky Doyno, David & Judith M. Duffy, Christopher A. & Lee, Min Jin Edmunds, Eric F. & Misa *Eisenhart, Scott F. & Michelle M. Elkareh, Oliver & Linda *Farkas, Jennifer J. ‘65 & Arthur J. *Farrell, William R. & Marabeth Y. *Finn, Robert G. & Kimberly A. *Flannery, John L. & Tracy B. Folsom, Richard L. & Yukiko *Forster, Louis J. & Pike, Kathleen M. Fujii, Daniel K. ‘82 & Yuki Fujii, David K. ‘83 & Makiko *Fujishima, Julie K. ‘84 & Takuya *Furth, Ronald J. & Sandra S. Geis, Charles A. & Bernadette *Gish, George W. & Yoko F. Glantz, Roy M. & Rie Glovins, Keith R. & Lisa E. Godbout, James T. & Kelly R. *Gogerty, Daniel J. & Lana J. *Greenberg, Myron L. ‘55 & Helga C. Gregor, Eugene C. & Barbara T. Griffin, Michael L. & Montana L. Guild, Theodore & Yasuko A. *Guyett, Greg & Stephanie Gythfeldt, Magnus D. & Keeko O. Hall, Larik M. & Katherine A. *Hamilton, Stephen & Janie Harris, John D. & Diane *Harte, Norman F. & Esther L. Hatakeyama, Yasu & Maki *Hermann, Kenneth W. & Beatrice A. *Hester, James M. & Janet R. Higa, Ernest M. ‘70 & Aya Hikida, Ross & Lee, Hoshin Hoffmann, David & Heather *Holcomb, Stan A. & Elizabeth S. Hong, Gregory & Diane Howe, Christian J. & Francesca P. Hudson, Christopher S. & Nicole Hunsaker, Mark D. & Jane *Huskins, Shirley E. Hyman, Gary & Weiss, Efrot Irvine, Peter *Ison, Stuart D. & Deborah L. Iverson, Chad M. & Rumi K. *James, Larry G. & Sharon *Johnson, Jay A. & Adrianne B. *Kang, Edwin E. & Mae S. Keese, Jack S. & Pamela L. Kent, Eric A. & Yasuko N. *Kindred, Jonathan B. & Sachiko *Kirby, Kyoko O. ‘80 & Peter S. Kirkwood, Jonathan S. & Christina W. Kirkwood, Timothy C. & Julie S. Koll, Jesper J. W. & Matsui, Kathy M. LaMacchia, Thomas & Wein, Jacqueline *LaPorte, Charles R. & Sarah A. *Larson, Nathanael C. ‘80 & Elizabeth A. LaScala, Russell J. & Sheryl A. Lee, Daniel W. & Park, Young-Sun *Lee, Ronald E. & Toshiko A. Leoni, Michael A. & Allison D. Lin, Victor H. & Susan S. Lorentz, Douglas W. & Sukunya A. Lostaglio, Keith & L’Esperance, Kathleen Maggart, Bradley J. & Leann L. Majid, Nasir & Chie Matsunaga, Len & Naomi Matthews, Jim & Amy Mayer, Ray & Robin *McCagg, Peter B. & Yukari G. *McCoy, Julia L. *Michalski, John J. & Nancy E. Mies, Michael J. & Eiko I. Miller, Bruce W. & Jere C. *Miller, Robert X. & Lorraine *Miller, Scott M. & Mary E. Mistry, Azam & Halley *Miyake, Yoshihito & Yuko Morgenstern, Frederick N. ‘83 & Kendra *Mulkern, Louis & Dorothy *Muscari, Joseph C. & Donna M. Neilon, Michael D. & Cora A. Nishida, Tina Y. ‘85 & David A. Noddin, Robert L. & Janette I. O’Bryant, Allan E. & Tina *O’Donnell, Chris & Lynne *Ogawa, Hiromitsu & Betty J. Oghigian, Haig B. & Kathryn A. *Okada, Mutsuko Okuno, Marcus & Kazuko *Oline, Richard A. & Jean *Onishi, Randall & Susan Onuma, Satoshi M. & Lisa M. Owens, Daniel E. & Ayako T. Parr, Frederick L. ‘80 & Blair E. *Parrott, George & Ruth Peel, Jeffrey J. & Nawako *Phillips, James M. *Pietraszek, Henry T. & Margaret *Plum, John E. & Mimi K. *Porte, Thierry G. & Tashiro-Porte, Yasko *Proctor, David M. Radmilovich, Todor M. & Abigail L. Ras, Andrew A. & Mariko H. *Reckord, Josh G. & Nancy *Relnick, Philip R. & Nobuko Rezneck, Jonathan N. & Lottie C. Rosario, Jason & Allison *Rosen, Janet B. Royer, Louis J. & Yuko Y. Salsberg, Brian S. & Chessler Salsberg, Abbie Sano, Hiroyuki & Eiko Sasao, Toshiaki & Masami *Schlichting, Richard D. & Cynthia M. Schmidt, Fredrick K. & Schmidt, Miki ‘82 *Seevers, John K. & Karen Seltzer, Theodore S. & Yuen-San Shenk, Scott M. & Megumi Shiroishi, Robert H. & Mayuzumi, Sue *Shorrock, Hallam & Yasuko Siegel, Kenneth & Michiyo Singh, Jesse & Linda Sipe, Eric & Emily *Smith, Rosemary B. Sneider, David A. ‘75 & Pollock, Naomi *Snell, Richard T. & Francine J. S. *Squier, Middleton P. & Carol L. *Stokes, Paul A. & Rose Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda M. ‘72 *Takada, Yuko Takagi, James M. & Tsukasa Takemura, Shigeharu & Rino Tanaka, Takumi & Diana Tange, Noritaka & Denise F. Toppino, Jon-Paul & Stephanie A. Toyosaki, Masahito & Motoko Tsusaka, Miki & Jun *Tunis, Jeffrey S. *Umezaki, Margit Vickrey, Geoffrey & Kimberly *Wakamatsu, Ernest T. ‘75 & Yuko *Wales, George H. & Judith Wendel, Christopher & Hilary *Wierman, Albert & Ineke Wisoff, Marshall D. & Therese A. *Witt, Eugene W. & Janet M. Wu, Andrew C. ‘89 & Alice Wu, Chung J. & Yamada-Wu, Stella N. *Yamada, Roy H. ‘58 & Sandra A. *Yamasaki, A. Paul & Afifah R. *Yano, Judy C. & John S. *Yao, Alejo & Lusan Yasutomi, Wayne K. & Nakamura, Keiko Yonamine, Paul K. & Lynda S. Yoshii, Sakae & Mimi Zavattero, Jeffrey J. ‘83 & Eri *Zimmerman, Gary & Chana S. Zwaanstra, Shizuka M. ‘85 & John o Clark, Franklin T. & Susan C. o Cooper, Peter R. & Pamela o Crandall, Leslie G. & Aiko K. o Dennis, Thurman H. o Downs, Vicky o Duke, Christopher K. ‘88 Fuller, Jody R. o Furth, Ronald J. & Sandra S. o Gilman, Irene P. o Gogerty, Daniel J. & Lana J. o Hand, Richard A. & Yumi Hatakeyama, Makiko o Hickok, Leon & Roberta o Ishigami, Kumiko o Jones-Morton, Pamela o Kemmerer, Ruthli o Koshewa, Allen P. Maggart, Bradley J. & Leann L. o Meadows, Viola o Muhl, Richard R. o Okada, Elizabeth Raub, Joshua A. & Shimada, Mihoko o Reckord, Josh G. & Nancy Rosario, Jason Rossetto, Joy K. Seevers, John K. & Karen o Snell, Richard T. & Francine J. S. o Squier, Middleton P. & Carol L. Sugiya, Minako o Tokuhiro, Yumiko o Umezaki, Margit o Viglielmo, Frances o Welti, Donald R. Wilce, Matt D. o Williams, Renee L. Witt, Eugene W. & Janet M. Wooles, Angela o Yanagishita, Toshio o Yano, Judy C. ASIJ Alumni Donors Class of 1934 Durloo, Ruth S. (Stirewalt) Class of 1938 Amos, William H. Harper, Flora (Wikawa) Mayer, Jean E. Class of 1939 Carlson, Ernest D. Riecks, Robert E. Shimizu, George Class of 1940 Gibson, Margaret G. (Noss) Turner, Barbara B. (Young) Class of 1941 Pariser, Rudolph Stauffer, Daniel B. Class of 1942 Kobayashi, Albert S. Yusha, Alexander Class of 1943 Teaze, Robert S. Class of 1944 Straus, Ulrich A. Class of 1945 Barber, Martha M. (Kipp) Case, Caleb B. Nicoll, Hilda K. (Farnum) Class of 1948 Burkart, Edward I. Fielding, Raymond E. Ryan, James H. Class of 1950 Fox, Eugene A. Franklin, Richard G. Harkness, Donald R. Lenz, Pamela L. (Alexander) Martenstein, Thomas B. Current/Former Faculty & Staff o Andersen, Robert P. Anonymous Faculty Beneventi, Judith & Maynard, Donald E. o Booth, Andrea o Bruzek, Patricia A. Burpee, Mark D. & Nakamura, Machi o Callanan, Regina o Carr, Timothy S. & Barbara Chitani, Yinsei Chang ‘68 Friends Foley, Brian & Kristen Kamano, Hiroyuki & Harumi Suzuki, Erimitsu & Kawasaki-Suzuki, Tamami Weese, Laura Class of 1951 DeLong, Paul H. Fisher, Carl M. Frugoli, Susan F. (Tucker) 44 the ambassador FALL 2010 * Alumni Parents o Former faculty/Staff Repeat donors listed in bold FALL 2010 the ambassador 45 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT Class of 1952 Nicol, Joanna (Strother) Potter, Meredith W. (Woods) Reid, Russell P. Story, Morris E. Class of 1964 Haines, David W. Shimizu, Louise L. (Picon) Yamada, Leslie L. (Davis) Schriever, Sandra M. Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda M. (Suzukawa) Class of 1979 Whitehead, Charles K. Williams, John S. Class of 2005 Woods, Steven T. Earl, The Estee Lauder K.K. FAB Academy Foreign Buyers’ Club, The Four Seasons Hotel Marunouchi Frijoles Fukushima Garo Global Dining Company Gold Salon Tokyo Grand Hyatt Tokyo H&R Consultants K.K. Higa Industries Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd. Hyatt Regency Kyoto Ito-En Co. Ltd. Jeffrey Boyle Jewels ‘n Style J’s Kitchen Junkadelic Kamisou Foundation kate spade new york Katell KidZania Japan K.K. Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotels Krispy Kreme Doughnut Japan Co., Ltd. Le Cordon Bleu Lego Japan Ltd. Let’s Party Tokyo Mais Co., Ltd. Make a Friend Co., Ltd. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Mays Food International McDonald’s Co. (Japan), Ltd. Mockingbird Trading Co. Mori Building Co., Ltd. Mori Building City Air Services My Gym MyToyota.jp NASPA New Otani Resort National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia Nike Japan Corporation NoniNet Japan Nu Skin Japan Company, Ltd. Oberoi Mumbai, The Okinawa Marriott Resort & Spa OPI Japan K.K. Pacific Islands Club Guam Pacific Islands Club Saipan Panorama Hospitality Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyo Park Hyatt Tokyo Peninsula Hotel Tokyo, The Priya Indian Restaurant Restaurant L’osier Riedel Japan Co., Ltd. Ritz Carlton Osaka, The Roppongi Hills Club Royal Copenhagen Sakura Japanese Program Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Shinko Studio Sin Den Sogetsu Foundation Sony Marketing (Japan) Inc. Specifix8 Sports TMC Ltd. SRMG and To the Moon and Back Stark-Condé Wines Sumitomo 3M Ltd. Starbucks Swarovski Japan Ltd. SwimFriends T.Y. Express K.K. Tai Kou Rou Chinese Restaurant Taj, The TASAKI & Co., Ltd. Tokyo American Club Tokyo Fitness Toriizaka Art Toys “R” Us Japan, Ltd. Two Rooms Grill & Bar United Airlines, Inc. United Dental Office Wagumi-D Wally Yonamine Co., Inc. Walt Disney Attractions Japan, Ltd. WDI Corporation Wishbone Cooking & Catering Yoga Tree Yokohama Country and Athletic Club Y’s Table Corporation FALL 2010 the ambassador 47 Class of 1988 Cobb, Elizabeth S. (Horn) Duke, Christopher K. Wakat, Barbara M. Class of 1973 Boatwright, David Kleinjans, Constance Leybold, Sandra L. (Colville) Magnuson, Jody (Kroehler) Moss, Carolyn M. Rubinfien, Elisabeth S. Tsuchihashi, Noriko Class of 1980 Kirby, Kyoko O. (Ono) Larson, Nathanael C. Parr, Frederick L. Class of 2006 Yoshii, Takashi M. Class of 1965 Farkas, Jennifer J. (Burkard) Kurahashi, Nancy (Nagase) Lury, Richard R. Meyer, Mary A. Rubenfeld, Linda S. (Steele) Wiederwohl, Mailyn G. (Snyder) Class of 1953 Hastings, James E. Class of 1989 Hurd, Samantha (Fritz) Wu, Andrew C. Class of 2007 Onozuka, Juliana Class of 1981 Downs, Constance Harada, Mary (Che) Livingston, Jerry K. Lund, Andrew E. Mensendiek, Martha Mera, Yuhka Soga, Michitaka Walsh, Robert R. Class of 1954 Hawkins, Nancy E. (Fish) Mamlin, Sarah E. (Dozier) Class of 2009 Yoshii, Emi M. Class of 1990 Hagg, Nicole B. (Harris) Class of 1955 Greenberg, Myron L. Class of 1966 Turner, Sally A. (Noll) Class of 1974 Ahn, Mi C. (Ryu) Hanson, Mirja P. (Karikoski) Nagata, Paul Reynolds, A-Lan (Von Hornlein) Rossier, Beth (Pedersen) Class of 1991 Kaser, Patrick S. Corporate Donors A Cut Above Agos Japan Inc. AIG Co. Japan Alco Japan Akariya Kanaru-sha Allied Pickfords Japan Amway Japan Limited ANA InterContinental Tokyo Andrea Bernard Beauty Salon Art Land Hotel Tateshina Asia Jet Asian Tigers Premier Audi Japan Sales K.K. Bacardi Japan Ltd. Baccarat Pacific K.K. Beaute Absolue Bluesilver Botejyu Tokyo Food Corp. Burton Canyons Carpet Doctor Cartier Richemont Japan, Ltd. Cave de Re Lax Chez Vous Co., Ltd. China Airlines, Ltd. Cirque Du Soleil Coca-Cola (Japan) Company Conrad Tokyo Cornes & Co. Ltd. Corning Holding Japan GK Daniel Kelly Studio Dave’s Party Entertainment Dean & Deluca Delta Air Lines Devi Fusion Diya Indian Restaurant Class of 1956 Matsumoto, Tadashi C. Class of 1967 Glazier, Kenneth C. Kerr, Virginia M. Kreyling, Peter A. Tanaka, Richard E. Class of 1992 Carlin, Amy E. Harvey, Christopher J. Karim, Arshad Class of 1957 Fattal, Leon Hsia, John S. Notehelfer, Fred G. Swann, Barbara (Bowles) Thompson, Heather M. Class of 1982 Fujii, Daniel K. Kuwana, Yumi (Mera) Piez, Catherine A. Class of 1975 Bragg, G. Mark Leonard, Elizabeth Sneider, David A. Sult, Nathan Wakamatsu, Ernest T. Class of 1993 Clark, Matthew R. Fukuma, Lalaka (Ogawa) Class of 1968 Bruns, David R. Chitani, Yinsei (Chang) Colville, Glenn L. Pierce, Lucia B. Class of 1983 Callon, Scott Duke, Susan N. Ehrenkranz, Andra K. (Bowman) Fujii, David K. Grimes, William W. Morgenstern, Frederick N. Schmalz, Sally (Burks) Zavattero, Jeffrey J. Class of 1958 Blum, Andrew W. Yamada, Roy H. Class of 1994 Greig, Katherine H. Huo, Jeffrey S. Nishimi, Tetsuya Riceberg, Jessica L. Class of 1959 McCoy, William L. Zimmerman, Suzanne (Long) Class of 1969 Cohen, Frederick Harnik, Peter L. Jones, Linda E. (Jones) Lank, Dannette L. (Hill) Neff Heath, Susan C. (Neff) Class of 1976 Anderson, Russell D. Borheck, Steven J. Cohen, Maury R. Horwitz, Elizabeth M. Kidder, Paul M. Mirah, Alan R. Rich, Miriam S. (Rich) Class of 1996 Huo, Eugene J. Class of 1960 Bergt, David E. Caudron, Cordell R. Haines, Andrew L. McKee, Craig L. Peacock, Jeffrey D. Class of 1984 Fujishima, Julie K. Nakayama, Tetsushi Young, Yuriko J. (Takahashi) Class of 1997 Ewart, Emilie F. (Fisher) Pontius, Pamela R. D. Class of 1970 Higa, Ernest M. Kidder, David D. Ludlow, Thomas W. McVeigh, Thomas R. Skillman, Alan M. Tsai, Linda L. L. (Yen) Class of 1977 Conrad, Nancy A. Gilbert, Miriam C. (Clark) Hofmann, Peter A. Jacobson, Kimberley A. Kuroda, Mitzi LaDow, Kristen (Jordan) Ondry, Pamela L. (Eldredge) Phillips, Marjorie R. Class of 1999 Pontius, Elizabeth P. D. Watt, Julie D. Class of 1985 Glastal, Catherine E. (Swanz) Sheehan, David W. Zwaanstra, Shizuka M. (Asakawa) Class of 1961 Harris, Bonita G. (Bongard) Sa, Sophie Sapala, Elizabeth M. (Danker) Class of 2000 Choo, Yoon Suk Class of 1971 Kobata, Kathy K. Moore, Craig K. Sanoden, James P. Class of 1986 Berkove, Ethan J. Herault, Gretchen S. (Swanz) Class of 2001 Thomas, Sarah Woods, Matthew M. Class of 1962 Cox, William G. Karcher, Carolyn (Lury) Yang, James H. Class of 1978 Bailey, Mark E. Clark, Barbara (Clark) Smith, Tara L. Struebing, Joel Class of 1987 Destival, Charles A. Kohl, Kari O. (Odquist) Sanders, Michael Sharp, Robert L. Toyama, Kentaro Class of 2002 Kido, Shino Uchida, Aki Class of 1972 Davis, Jenny L. (Skillman) Ford, Gregory R. Francischetti, Mark P. Roeser, Patricia N. (Moss) Class of 1963 Brooke, George M. Martino, William L. Meller, Louise S. Class of 2004 Taffel, Max W. 46 the ambassador FALL 2010 Repeat donors listed in bold 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT Matching your Gift A growing number of companies will match gifts to international schools that have US foundations. Matching gift programs allow donors to double or sometimes triple their gifts to ASIJ. The companies and their foundations listed here have matched individuals’ gifts to ASIJ’s US foundation, Friends of The American School in Japan. If your firm does not appear, please help ASIJ increase the list and gain further support by checking with your personnel officer about matching gifts. Matching gifts are credited toward qualification for ASIJ’s Gift Clubs. Organization Name Abbott Laboratories Fund, The Adobe Systems Incorporated Allied-Signal Foundation American International Group Inc. Amherst International, Inc. Amoco Foundation, Inc. Associated Dry Goods Corporation Atlantic Richfield Foundation Avon Products Foundation, Inc. Bank of America Foundation Bank of California N.A., Tokyo Branch, The Bankers Trust Foundation Baxter Allegiance Foundation Bell & Howell Foundation BOC Group, Inc., The Boeing Company, The BP America Inc. Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP Charitable Foundation Cabot Corporation Foundation, Inc. Cardinal Health Charles Schwab Corporation Foundation Chubb Corporation, The CIGNA Foundation Cisco Foundation Colgate-Palmolive Company ConocoPhillips Company CoreStates Financial Corp. CPI Corp. Dana Corporation Foundation Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation Digital Equipment Corporation Electronic Arts Inc. Ethyl Corporation ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha Fidelity Foundation The Field Corporation Fund First Hawaiian Bank GAP Foundation, The GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Goldman Sachs Educational Matching Gift Program GTE Foundation Hewitt Associates LLC Home Depot, The Houghton Mifflin Company Hughes Aircraft Company IMC Fertilizer, Inc. International Schools Services ITT Corporation The J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation JK Group, Inc. Johnson & Higgins of Japan Inc. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. Jostens Foundation, Inc., The Kemper National Insurance Companies Legg Mason Lehman Brothers Lucent Technologies Foundation Manhattan Life Insurance Company, The Manufacturers Hanover Foundation May Stores Foundation, Inc., The McGraw-Hill Foundation, Inc., The MediaOne Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc. Microsoft Corporation Mitsui USA Foundation, The Mobil Foundation, Inc. Morgan Stanley Matching Gifts Program Motorola Foundation Nike, Inc. North Star Reinsurance Corporation Northrop Grumman Int’l Inc. Norton Company Foundation Owens-Illinois (Asia) Ltd. PepsiCo Foundation Inc. Pfizer Japan Inc. Prudential Foundation, The Raytheon Engineers & Constructors RJR Nabisco Foundation Rohm and Haas Company Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation Sanofi Winthrop, Inc. Security Pacific Foundation Signet Banking Corporation Sony Corp. Sony Corporation of America Foundation, Inc. SPS Foundation Sun Microsystems Foundation, Inc., The Sundstrand Corporation Foundation Tandy Corp./Radio Shack Thomas J. Lipton Foundation, Inc. The Torrington Co. Towers Perrin Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. UBS Verizon Foundation Young & Rubicam Foundation, The Planned Giving L ike many nonprofit institutions, ASIJ is fortunate to have a vibrant community that supports its mission with annual gifts. In addition to annual donations, from time to time ASIJ also benefits from bequests and estate gifts. Planned gifts such as these are a vital and much appreciated component of the school’s fundraising. Planned giving is a long-term option that enables individuals to make larger charitable donations that consider the personal and family needs of the donor. Planned gifts are usually made with assets rather than current income and are a tax-effective means of giving to the school. They can range from simple bequests of funds, gifts of stock or property to making ASIJ the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. The Gate Society ASIJ’s Gate Society honors individuals who have included ASIJ in their estate plans or have made another form of planned gift to the school. Please let us know if you have already included ASIJ in your estate plans (donors may also be added to The Gate Society posthumously). Ms. Irene M. Anderson ‘74 Mr. David Bergt ’60 Mr. Frederick Cohen Mr. Peter Cooper* Mr. & Mrs. Ray Downs* ‘50 Dr. Frederick P. Harris*# Mr. Robert D. Haven Ms. Ann Hesselink ‘71 Ms. Abigail Hoffsommer ‘27# Mr. W. Alfred Hoffsommer ‘29# Dr. James R Huddle ‘70 Dr. Pamela Jones-Morton* Ms. Julia Ludlow-Ortner ‘72 Ms. Rhoda (Knudten) Miklos ‘40# Mr. Richard R. Muhl* Mr. David B. Nicodemus ‘33# Ms. Elli-Hideko Shibata ‘66 Mr. Ronald J. Snyder* Mr. John J. Sullivan*# Mr. and Mrs. Carl Sundberg ‘77 Mrs. Chizu Shindo Suzuki ‘64 Mr. & Mrs. Brent Ware ‘74 * = Former Faculty # = Posthumously If you are interested in joining The Gate Society and have included ASIJ in your estate plans, please let us know. For more details, please email <
[email protected]> or contact the Alumni Office. 48 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 49 2009-10 FUNDRAISING REPORT Board of Trustees 2010-11 Jeffrey Bernier Saniya Bloomer Janel Callon Alan Cannon Christopher Chang ‘11 Abbie Chessler Salsberg Andrew Conrad Judy Doyno Paul Duerloo Richard Folsom Robert France Dave Fujii ‘83 Aaron Gagnon Yoko Gish Eugene Gregor Theodore Guild Ernest Higa ‘70 Christian Howe Jane Hunsaker Mark Hunsaker D. Greg Jones Hiroyuki Kamano Jonathan Kindred Timothy Kirkwood Jesper Koll Ed Ladd Stephen Lasher Jeffrey Leppard Doug Lorentz Bradley Maggart Jonathan Malamud Kathy Matsui Marc Merlino Jere Miller Halley Mistry Yasuaki Mori Mike Neilon Brian Nelson ‘85 David Nishida Allan O’Bryant Marcus Okuno Thierry Porte J. Karen Rossetto Rei Rothberg Fred Schmidt Kenneth Siegel Jim Small Edward Storin James Takagi Noritaka (Paul) Tange Gary Thomas Karen Thomas Stephanie Toppino Miki Tsusaka Jacqueline Wein Kent Wertime Thomas Whitson A. Paul Yamasaki Paul Yonamine Mimi Yoshii James Zumwalt John Zwaanstra Shizuka Zwaanstra ‘85 alumni MESSAGE features back on campus We love it when alumni stop by and visit. If you are planning a trip to Tokyo and have time to stop by the Chofu campus, please let us know. The alums below are some of our recent visitors who reconnected with former teachers and got to check whether the chicken katsu was still as good as they remembered. Elicia Cousins ‘09, currently an undergraduate at Carleton, visited ASIJ on August 26, 2010. Her sister, Emily ’06, is currently working in ASIJ’s HS Science Resource Center. ASIJ Board of Directors 2010-11 Abbie Chessler Salsberg Richard Folsom Eugene Gregor Jesper Koll Ed Ladd Lina Yamashita ’04 visited the Chofu Campus on September 8, 2010 for the High School College Fair to talk about her experience at Oberlin College. It had been five years since Lina had been on campus, so we were glad to see her! Cynthia Kawamura ‘90 and her husband stopped by ASIJ on October 28, 2010 during a two week stay in Japan that was the start of a 3 month voyage around Asia including Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. Bradley Maggart Jere Miller Allan O’Bryant Stephanie Toppino Miki Tsusaka Paul Yonamine Mimi Yoshii Shizuka Zwaanstra ‘85 Linda Suzukawa-Tseng ‘72* Frederick Morgenstern’83* *Statutory Auditors Diane Tadlock Siuda ‘99 with her husband and current faculty Gene and Janet Witt during a campus visit on October 27, 2010. Diane was married in April and was in Japan for her honeymoon. She hadn’t been on campus for ten years, but she has kept close to her friends from ASIJ. Tamina Plum ’99 was the officiate of her wedding and Emily Ewins ’00 was her Maid of Honor. Fumiaki Tosu ’95 had a great chat with current faculty Gene Witt and Keiko Auckerman. Fumiaki had been teaching high school in San Jose, CA, for seven years and is now taking a year off to travel the world. He stopped by to visit ASIJ on November 4, 2010 for the first time in ten years after visiting his grandmother in Shikoku. 50 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 51 alumni Class Reunions 50’s decade September 17-19 Los Gatos CA Charlie Wu ‘57 The reunion for the ‘50s decade alumni was held in the quaint small town of Los Gatos, CA, located 50 miles south of San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley. The weekend was beautiful with clear blue skies and temperatures in the mid eighties, typical for this time of the year. Excitement was running high in the group even before the start of the week with telephone calls going back and forth. The anticipation of the celebration and the reconnection with former classmates, some for the first time since 1956, set the festive mood for the reunion. Twenty-three alumni and spouses arrived for the gala which represented four classes. Organizer Charlie Wu ’57 was able to bring all of these classmates together with the help of his daughter May-Lynn. This reunion was planned with an international theme and began on Friday evening, September 17th, with a reception dinner, an Italian feast, at the Bella Saratoga. On Saturday morning, a Hong Kong style Dim Sum brunch was enjoyed at the Joy Luck Place. In the afternoon the group toured the famous Hakone Garden in Saratoga. The Saturday night dinner was held at the Kamakura Restaurant. The reunion concluded Sunday with a champagne brunch at Pedro’s Restaurant. It was a memorable weekend and the events were thoroughly enjoyed by all. The group departed with promises to do it again soon. This Year’s REUNIONS From the 1950s to the year 2000, a half century of ASIJ alumni reconnected 60’s faculty August 15-20 Pray, MT Gary Fish (FF 1965-95) A terrific reunion of old friends and former ASIJ colleagues took place at Chico Hot Springs, Pray, MT, from August 15 20. Chico is located between Livingston, MT, (birthplace and current home of Gary Fish FF 1965-95) and Yellowstone Park in beautiful Paradise Valley. After the initial round of greetings and a wonderful dinner served by Alaete Fish (FF 1978-95) the remaining time of the first night was spent reminiscing about ASIJ and our lives since teaching there. The rest of the week was spent swimming in the hot springs, shopping in Livingston, white water rafting on the Yellowstone River, observing the beauty of the Valley from both the rental home and principle residence of the Fishes, and wine tasting. One day was spent caravanning through Yellowstone Park watching the buffalo roam and the geysers spout. We finished the week with a wonderful dinner at a five star restaurant in Chico before our departures the last morning. A great time was had by us all and we left with the promise that we would meet again in Alabama sometime in 2011. An interesting revelation was that Gerry Moore, the husband of Nancy Kepner (FF 1965-68) and Gary Fish were altar boys together in the mid-‘50s in Livingston, Montana. class of class of ‘51 October 4-8 Newport OR Carl Fisher ‘51 Four members of the Meguro HOBOs met in Newport, OR, from October 4 – 8, 2010 for a memorable four days of reminiscing, dining, touring, and planning for the next get-together in 2012. Meeting in a B&B in Newport with their spouses were Eldon Carr and Anna, Daniel Garges and Peggy, Bill Wardell and Jenny, Carl Fisher and Miriam. Prior meetings have taken place in Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas (twice), Squirrel Lake, WI, and a Mississippi River cruise on the Delta Queen. Our next meeting will be in Branson, MO. Not present for this meeting were Bill Brunckhorst and Ed Rankin who are usually in attendance. Hosting for the event was Al and Anna Carr. Tours included coastal Oregon, The Space Museum, the Newport Aquarium, and many scenic places. These days we come with a few more aches and pains but always go home rejuvenated, refreshed, and full of new hope and vigor. Reunions do that for you. ‘60 years 50 September 24-26 Portland ME David Bergt ‘60 The Class of ‘60’s 50th anniversary reunion was just wonderful, with great Maine weather, and nary a hitch to the reunion plans. Fourteen from our class attended, along with six spouses. We enjoyed a city and harbor tour, a lobster dinner on a nearby island, an afternoon in famous Freeport, home of Lands End, and finished with a great dinner at a harbor-side Irish pub. Needless to say, as with any ASIJ reunion, the highlight was not the food and sites, but the great and endless conversations shared by all, remembering the good old days at ASIJ, and laughter from beginning to end. Marsha (Bassford) Miller was the coordinator on the ground in Portland, and she did a terrific job! She was helped by classmate Kiyoko Uramatsu, who lives across the border in New Hampshire. Between the two of them, they worked the better part of a year on the reunion. We’ve already started planning our next reunion, which we’ll hold in 2013, and have a number of sites selected, which we’ll vote on down the line. 52 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 53 alumni REUNIONS alumni 70’s decade July 2-4 Orlando FL Cheryl Wise ‘79 The reunion had an outstanding alumni turnout of 80 Students and two faculty members, Pamela Jones-Morton (FF1972-77) and Nancy Grohman (FF 1973-8). Also joining us were spouses, children and friends totaling 120 people “In the House” as we welcomed everyone’s arrival with hugs, laughter and tears. It had been 30 or more years since many of us had seen each other. Lake Buena Vista Resort was the place to be on the 4th of July if you attended ASIJ. Friday morning started with Dean Kistler ’79, Carlos Chaveco and myself setting up a red carpet photo shoot for everyone who arrived. Then there was a welcome shot of “Gentleman Jack” to get the reunion started. Friday evening Deanna (Adams) Smith ‘78 had the clever idea of making buttons for every alumni with their yearbook picture. The night turned from the 32 beers on tap at Frankie Farrell’s Irish Pub and Grill to a “Find your face party” created by Debbie (Wise) Guitton ‘82. Celebrations on Saturday were held pool side and we ruled the pool, bar area and Pirates Plunge slide! Sembei were passed around to capture the smells and tastes of our time in Japan in the ‘70s. The semi-formal Saturday night dinner at Ming Court was a perfect setting, decorated by the Alumni Office gift box of balloons, key chains, stickers and fans. All 120 people arrived and were seated to a wonderful Chinese meal and many ordered sushi trays. Sunday concluded with the thrill-seekers heading to Universal Studios and Disney World for a long day of adventure, which ended with 4th of July fireworks! Many people said they could not explain the overwhelming feelings the weekend brought them. It was a time and a place where we could share the unique stories only children who experienced this together will ever know. Attend a reunion just one time and you will walk away so incredibly astonished at how all the years in between that time disappear. class of years 25 REUNIONS ‘85 August 21-22 Boston MA The class of 1985 held a reunion in historic Boston, MA, on August 21-22. As classmates came together to celebrate 25 years, there were many stories to share and happy memories to recall. Jennifer Krouse organized the gathering and guaranteed everyone had a great time. class of ‘90 September 17-19 San Francisco CA Kaoru Hudachek ‘90 years 20 The Class of 1990’s 20 Year Reunion held in San Francisco was a smashing success, with a large turn-out of classmates flying in from faraway places like New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Organizers Kaoru Hudachek, Patty Sharp and Andy Ogawa were excited to get the party started. The weekend-long festivities kicked off with a Meet and Greet Event on Friday, with our main reception taking place on Saturday night. Highlights from the reception included the raffling off of ASIJ caps and T-shirts and singing along to the Live ‘80s-themed Karaoke Band, the Amazing Embarrasonics, culminating in a group chorus of “We Are the World” (video available on Facebook). Winding down the weekend on Sunday was some Family Fun in the Sun at the Ogawa Residence, with a relaxing BBQ and pool time for the children. A great time was had by all, and we’re looking forward to our next reunion. class of ‘95 April 9-10 Washington DC Pearl Vos ‘95 years 15 The reunion was a great success! Classmates caught up and reminisced during three events in Washington, DC. We first met for Happy Hour on April 9 then on April 10 we enjoyed a leisurely picnic at the Tidal Basin and wrapped up the weekend with dinner. Attendees included Hilary (Yoshimura) Michener, Jill (Kuo) Goeckner, Sanae Kubota, Katie (Kaser) Gifford, Rahul Bhat, Brooke (van Houten) Allen, Paul Hernandez, Liz Chisolm, Katie Dutkowski, Rachel Roby, Teena (Gallops) Chavis, Dana Fink, Ken Innes, Jenny Mandel, Winston Floyd, Lisa (Hilgendorf) Seigel, Dan Connelly, Brian Faulkner, Adam Bjornholm, and Betsy Yoshimura ‘97. Many thanks to all and it was great seeing everyone! 54 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 55 alumni REUNIONS alumni class of ‘00 years 10 REUNIONS September 3-6 New York NY Gary Yamada ‘00 The reunion event kicked off on September 3 at Johnny Utah’s in midtown Manhattan. One of the highlights of the night was Tom Rowe doing a pretty good job on the mechanical bull. Late night hot dog cravings led Kiki Rodriguez to snap some cool shots of Christie Cruz and Ken Chin posing with Spiderman in Times Square. The next day started with a picnic in Central Park. Paul Hastings and Debbie (Wissel) Hastings ’99 staked out a great spot on a hill overlooking the rest of Sheep Meadow. With Frisbees and footballs, some folks played around, but most soaked up the amazing weather and talked. Of course, Joseph Waldman’s little ones weren’t interested in talking with the adults; they kept themselves entertained the entire time. After we disbanded from the picnic, everyone left to get changed for the reunion reception at Joshua Tree Bar. The ASIJ crowd had a private space in the back of the venue, but with over 50 attendees, it was cozy. Megan (Foster) Glen and Emily Chan take the cake for traveling the farthest; Megan and her husband traveled from New Zealand, while Emily flew in from China! At the early hour of just 9:30pm, we left Joshua Tree Bar and headed to the rooftop lounge/bar of 230 Fifth Avenue. We had an amazing view of a lit up Empire State Building, so it was a perfect spot to end the day (for some). Since some of the other international schools were having their own reunions in NYC, we met up with about 30 Seisen, Scared Heart, and St. Mary’s reunion attendees. Fifteen of us decided to go to karaoke where we had fun recreating the karaoke rooms of our Kichijoji and Shibuya days. On Sunday, those who were still hanging around met up at the High Line and Chelsea Market for a short stroll. The beautifully maintained gardens made for an incredible ending to a terrific weekend. All in all, an excellent reunion weekend! Organized by Paulene Kawasjee, Rachel Goldner, Paul Hastings, Joseph Waldman, and Gary Yamada (Aimee Singer and Brandy Snyder couldn’t attend but helped with the pre-planning). More pictures can be found at http://www.picacasa. com/asijco2000 as well as on class photo blog at http://asijco2000.posterous.com ASIJ reunion June 19-20 Washington DC Scott Trickey ’89 all When planning this event, I felt that many times we only think of class specific reunions. Knowing that there must be a fairly large ASIJ Alumni contingency in the Washington DC area, I simply threw open the invitation using Facebook as my launching pad. I was extremely happy and surprised at how quickly information got spread around. Soon I was being contacted by alumni located all over the world and those that attended from the 1940s through the most recent graduates. I was even in contact with former HS Principal Dr. Robert Winer as well as some families who said that they left ASIJ prior to graduating. On the first day of the event, held at Dave & Busters in Rockville, MD, there were alumni from Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Arizona, and Germany! I was really happy to learn that for our “youngest” alumni John ‘45 and Nancy (Brewer) ‘53 Eills who had come down from Mahattan, NY, this was the first ASIJ alumni event that they have ever attended! John was actually at the Meguro Campus and had many stories to share. Also a fantastic event occurred simultaneously, as this was a full on Rimilinger Family Reunion! Parents Richard and Ellen Rimlinger were very proud (as was I) to have their entire family present. The following day we were extremely lucky to be all invited to John Wylie ‘88’s house in Leesburg, VA for a BBQ. Dr. Robert Winer was there and we informed him of the huge success of the previous evening. Having received such a huge response, we are already starting to plan the next event later this year in October. Hopefully those who had prior commitments will be able to attend. ASIJ reunion July 16 Tokyo all A Mega-Reunion for international schools in Japan was held July 16 at ROTI Roppongi. ASIJ alumni living in the Tokyo area traded stories with alumni from 12 other international schools hailing from Okinawa, Kansai, and Kanto. Not only was it a great chance to reconnect with ASIJ classmates, it also was a way to meet new people who had similar experiences growing up as a global citizen. Entertainment included opera tenor John Nuzzo, a capella group Senme, and recording artists Emyli and Keiko Walker. 56 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 57 alumni alumni 1984 1967 Mrs. Grenda F. Penhollow Moss 2300 NW 58th St. OK City OK 73112 USA
[email protected] Class Agents 1945 Mrs. Martha Kipp Barber 11369 Berwick St. Los Angeles CA 90049-3413 USA
[email protected] 1991 Mrs. Nicola M.Watkin Britton 4106 Ridgelea Drive Austin TX 78731 USA
[email protected] 1998 Ms. Rose E. Hastings
[email protected] 2004 Mr. Jason C. Mothersill 2133 Stockton St. Apt. B308 San Francisco CA 94133-2040 USA
[email protected] Ms. Arisa M. T. Goldstone 220 Beverley St. Toronto Ontario M5T 1Z3 Canada
[email protected] 1957 Mr. Charles C. Wu 75 Whitney Avenue Los Gatos CA 95030 USA
[email protected] 1975 Ms. Reiko E. Niimi 3301 Shirley Ln. Chevy Chase MD 20815 USA
[email protected] Mrs. Yuriko Takahashi Young 88 Appleton Street Cambridge MA 2138 USA
[email protected] 1999 Ms. Naomi D. Hayase 300 E. Providencia Ave. #103 Burbank CA 91502 USA
[email protected] Ms. Tamina M. Plum Upper Flat London N70BX UK
[email protected] 1985 Ms. Jennifer A. Krouse 71 High Street, 2nd Floor North Adams MA 1247 USA
[email protected] 1992 Mrs. Jikja Chun Frank 1592 Santa Ana Ave. Costa Mesa CA 92627-3752 USA
[email protected] Ms. Beth J. McGregor Vergidis 8915 Heather Ann Dr. West Chester OH 45069 USA
[email protected] 1950 Col. Eugene A. Fox 1450 Emerson Avenue, Apt. #105 McLean VA 22101-5747 USA
[email protected] 1958 Mr. Andrew W. Blum 110 E. Center St., # 947 Madison SD 57042 USA
[email protected] 1968 Dr. Masahiro “Marty” Honda 665 Greenview Place Los Altos CA 94024-5335 USA
[email protected] 1976 Ms. Elizabeth Yanagihara Horwitz 18 Durant St. Newton MA 2458 USA
[email protected] 1986 Mrs. Diane E. Stewart Wack 19 N. Rolling Rd. Catonsville MD 21228-4849 USA
[email protected] 2005 Mr. Tatsuya Izumi 2-5-12 Miyamae Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-0081 Japan
[email protected] 1951 Carl Fisher 7102 Essington Dr. Charlotte, NC 28270 USA
[email protected] 1959 Mr. Knight D. Farwell PO Box 1074 Morehead KY 40351-5074 USA 1969 1970 Class agent required 1977 Mr. Carl E. Sundberg Komaba Park Homes #106 Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0041 Japan
[email protected] 2000 Mr. Gary T. Yamada 174 27th Ave San Francisco CA 94121 USA
[email protected] Ms. Aimee F. Singer 440 Wainee Street Lahaina HI 96761 USA
[email protected] 1987 Mr. Robert L. Sharp III 2413 Mimosa Place Wilmington NC 28403 USA
[email protected] 1993 Mr. M. Thomas Homer Reid 208A WA Street Somerville MA 02143-3127 USA
[email protected] 2006 Ms. Mana Sasaki 511 124th St. S Tacoma WA 98444 USA
[email protected] Mr. Andrew Tai Dirkse
[email protected] 1952 Mr. William L. Brunckhorst 1224 W Melrose St. Whitewater WI 53190 USA
[email protected] 1960 Mr. David E. Bergt 6732 Vanderbilt St. Houston TX 77005-3827 USA
[email protected] Mr. Daniel Garnitz 3121 Lady Cheryl Dr. Fayetteville NC 28301 USA
[email protected] 1971 Ms. Kathy K. Kobata 4085 Sunridge Road Pebble Beach CA 93953-3033 USA
[email protected] 1978 Mrs. Deanna Adams Smith 8009 Abbot Ct. McKinney TX 75070-6947 USA
[email protected] 1988 Mr. Sergei P. Hasegawa 85 Russell Street Brooklyn NY 11222 USA
[email protected] Ms. Kathrine L. Schmitt Simon 17100 28th Ave. N , Minneapolis MN 55447-1752 USA
[email protected] 1994 Mrs. Margaret McCallum Hartley 2550 Luanda Pl. Dulles VA 21089 USA
[email protected] Ms. Midori “Mimi” Kano 224 Easth 85th St. Apt 5A New York, NY 10028-3014 USA
[email protected] 1953 Col. William B. Seely 1219 Georgetown Circle Carlisle PA 17013-3549 USA
[email protected] 1961 Mr. C. Stuart Bennett 7683 SE 27th St. #128 Mercer Island WA 98040-2804 USA
[email protected] 2001 Ms. N. Joy Mita 2-5-34 Tamacho Fuchu-shi, Tokyo 183-0002 Japan
[email protected] Ms. K. Kimble Lyons 168 Eastern Promenade Apt. 1R Portland, ME 4101 USA
[email protected] 2007 Ms. Rosalind E. Onions
[email protected] Ms. Carly N. Baird
[email protected] 1979 Mr. L. Dean Kistler 663 Sharon Drive Rochester NY 14626 USA
[email protected] 1972 Mrs. Karin Jaegel Flynn 5643 S. Thurlow St. Hinsdale IL 60521 USA
[email protected] 1954 Mr. William H. Curtis 840 Hawk Hill Trail Palm Desert CA 92211-7492 USA
[email protected] 1962 Mrs. Katherine “K.C.” Bauernschmidt Clarke 7306 Riverhill Road Oxon Hill MD 20745-1031 USA
[email protected] 1980 Mrs. Julie L. Froude 401 Emerald Woods Dr. Oxford OH 45056 USA
[email protected] 1995 Ms. Sarah M. Suzuki 55 Phoenix Ave. Morristown NJ 07960-5015 USA
[email protected] Ms. Y. Pearl Maddox Vos 4461 Stuart Hall Blvd. Lexington KY 40509-4504 USA
[email protected] 2008 Ms. Mariko C. Funai
[email protected] Ms. Jemil M. Satterfield
[email protected] 1973 Mr. J. Chris Reid 30 Chatham Rd. New Rochelle NY 10804-2514 USA
[email protected] Mrs. Pamela Backer Channell PO Box 338 Georgetown MA 1833 USA
[email protected] 1989 Ms. Linnea M. Hasegawa 19 Kenmuir Ave. Morristown NJ 7960 USA
[email protected] Mrs. Diana K. Chang Stuhrenberg Friedrich-vom-Spee-Strasse 17 Duesseldorf 40489 Germany
[email protected] Mrs. Samantha “Samm” Fritz Hurd 8533 Calera Drive Austin TX 78735 USA
[email protected] 2002 Ms. Anna L. Tuttle 500C Russell St. Nashville TN 37206-4114 USA
[email protected] Mr. Mitsuhiko Tsukimoto
[email protected] 1955 Rev. William L. Cryderman 111 Blenheim Dr. Spring Arbor MI 49283-9706 USA
[email protected] 1963 Class agent required 1981 Mrs. Sherry Davis Tighe 5347 West Mill Dr. Highland Heights OH 441433144 USA
[email protected] 2009 Ms. Caitlin E. McHose
[email protected] Ms. Elicia M. Cousins
[email protected] 1964 Ms. Angela C. Grant
[email protected] 1956 Mrs. Sandra McIver Thompson 83 Church St., Unit 10 Winchester MA 01890-2545 USA
[email protected] Ms. Mei Sun Li 971 Hawthorn Dr, Lafayette CA 94549 USA
[email protected] 1996 Mr. H. Sunny Shimizu Pacific Livew Jiyugaoka Room 701 Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-0031
[email protected] 2003 Ms. Aileen N. Kurobe 2230 Ruhland Ave. Redondo Beach CA 90278 USA
[email protected] Mr. J. Chesley Burruss 2938-A Laukoa Pl. Honolulu HI 96813 USA
[email protected] 1965 Mrs. Myong S. Kellar 4613 W Seldon Lane Glendale AZ 85302 USA
[email protected] 1974 Mrs. Mirja Karikoski Hanson 5510 Edgewater Blvd. Minneapolis MN 55417-2605 USA
[email protected] 1982 Ms. Lisa Bastick 2167A Turk Blvd. San Francisco CA 94115-4328 USA
[email protected] 2010 Ms. Janet Kanzawa Box 2923, Vassar College 124 Raymond Ave Poughkeepsie NY 12604 USA
[email protected] 1997 1990 Mr. Kentaro K. Relnick 1-15-10-901 Nishi Azabu Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0031 Japan
[email protected] Ms. Amy M. McIntire
[email protected] Ms. Alyssa K. Murphy 2714 Kahoaloha Lane Honolulu HI 96826 USA
[email protected] 1966 Mrs. Annie Nichols Campbell 150 E Barcelona Rd. Santa Fe NM 87505 USA
[email protected] 1983 Mr. Jiro Okochi 148 Christopher St. Montclair, NJ 07042 USA
[email protected] 58 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 59 alumni In Memoriam Hans Baerwald ‘44 Hans. H. Baerwald ’44 passed away June 2, 2010 at the age of 82 at his home in Pope Valley, CA. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer, his children Andrea, Jan, and David, as well as three grandchildren. Hans was born in Tokyo and attended ASIJ until the threat of WWII persuaded his parents to leave Japan. Baldwin Eckel ’42 explained that Hans’ father was in business in Japan for many years but after the Tripartite Treaty between Japan, Germany and Italy was signed, the German Jews in Japan became the target of the Nazis. The German government required the Jews to change their names which clearly labeled them as Jews, even though they were not practicing their faith openly. It was after this that Hans and his family left Japan for the United States. In the 1940 Chochin Year Book, Hans is described as a class president, a great lover of sports, and a “future auto racer,” an amusing prediction in retrospect. His classmate Mark Owens ’44 remembers Hans as active and adventurous and they often climbed trees together when he lived in Yokohama. After the Baerwald family immigrated to California Hans attended the University of California at Berkeley but was soon drafted into the army. Due to his fluency in Japanese, he was posted to the government section of Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters in Tokyo where he witnessed the process behind the purge of Japanese leaders. Later Hans would become well-known for several works that incorporate these experiences including The Purge of Japanese Leaders under the Occupation. He also authored authoritative texts on the Japanese political system, Japan’s Parliament: An Introduction, and Party Politics in Japan. Hans returned to Berkeley where he eventually completed his PhD which allowed him to spend time in Japan for his research. He then accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Asian Government and Politics at Miami University, Ohio. In 1962 he moved to the department of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he eventually became Vice Chair and influenced the lives of many students and faculty until his retirement in 1990. Hans continued to cultivate his strong connection to Japan by founding the Southern California Japan Seminar and by serving as Director of UCLA’s Education Abroad Program Study Center in Tokyo. He also directed UCLA’s Japan Research and Exchange Program, which has given a new generation of American scholars the chance to experience Japan. In November 1989, Hans was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star, by the Emperor of Japan in recognition of his contributions to bettering US-Japan relations through his academic work. From Veronica Schwartz McKnight ’45: Hans and Uli (as he was called then) Straus were in my Junior High classes of 7th and 8th grades. I recently got out my 1940 Chochin to look at some of the pictures. Regrettably I do not have a 1941 Chochin as that is when the school was disbanded due to the beginning of WWII. About all I recall is those were the most pleasant of school years I spent at ASIJ. Our school room teacher was Mr. Powell who taught most of the classes and Mr. Misner who was our science teacher. As students we all got along well and I enjoyed looking at pictures of our classes playing soft ball and participating in field day. There were several pictures featuring Hans, Uli and myself among our classmates. The one thing we had in common was that we had German backgrounds (they were Jewish Germans alumni The Chochin Goes Digital! We are currently preparing to scan and digitalize the Chochin from past to present. This will make it possible for those who have lost or misplaced their yearbook, or simply would like a digital copy, to easily view it on their computer. It is also an important step for us to maintain copies of our oldest archives—dating back to 1919—as the pages begin to show their age. Remember to check the Alumni e-News for updates on the progress of the digital Chochin project. There will be an official announcement when the digital archive is unveiled. Hans Baerwald ‘44 and Fred Notehelfer ‘57 Hans Baerwald at home in Pope Valley, CA originally and I was half German and half Russian) and we three could speak some German. My husband attended during WWII the University of Michigan and the Japanese Language School where Hans and Uli were also students, I knew through him of Hans’ involvement US-Japan relations. He truly deserved the award from the Japanese Emperor. From Martha (Kipp) Barber ’45: I attended ASIJ for the year 1938-39. We lived in Yokohama and I rode the train to ASIJ every day. I was in 6th grade and it was a year never to be forgotten. Every summer we rented a house in Karuizawa. In 1938 we lived just across a small road from Hans Baerwald. I had had a terrible fall off my bicycle and scraped both my knees! I had to sit on the front porch trying to heal. Every day, Hans came over to visit me, and to help me heal my “raw” knees by keeping me company. We became quite good friends. I last saw Hans recently at an ASIJ reunion at George Shimizu’s. I guess we are all getting older! But I was so sad to hear that Hans had passed away. He was an important connection to my childhood. All my blessings to his family. 60 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 61 alumni Sylvia Hohenthaner (FF 1989-2008) The ASIJ community was saddened to hear of the death of Sylvia Hohenthaner this past summer. Sylvia and her husband John taught at ASIJ for many years and both their sons, Stephen and Daniel, graduated from the school. She was a much loved and highly respected teacher with a unique ability to connect with any individual who crossed her path. The cooking room was a safe haven for students – whether they took her class or not. Sylvia provided a tolerant, inclusive and warm environment where everyone felt accepted. Teachers, students and friends alike greatly enjoyed her keen sense of humor and dry wit. She will be greatly missed. – Current faculty Mary Onions, Kim Gotterson, Janet Witt, Debbie Studwell, and Gail Lanier We loved Sylvia’s accent and she was always fun to be around with a quick wit that often brought a smile when life got a little hard at times. Sylvia would let you know that she understood and that there was indeed some humor in the situation to lighten things up a bit. She is a beautiful person inside and out. Tim and LaNae Stout (FF 1996-2006) I had the privilege of attending her cooking class, and loved her both as a teacher and as a person. The class had an awesome balance of being strict and laid back at the same time, and her comments were so funny the atmosphere couldn’t have been better in that room. Thank you Ms. Hohenthaner, we’ll miss you. Rodolfo Velasquez Lim ‘07 Ms. Hohentaner was one of the best teachers I had at ASIJ or anywhere for that matter. She really got involved with her students. She would let you fool around up to a point but she made the line clear and would make you want to get all your assignments done. You always knew she was there if you needed anything. - Jon Levin ‘99 Ms.Hohenthaner was one of the most influential teachers that I had the privilege of being taught by. She helped me through my high school years when I was going through family problems, and without her, I probably would not have been able to deal with it. I still have the letter that she gave me at the time of my graduation. I miss her a lot. - Hinako Eguchi ‘07 Ms. Hohenthaner always gave me so much encouragement in anything I did. To me she was not only an amazing and inspiring teacher, but a great friend. I always looked forward to visiting her classroom on trips back to Tokyo after graduating, and she always welcomed me with a big smile and great conversation. I had the pleasure of babysitting her sons when they were younger and I have them and Mr. Hojo in my thoughts. I’m so glad they were able to spend time being close to her in the US. I will keep her positivity with me for the rest of my life. - Naomi Hayase ‘99 When I first met Sylvia she was heavily pregnant with Daniel and had beautiful Steven in tow. I remember her roast lamb, sweet potato dish and apple pie, her gardening in the spring and playing games in Nogawa Park with the boys when they were little. I remember how with great patience and love she would sew Halloween costumes for Steven and Daniel. We spent many wonderful evenings laughing with John and Sylvia or dancing until dawn downtown in Roppongi at our usual haunts: Castillo’s, Paddy Foleys and Propaganda where she was the life and soul of many a party. In school she was creative and always available for the students that needed to talk. She was also always there for me: when I first arrived in Tokyo, when my father passed away, when Julian and Riordan were born and finally when I left Tokyo. Through all these milestones in my life she was there for me. I loved her wit, warmth and unique perspective. Often, I find myself thinking, “I wonder what Sylvia would have said about this....” I have so many wonderful memories of Sylvia, she had a profound impact on my life and I am so lucky to have had a friend who brought so much wisdom and joy to my life. She was a true friend, wonderful mother, loyal wife and caring teacher. Sylvia was unique; how lucky I am to have been a part of her life. I miss her so. - Melinda Kehe (FF 1990 – 2003) Ms. Hohenthaner was my international cooking teacher. I was relatively a good student who usually did not cause any trouble in the classroom, and Ms. Hohenthaner was the only teacher who ever scolded me in high school for misbehavior, so I remember her very distinctly! International cooking class was a boisterous class with different grades mixed together. I was there with my best friends Meg, Mie and Katherine. We took the class because one of the girls had Ms. Hohenthaner as a health teacher and philosophy department of Heidelberg College in 1950, where he continued his work well beyond his retirement in 1989 as an advisor to faculty and administration. During this time, he authored A History of the World’s Religions, a textbook that is used in universities across the US. David is survived by a daughter, Jeanne; a son, Roger; and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Elizabeth, in 2004, and his son, Richard, in 2009. alumni Alumni News is now online! It’s easy to post your news on ASIJ’s NetCommunity. Here’s how: 1. First, you must be registered for NetCommunity. If you are Ittoku Fujii, with his wife Setsuko, son Dave Fujii ’83 and granddaughter Jessica ‘21. not, please go to the alumni login page, scroll down and follow the instructions for new user registration. Please allow several days for your registration request to be processed. 2. Go to the alumni welcome page and click on “Class Notes” on the left hand side menu. Timothy Rachal ’86 died in a car accident January 24, 2010. Frederick Parker ‘45 passed away July 10, 2008 and is survived by his wife of 38 years, Susan, sons Nicholas and John and grandson Julian. Raised in China and Japan, Frederick continued on to study at Middlesex School, Harvard College and New College, Oxford after attending ASIJ. Fred was a member of the Union Club, The Harvard Club and the Madison Beach Club. A veteran of the shipping industry, he enjoyed traveling and was a well known oenophile. He was also committed to the bettering of society, and served on the boards of the Youth Foundation and the Huguenot Society. Nancy Lee Seto ’71 passed away July 14, 2010 after a long battle with cancer. and knew how cool she was. Ms. Hohenthaner was speaking at the top of her voice explaining the procedure when she heard me say “Let’s just start cooking!” That did it. She decided to stop teaching the class for 10 minutes or so until everyone was paying attention. I still keep the recipes I learned in class in a folder in the kitchen next to all my cookbooks. I am a mother of a 3 year old and her recipes still help me. - Ruri (Yokoyama) Clarkson ‘01 She was such a beautiful teacher inside and out, and I have such fond memories of her. When I was upset about guys, she would always give me tips on being a strong woman, and how to handle “chumps.” She also showed me a photo of when she was young, and she was ripped in her two-piece. We’d laugh about how hot she used to be. She wasn’t just another teacher, she was a friend to all of us, and it is such a big loss I don’t even know what to say. I haven’t seen her in years, but I’ll never, ever forget her sunshine smile. – Akane Wada ‘00 Ms. Hohenthaner, you were one of the greatest teachers I have encountered at my time at ASIJ. Your charisma and sense of humor always lightened the room, and your ability to bring yourself to the same level as a student always created an enormous sense of comfort. Thank you for the continuous concern you showed towards my family and everything I went though in high school. It’s been years since graduation and your name still comes up in many great conversations. You will be missed and I will cherish our memories forever. –Ami Takeda ‘00 Ittoku Fujii, the father of Marjorie (Fujii) Higuchi ’80, Daniel Fujii ’82 and Alumni Council President Dave Fujii ’83, and a dedicated member of the ASIJ community passed away from a heart attack August 30, 2010. He is survived by his wife Setsuko, his three children, and his grandchildren, current ASIJ students Alec ‘15, William ‘17 and Jessica ‘21. Laurie Meech ‘65, a mental health advocate and activist living in Honolulu, HI, passed away on February 9, 2009 after a valiant struggle against bone cancer. In 1984, building on her own experience with manic depression, she founded Hawaii’s first selfhelp group for persons with bipolar disorder. She volunteered for National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Oahu, and the Mental Health Association, receiving an award from the latter in 1995. For years she testified before state legislative committees for more recognition of, and more funding for, mental health matters. Laurie is survived by her sister, Julia, and brothers Charles and Christopher. David Noss ‘38 passed away January 7, 2010. David was born May 28, 1920, in Japan, to Christopher and Carol Day Noss. He had a life-long interest in learning and attended Franklin and Marshall College, the Pacific School of Religion, Lancaster Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he earned a PhD in religion and the arts. He then went on to become a professor in the religion 3. Click on Edit My Class Notes and type in your entry. Please include your name. 4. When you submit your entry, it will take a couple of days to approve. Your update will then appear on your class year page. It belongs to you, and you can update or edit it at any time. 5. Any photographs you send by mail or to <alumni@asij. ac.jp> will be included in alumni photo gallery sent each month in the e-news and archived on the alumni site. At this time, NetCommunity does not have the capability to post a photo with the note. 62 the ambassador FALL 2010 FALL 2010 the ambassador 63 alumni save the date: 2011 alumni receptions ASIJ will be hosting two receptions in New York and San Francisco to introduce new head of school Ed Ladd to the Stateside alumni community. Also in attendance will be some familiar faculty faces (see below). If you are able to join us at either event, please RSVP by January 7th to the Alumni Office at <
[email protected]>. January 28 6:30-8:30 pm The Harvard Club New York City Join us at the Harvard Club in Midtown and meet Head of School Ed Ladd, former faculty members Bill and Sandy Jacobsson and current HS counselor Tim Olson ‘77. Look out for more details in the Alumni e-News. February 9 6:30-8:30 pm Urban Tavern San Francisco Join us at the Urban Tavern on Union Square for an evening with Head of School Ed Ladd and former faculty member John O’Leary. Look out for more details in the Alumni e-News. 64 the ambassador FALL 2010 the ambassador Center for School-Community Partnership The American School in Japan APO AP 96328-5000 Address Service Requested THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN • FALL 2010