The Ambassador. Fall/Winter, 2022

The Ambassador Fostering a community of inquisitive learners and independent thinkers, inspired to be their best selves, empowered to make a difference.

Fall/Winter 2022

GARY FISH

Celebrating the beloved teacher

CELEBRATING 120 A look back at 120 years of ASIJ

The American School in Japan

WISE YOUNG ’68

The inaugural ASIJ Alumni Impact Award Winner

ENNEAD

The architecture firm plans for ASIJ’s next campus

Stay Connected

It’s all about connections... ... that’s why our alumni portal is designed to make it easier than ever for you to stay in touch with us and your fellow ASIJers around the globe. Mustangs Online is a dynamic site for alums, alumni parents and former faculty packed with news, information about upcoming events and reunions, photo galleries, internship and job opportunities, and directory. It also hosts digital copies of yearbooks going back to 1919, past issues of The Ambassador magazine and a selection of Hanabi articles and content from the archive.

To make the most of this service, we’ll need your email so we can send you information and help you get started. If we don’t already have your up-to-date email, please take a moment to drop us a line at alumni@asij.ac.jp.

Our Alumni Services Alumni Directory Alumni Portal Regional Alumni Connect Networks Regional Receptions Class Reunions ASIJ Alumni Connect Industry Meetups Internship & Job Listings ASIJ Alumni Impact Award ASIJ Young Alumni Changemaker Award The Ambassador Magazine Monthly Newsletter Yearbook Archive Transcript Services

Don’t miss out! Contact us: alumni@asij.ac.jp https://asij.ac.jp/alumni (+81) 0422-34-5300 ext 710

Follow us on social media: asij_official asijtokyo asij asij the-american-school-in-japan

In this Issue Features

06

Tokyo School for Foreign Children

22

Discovering the early history of ASIJ

13 16

Master Planning Representatives from architectural firm Ennead visit campus

28

A Wise Choice

Celebrating the inaugural Alumni Impact Award winner, Wise Young ’68

Strength and Courage Award

Shun Ueno ’22, recipient of this year’s award

Big Fish

More

A look back at Gary Fish’s life and time at ASIJ

03 \\ Celebrating 120 Years (Yumi Matsuo Studio)

04 \\ ASIJ Highlights 31 \\ Fundraising Update 51 \\ Receptions 60 \\ Alumni Connect 65 \\ Reunions 68 \\ Upcoming Reunions 69 \\ Alumni Council Update 70 \\ Class Agents 72 \\ Artifact 73 \\ Obituaries 80 \\ The Big Short

Director of Communications Matt Wilce Digital Communications Officer Carl Strycharske Graphic Designer Ryo Ogawa Alumni Coordinator Miranda Liu Director of Institutional Advancement Clive Watkins Director of Giving Claire Lonergan Data Specialist Catherine Iwata Intern Sofiia Bielova

Editorial Inquiries communications@asij.ac.jp alumni@asij.ac.jp — The American School in Japan 1-1-1 Nomizu, Chofu-shi Tokyo 182-0031, Japan The Ambassador is published

by The American School in Japan ASIJ alumni, families, faculty, and friends receive The Ambassador

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Celebrating 120 Years

This school year marks The American School in Japan’s 120th anniversary. In Japan when you turn sixty it is known as kanreki, which relates to one complete cycle of the lunar zodiac calendar. This marks a rebirth or new beginning. In ASIJ’s case we will have completed two 60 year cycles, known as daikanreki, and will begin a new chapter in our history.

As part of our celebration we created a logo that draws inspiration from Meiji era design and the School’s first printed document in particular. It incorporates a new typeface aptly named Prospectus 1903, based on the one used in the original document.

Look out for coverage of our Anniversary Receptions in Tokyo and New York in the Alumni Section and more on ASIJ’s origins on page 6.

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ASIJ

Highlights

CULTURE

Grain Power Fifth grade students cropped the second harvest of the Chofu Campus rice field this September.

After cutting the stalks, they made small bundles tied with hemp string that they hung on drying racks. A few weeks later once the stalks had dried, they threshed the rice with the help of a local farmer. Second grade students helped celebrate the harvest by building o-mikoshi that they paraded around the school.

See more on YouTube @asij

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ATHLETICS

CAMPUS

ARTS

Serving Up the Action

Spirited Away

Dear Edwina Jr.

ASIJ welcomed athletes, coaches and supporters from 16 visiting schools for this year’s YUJO Tournament in October. Teams came from the local area and as far as Okinawa, Misawa, Sasebo and South Korea. Kubasaki walked away as champions in the girls competition with Canadian Academy winning the newly added boys tournament.

The entire school community came back to campus to celebrate Spirit Day on September 24 for the first time since 2019. Although it was a rainy day, that didn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm as they cheered on a full schedule of sports. It was a great way to rekindle our Mustang Spirit and kick off the year.

A large ensemble of middle school actors and stage crew came together to present this years MS Musical Dear Edwina Jr. The comedic show is a heartwarming musical about the joys of growing up, which filled the packed theater with laughter.

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Watch the show on YouTube @asij_TV

ASIJ

Highlights

ARTS

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Our high school thespians performed a unique version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Staged in the Black Box Theater, the sold-out show impressed audiences with its cast’s performances and the intimate set featuring a Japanese forest garden.

Watch the show on YouTube @asij_TV

CAMPUS

CULTURE

CULTURE

Dressing Sharp

Pretty Sweet, IMO

Cutting Edge

The annual elementary school Halloween parade welcomed parents back to watch this year as all the frightening, yet cute, costumes marched through campus.

Students at the Early Learning Center visited Shimada Seifun-jo for their annual sweet potato dig.

Students enjoyed getting their hands dirty to harvest the potatoes, which they took back to the ELC to incorporate them into a wide variety of activities and projects.

Descended from samurai culture, battō is the practice of drawing and cutting with a katana sword. Grade seven students, who are currently studying feudal Japan, were treated to a thrilling exhibition by master swordsman Suiju Kaito. Master Suirei Yamada helped explain the connections between battō and bushido (the way of the samurai) as well as the connections between battō and tea ceremony.

Rumor has it that even the school lost-and-found items found their way into the parade, haunting students with their discarded possessions.

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Tokyo School For Foreign Children In our 120th anniversary year, Matt Wilce takes a look at the origins of ASIJ and the remarkable women responsible for founding the Tokyo School for Foreign Children.

Agnes Wintemute Coates (1864–1945) (Photo courtesy of The United Church of Canada Archives/Victoria University Archives Acc. No. 86.067P/1, p. 10)

It is Saturday, September 23, 1877 and Nora is on her way to a third floor recitation room in Middle Hall at Rockford Womens’ Seminary to sit a teaching exam. Examinations are stressful at the best of times, but even more so when you don’t have the paper needed to complete them, so when Nora encounters another flustered young woman she offers her help. Laura Jane had just arrived—paperless—from Cedarville, but had found the school’s office closed. Nora, a small 17-year-old from Manchester, Iowa, handed her some of her own papers and the two went into the exam room to try their fate together. Mrs Carpenter, the County Superintendent of Schools, had no mercy on prospective teachers and Nora found the exam full of difficult problems.

Both Nora and Laura Jane sat with worried expressions as they worked their way through them. Neither needed to worry as both would pass and become students of the Class of 1881.

Described as vivacious, a brilliant student and steadfast friend by her contemporaries, Nora received excellent grades and progressed quickly both in and out of class. Her Latin was strong, she was active in the Vesperian Society, secretary of the Society of Mission Inquiry for 1879–80, and by her senior year she was president of the Presbyterian Branch of Foreign Missions. She was also known for her rebellious antics and sense of humor. Her friend, who was simply known as Jane, was no academic slouch either and equally liked a bit of fun.

Late at night the girls would gather for clandestine parties in her room after carefully covering the transom with a blanket as a blackout. While they read each other Romeo and Juliet or debated Darwinism, they used the dorm wood stove to boil candy, popcorn and even cook oysters. Oil lamps were used to fry eggs in buttered paper boxes, which turned out not to be the most dangerous activity they’d attempt.

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Jane convinced her friends to experiment with drugs and four girls joined her in swallowing crushed opium pills. Her hope was that they’d induce hallucinations and insight into the work of the essayist DeQuincey, whose Dreams they planned to read. “We solemnly consumed small white powders at intervals during an entire long holiday, but no mental reorientation took place, and the suspense and excitement did not even permit us to grow sleepy,” Jane wrote in her memoir. “About four o’clock on the weird afternoon, the young teacher whom we had been obliged to take into our confidence, grew alarmed over the whole performance, took away our De Quincey and all the remaining powders.” It is unclear whether Eleanor was one of the girls the teacher administered the emetic ipecac to and sent them to their rooms to recover. Had the foreboding Headmistress Anna Peck Sill found them, the outcome would have undoubtedly been much worse.

Eleanor Frothingham Haworth (1860–1949) (Photo courtesy of Rockford College, Illinois)

Hijinks aside, Nora and Jane were both accomplished serious women—at their graduation Nora was the Salutatorian and Jane the Valedictorian. Miss Sill wrote in the school catalog that her purpose was to “develop moral and religious character in accordance with right principles, that it may send out cultivated Christian women in the various fields of usefulness.” The Class of 1881 did not disappoint in that regard. Jane Addams would go on to become the first female American Nobel Prize winner for her work at Hull House in Chicago. Nora, known now as Eleanor Frothingham, would go on to be one of ASIJ’s founders and first administrators, missionary, and professor of modern languages at Westfield College, Illinois.

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The Coates family circa 1910 From left to right: Lila, Wells, Alice, Agnes, Havelock, Bertha, Willson, and Mary (Photo courtesy of The United Church of Canada Archives/Victoria University Archives Acc. No. 86.067P/2, p. 19)

Eleanor didn’t head off to Japan immediately on graduating.

She instead returned to Manchester to begin her career teaching German and music, before moving on to schools in Morrison, Wisconsin and Corning, Iowa. At the Corning Presbyterian Academy, Eleanor Frothingham taught academic courses such as Latin, English, and history and served as Vice Principal for the 1886–87 school year. Religion was taught by Rev. Barnabas C. Haworth, a bachelor five-years Eleanor’s elder who also acted as the school’s pastor.

By the end of her tenure, Eleanor became Mrs Haworth after marrying Barnabas on September 24, 1887, shortly before their departure to become missionaries in Japan on October 20. Jane Addams described Barnabas as “a very pleasant gentleman with no trace of the missionary cant about him” who ”talks very intelligently upon Japanese prospects and affairs.”

The Haworths arrived in Japan in the fall of 1887 and lived first in Kanazawa, Kobe, and Osaka while conducting their missionary work. Eleanor makes it clear in one missive written in 1898 that she was too busy with duties at home and educating her children to write descriptive letters about Japan, as had been suggested by the head of her mission. Instead of writing about Japan herself, she sent along several letters that Mr Haworth had written to her and to three of their older children Wallace, Chloe and Porter while on his trip around southern Japan. Around 1900, the Haworths moved to Tokyo’s foreign settlement in Tsukiji, occupying a home owned by the Presbyterian Mission. It is there that Eleanor first heard of another missionary wife Agnes Coates’ efforts to consolidate three already existing home schools.

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Agnes Coates was born Sarah Agnes Wintemute on September 9,1864 on a farm near Port Stanley, Ontario.

The eldest of eight children and daughter of a sawmill and factory owner, she had a respectable middle-class, protestant upbringing. Agnes obtained her Mistress of Liberal Arts degree from Alma College, a Methodist academy in St Thomas, Ontario.

The principal of the college, Benjamin Fish Austin, encouraged his female students to think of themselves as “man’s peers in rights, privileges and duties.” For Agnes, who had ambition and an appetite for adventure, this meant the unusual step of taking on mission work as a single woman. After graduation, she was selected by the Woman’s Missionary Society (WMS) to go to Japan, making her only the third woman they had sent to the country. Turning down a teaching position at Alma College, Agnes set out for Tokyo at the age of 21.

She began her new life in September 1886 working at the Toyo Eiwa Jo Gakko, a boarding school run by the WMS, and thrived despite a busy teaching schedule. Impressed by her performance, the WMS sent Agnes to establish a new school in Kofu in 1889, making her the only non-Japanese in the area at the time. Japan was considered to be much safer than China for women and female missionaries were much more likely to work alone than in other parts of Asia. With Agnes as principal the school quickly flourished to the point new buildings were required and by the time she left for Canada on furlough in 1892, it was well-established.

When she returned to Japan after a year at home, she did so as Mrs Harper Havelock Coates. She wrote that while she did not find Harper, a fellow missionary who had first gone to Japan in 1890, particularly good looking, she had decided that

Students and teachers of the Koshikawa school circa 1900, Myrtle Hagin is on the far right (Photo courtesy of The United Church of Canada Archives/Victoria University Archives Acc. No. 86.067P/2, p. 19)

“he would probably be a comfortable man to live with.” The marriage meant that due to regulations Agnes had to resign from her previous duties and perform more informal duties in support of her husband’s missionary work. In addition to teaching Sunday School, writing articles for Motoko Hani’s pioneering women’s magazine, and running a myriad of meetings, Agnes was also raising her children—all six being born between 1895 and 1906. Although she had the help of four servants at home, Agnes described herself as “the busiest woman in Tokyo.” With the schooling of her own children, and those of the other missionaries, becoming more pressing, Agnes began to consider what educational options were available.

Probably the most advanced of the small schools operating in Tokyo at the time was Miss Fannie McCrae’s School in Tsukiji. Established by its eponymous headmistress in the Foreign Concession, the school was well-established and probably a decade old by the time Agnes became familiar with it. Miss McCrae, as she was simply known, had some considerable success, attributed to her “extra-ordinary [sic] personality” by the Japan Christian Yearbook. In 1894, a letter to the Japan Weekly Mail from RJ Kirby notes that in addition to Miss McCrae, who had obtained her bachelor’s degree in London, the school had three other well-qualified teachers—Miss Dawson and Miss Wallace from the United States and a German teacher Miss Zitelmann. “Two boys, last summer, passed the matriculation examination for Harvard,” a 1897 letter to the same newspaper comments before continuing to give examples of other students who transitioned to well-known institutions in their home countries.

Agnes herself noted the school’s academic reputation and tight organization in her letters.

A handwritten note in the school archive mentions that several children had previously attended a small school in the German Mission compound operated by the Bridel sisters.

Louis Adolphe Bridel, a renowned Swiss lawyer, abolitionist, and early champion of women’s rights, taught at Imperial University at the time and it is likely that the note refers to Amelie and Marguerite Bridel, two of his five children.

Mrs Myrtle Hagin also operated a home school from her residence in Koishikawa. Myrtle and her husband Fred Hagin met while they were both attending college in Eureka, and arrived in Tokyo in 1900 as missionaries with Fred taking oversight of the work of Hongo Church near to the Imperial University (now Tokyo University). Myrtle described those years as “mainly teaching and caring for the children” referring to Edith (Class of 1913), Dan (Class of 1917) and Fanny (Class of 1919). In addition to her home school, Myrtle also taught Bible classes for young Japanese men and women and ran a Sunday school.

It seems to have been during the time that Agnes volunteered her teaching skills at the Koishikawa school that she and the other women there conceived of the idea to bring the three home schools together under one roof. “During the past year a school for a limited number of children has been conducted by two ladies at Koishikawa, the results of which have been such as to lead to larger plans for the ensuing year,” the Japan Weekly Mail wrote on July 18, 1903. “Last June Mrs Coates of the Canadian Methodist Mission called a number of the missionary mothers together to see what could be done in the way of establishing a school for our children,” Eleanor wrote home to her Mission Board in 1903. It was felt by those women involved that a proper school would allow

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Ransford Miller, Harriet (1917), Lily and Lillian (1914) Daniel Crosby Greene

mothers to do direct mission work and their children would be better educated. Eleanor assured Mr Speer that this was not just women’s ideas, for there were also “consultations with leading men of several missions” which finally led to the Prospectus, a small pamphlet which she enclosed.

Agnes was already known for her “good business head” having established the Yamanashi Eiwa Jo Gakko. When it came to founding a school for the international community, outside of the framework of any single entity, she was savvy enough to ensure that prominent men from the community were asked for their input about the idea of the Tokyo School for Foreign Children. On July 1st, the “committee of ladies”— presumably Agnes, Eleanor, Myrtle, and others—met with Bishop William Awdry, Professor John Trumball Swift (from Imperial University and correspondent of the New York Sun), Richard J Kirby (a British merchant and Consul for Chile), who had some involvement with Miss McRae’s school in Tsukiji, and Agnes’ husband Rev Harper Coates.

Daniel Crosby Greene, was also no doubt also consulted about the plans to open a school. Greene—who had experienced the challenges of raising his eight children in Tokyo first hand—was a luminary of the missionary world and was one of a three-man team charged with the responsibility of first translating the New Testament into Japanese. Greene was immediately and deeply interested in the idea of a good school in Tokyo that would be open to all, regardless of nationality, religion, or class. Greene would later Chair the School’s Board between 1904–12, and advocate for funding from philanthropists back in the States such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller.

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The Japan Weekly Mail rep or te d t hat plans “to immediately star t an intermediate depar tment and a primary department, including a kindergarten for children from 4 to 12 years of age were formally approved” at the meeting. The committee also decided to organize an academic course to prepare older children for entrance into college. Following the meeting Eleanor wrote that, “It fell to my share to make out the Course of Study which ... will show you the kind and amount of work we hope to do.” The committee also asked Eleanor to take charge of the school as the principal for the coming year—something she wrote she “was happy to do having had six years experience in teaching before coming to Japan, tho it is considerable of a responsibil­ity when so many nationalities are concerned.”

Following the meeting a group of Patrons was established, which in addition to the men who had attended, included the great and good of Tokyo: Rev Dr Daniel Crosby Greene, Sir Claude MacDonald (British Ambassador to Japan), Lloyd C Griscom (United States Minister to Japan and newspaper publisher), Bishop John McKim (Anglican Bishop of Tokyo and Chancellor of Rikkyo University), Captain Francis Brinkley (Anglo-Irish owner of The Japan Mail and scholar), Rev Benjamin Chappell (Dean of the School of Theology Aoyama Gakuin), Rev Harvey Hugo Guy (professor of Greek and philosophy and Dean of Sei Gakuin), Rev Samuel Willis Hamblen (American Baptist Mission), Rev Henry M Landis (American Presbyterian Mission) and Dr Ludwig Hermann Loenholm (German professor of law at Imperial University).

The Kanda YMCA building circa 1903

In addition to this powerhouse board of patrons a Committee of Management was also established, which included: Ransford S Miller (who acted as treasurer) and his wife Lily from the American Legation, Emily Pengeley Buncombe (whose husband William was with the Christian Missionary Society), Myrtle Hagin, and the wives of some of the Patrons: Alice Hamblen, Joanna Kirby and Isabel Swift. Agnes Coates was appointed as the Chairman of the Committee and Business Manager of the school with Eleanor Haworth installed as Principal.

Time was of the essence as the school was slated to open just a month later in September. The committee had agreed that tuition revenue would be enough to allow them to hire Miss Carrie Newman from Vancouver, as the Superintendent of the Primary and Kindergarten Departments. The other grades would need to initially be staffed by the trained teachers already in the community such as Mar y Chappell, who had taught at Ingleside Seminary, and specialist teachers such as Mary E Lloyd, graduate of South Kensington School of Ar t, French teacher Emily Pengeley Buncombe, who graduated from Rouen Academy, and German teacher Emma Landis who graduated from the Royal Normal School for Women in Dresden. Classics would be taught by Prof Takizo Takasugi from Waseda University who had previously taught at DePauw University in Indiana, while the Ueno Academy of Art would supply someone to teach wood carving and clay modeling. The school’s Prospectus was quickly put together and published—it remains the oldest surviving document in ASIJ’s archive (see page 3).

“The school opened the twenty-fourth of last month [September 1903] with an enrollment of fifty-eight. There are others coming soon,” Eleanor wrote home. (She was right and by the 1904–05 school year 122 children were enrolled.) “We have rented rooms in the YMCA Building, but it is a very inconvenient arrangement,” she added, explaining that only one or two rooms were available all day, and others only for an hour or so at a time. The complications of renting a piano that must be kept in one of the classrooms, yet be used for practice by students presented her a puzzle in how to arrange things. Agnes remembered things differently and later wrote that seven classrooms were rented.

No doubt it was Ransford Miller, who had originally come to Japan in 1891 as a secretary of the international committee of the YMCA, who facilitated the use of their building at 3 Mitsohiro-cho, Kanda. The Prospectus describes it as being in “a healthy part of the city on a broad, quiet street.” One advantage to the location was that the new electric tram service stopped right outside. Although the classrooms in the brick building provided a convenient place to begin classes, the need for a permanent facility was evident from the start. The Prospectus noted that: “A building that can be used exclusively for the school, and, if possible more centrally located, will be secured as soon as funds will allow.” In the following year, the school relocated to three buildings in Tsukiji—one formerly used by the Tokyo Union Church, the Parish House of the American Episocopal Mission and a smaller building belonging to the Church Missionary Society—in what was the first of many moves during its first three decades.

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Ginza circa 1904 showing the newly electrified tram system

Agnes later wrote that “three-fourths of the pupils were from missionary homes at first,” which was not surprising given those involved in its conception. She was clear to point out that other community interests were included, with representation from the business community on the Board as well as an international faculty and student body. “The school has not closed its doors to the Japanese tho we can only take a small proportion. We now have Dr [Inazo] Nitobe’s adopted son [Yoshio Class of 1913],” Eleanor wrote at the time. Nitobe, who had converted to Christianity while at University in Hokkaido and later to Quakerism while studying at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, was an educator, diplomat, and prolific author best known in the West for his book Bushido: The Soul of Japan (1900)—later his portrait graced Japan’s ¥5,000 note between 1984–2004. He and his wife Mary Elkinton, who he had met in Philadelphia, had adopted Yoshio, who attended ASIJ from 1903–06, following the death of their son Thomas.

Despite the fact that the Tokyo School for Foreign Children began classes in September 1903, the official date of the school’s founding would prove to be contentious in the future. Agnes always maintained that school began in 1903 and wrote several times to dispute the 1902 foundation date preferred by later administrations. In 1935, she wrote a three page document on the early history of the school, which she followed up with a further five pages that addressed the date issue and other inaccuracies she had found in a student essay printed in The Japan Times. She wrote that It would not have been possible for the school to open any earlier due to the lack of tram service, referring to the newly formed Tokyo Densha Tetsudo that began operating an electric tram service between Shimbashi and Shinagawa in the summer of 1903.

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However, since 1910, references to the school’s beginning had claimed a 1902 starting date, suggesting that the discussion and plans for the Tokyo School for Foreign Children on the part of the Koishikawa teachers, including Agnes, and the establishment of their school in Myogadani was the “real” start of the school. The 1902 date was consistently used thereafter. In both the 1920s and again in 1935, the 1903 start date was brought to the attention of the Board of Trustees as the only possible one, but in both cases the Trustees preferred to use 1902 as the starting date. That date has been used ever since.

Foundation dates aside, what is indisputable is that the school’s existence is due to the determination, experience, and intelligence of the women involved and the support they received from the wider community for their well-considered plan. It is worth remembering how few women received formal education beyond the lower grades at the time and yet the missionary wives involved in ASIJ’s founding held college degrees and were experienced educators themselves.

Over the years many have repeated the story of a group of mothers getting together to start a school. While that may be true, it is a little reductive and those involved were qualified beyond just being mothers. Agnes Coates, Eleanor Haworth, Myrtle Hagin and their colleagues were also well-educated, professional teachers who saw the necessity and value that a good school would provide the international community.

Although Agnes would not approve of the date, we celebrate our 120th Anniversary this year and recognize that without their work we would not be here today.

Master Planners Matt Wilce talks to the team of architects from Ennead about creating a new master plan for the Chofu Campus.

A drizzly gray Monday morning isn’t necessarily the best time to take a tour of campus, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of a group of eager second graders tasked with showing off the exterior spaces in the Elementary School. Their guests were the team of architects from Ennead, the New York firm engaged to develop ASIJ’s next master plan for the Chofu Campus. With several of our buildings—including the Elementary School donut where their tour began—dating from the early 1960s and a campus that has grown and changed significantly over the subsequent decades, the need for a comprehensive master plan for the future is clear.

After considering several renowned architectural firms, ASIJ’s Board selected Ennead to conduct the master planning process. With 55 years of experience, the firm is internationally recognized for its planning and design work, principally in the public sector for educational, scientific and cultural institutions. The firm has developed full master plans and other enhancements for several larger EARCOS schools, as well for schools in the Middle East and Europe. The firm has also worked on master plans and building projects for universities such as Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Penn, Columbia, Cornell, and Stanford.

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Anders Evenson meets his second-grade tour guide

At the end of October, four members of the Ennead team visited Tokyo to get to know our community and learn more about ASIJ first hand. Having already spent the weekend in a retreat with the leadership team and Board of Directors as well as holding focus groups with each of the fourth grade classes, the Ennead team had already heard about the Japanese garden in the donut by the time their tour guides proudly showed off the lush green space.

“One of the things that was really surprising for me was how much greenery was important for especially the younger grades. Every one of them mentioned that they want more greenery,” noted architectural designer Anders Evenson. Anders, who grew up in Tokyo and attended St Mary’s International School, was the team member already the most familiar with the campus. His sisters Ingrid Evenson ‘19 and Astrid ‘15 both graduated from ASIJ and Ingrid, who is currently studying architecture at Cornell University, worked as an intern in Ennead’s New York office this summer, contributing further insights to the team’s pre-trip preparations.

In addition to talking about the impact of nature and accessibility to Nogawa Park, the elementary students also discussed the need for quiet spaces for contemplation and the sensory needs of different types of learners. “It was surprising that at that age they already are thinking about different modalities of learning,” commented Minh Tran, senior associate at Ennead.

“In elementary school typically you’d expect students to think along the lines that you come to school, you go to your classroom, you’re in your classroom all day, and you go home,” commented Alex O’Briant, a Principal at Ennead. “And the fact that they’re already talking like high school students and saying the classroom is the least important thing to them is interesting. It’s the network of social spaces outside

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Minh Tran and Alex O’Briant talk to parents in a focus group at the ELC campus

the classroom that are really what define your experience more broadly and more powerfully. And it did seem like the elementary school kids were just as clued into that,” he added. “It’s refreshing to hear how consistent that message was because that’s the kind of architecture we make, the kind of spaces we plan.”

In addition to their second grade tour guides, the team conducted focus groups with all of the fourth grade classes, fifth grade design tech students and third grade class representatives, middle school Leadership EXPLO, student reps from grades 9–12, high school Student Council and AP environmental science students. They also heard from the adults on campus and held sessions with faculty reps and the systems leaders who oversee support services such as technology, transportation and facilities. Three in-person and one virtual focus group gave the opportunity for parents and alumni to consider questions such as “What is the optimal size for ASIJ?” and imagine what the headline will be in The Japan Times—or viral social media post—in 10 years when the master plan is complete. Conducting such community input sessions is only part of the process though.

“You start by just trying to understand a place from afar, and then you go to the place and do this second part, which is, okay, now let’s really understand it. And there’s always an interesting moment where you look at those initial instincts versus the really valuable information you discover on the ground and you figure out what was on and what assumptions were wildly off,” Alex says. “Once you understand the place and begin to document it—document the thoughts of its community, of people, and users—and begin to document the actual physical spaces that we develop a deeper understanding.” Ennead’s goal is to “holistically think about how to evolve the campus to better support the mission,” Alex explains. “So for us that only happens through this kind of deep engagement process.”

Don Weinreich interviews high school students about their use of facilities and ideas for the future

Minh elaborates on their process explaining that they had already conducted a site analysis beforehand. “We knew what some of the questions we wanted to ask were.

But now that we’ve visited the campus, we can further that analysis,” she says. “Of course, there’s also an assessment of the facilities presented noting when all the buildings were designed. But now that we get to see it in person, there’s an assessment of what their physical health is and what their use is as well.” Considering a community’s culture is also vital she adds, “We call that a campus realignment. A lot of times it’s saying, how do we interface with our larger community?

How do we interface with community, city, country? In many cases, it’s about creating a clarity in your space planning.”

In addition, the site visit is also about alignment and ensuring the team understands the School’s aspirations and pedagogical goals. Alex notes that knowing the growth plan and educational goals is important in allocating space “especially since when we are actually determining how big future buildings need to be, we have to factor this in because the reality is that some of these classrooms have to be bigger than they used to be to meet modern pedagogical goals.”

Minh adds that “we know a typical lecture format classroom is not how learning is done anymore. There’s flexibility needed in a classroom. There’s collaboration in the classroom. We talked about needs around neurodiversity, right? So making sure that the master plan meets these needs is important.”

creating an unfamiliar place can be really detrimental to your community, to your alumni,” he notes. “So a lot of their campus realignment approach is about change management and first of all, getting people excited about the potential.”

What was interesting in the focus groups was “that a lot of the things that people want to keep are not things that you literally physically have to keep, like everybody wants to keep the kiosk,” Alex says. “Everybody wants to keep the idea of a kiosk and that’s something you can work with because we can make it way better. Mixing it in with a library, a media lab next to it, you know?” Of course, the iconic school gate and senior stones will be preserved, but Alex notes that ”ultimately it’s interesting when you ask people what they want to keep, they’re looking to keep a spirit of a place and cultural sense of place, not necessarily specific physical things.”

It will be several months until Ennead presents us with their proposed master plan next spring, when we will engage our stakeholders again on the future campus design. We’re not sure that our fourth grader Jackson’s wish for a river running through campus is a possibility, but isn’t it wonderful to think about how something like that would shape our future student’s learning.

Another important part of the process is the phasing of the master plan. “What the phasing component is about, is really looking at what the priorities are, what the limitations are, and developing a plan forward. What you hope is that the plan forward is not a linear thing, but it actually gives you choice,” Alex says. “Change has to be managed among your stakeholder community because there are a lot of people who, no matter how chaotic this campus might be, it’s the one that they know and that they relate to. And so suddenly

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Big Fish When ASIJ icon Gary Fish (FF ’65–95, AP ’76–77, ’78–93) passed away in August, there was an outpouring of memories and anecdotes from the community. Here his son David Fish ’90 reflects on Gary’s life and teaching career and other friends and former students share their reminiscences.

Gary Gene Fish of Livingston, MT, passed away on Friday, August 12, 2022 at 81 years old. Gary was born on September 19, 1940 in Livingston and attended local schools, graduating from Park County High School in 1958, where he served as student body president in his senior year. After graduation, he entered the US Air Force Academy before enrolling at the University of Montana, where he graduated with a BA in history and political science in 1962. While at the University of Montana he was a Grizz cheerleader (on a dare he tried out for the team and was selected!), a member of the University Model UN team, and a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

After graduation, Gary spent a few years teaching and traveling Europe before finding a home as a history and Latin teacher at ASIJ in 1965, where he remained off and on for 30 years. In 1968, he enrolled at the University of Arizona, where he obtained an MA in Oriental studies and where he met his future wife Alaete (FF ’78–95, AP ’76–77, ’78–93). After graduation, he and Alaete moved back to Tokyo together, where they were married and Alaete was employed at ASIJ, as well. After two years, the couple spent some time together in Alaete’s native Brazil before eventually returning to Japan where they finally settled in 1978 with their two children.

Gary taught a variety of subjects at ASIJ and started several programs. Part of his vast history curriculum included India and East Asian History where every student was quizzed on

“What US state comes closest in land area to that of Japan?”

The answer, of course, was Montana! He started the cross country team with fewer than ten runners. The team often trained by running through the Tama cemetery, and people would often ask Gary to tell stories about his own runs through the cemetery at night being followed by cars, or his occasional jogs home from Shinjuku after the trains stopped. When a suggestion was made by a senior to start a thespian society at ASIJ, Gary made it a reality. Year after year, he presented the drama award at the annual Awards Assembly. He directed Fall Plays, the One Acts, and Spring Musicals. He also taught a drama class for many years. In 1990, he was granted a sabbatical leave to study theater and Buddhism for a year at the University of Montana. He returned to ASIJ and continued teaching there until his retirement in 1995.

Outside of ASIJ, Gary was involved in many ventures. He took numerous lead roles in the Tokyo International Players productions, was the lead singer of the Montana Fish, a country western band composed of ASIJ faculty, and did some stand up comedy. He and his wife participated in faculty fun runs that took place in the cemetery before watching the final day of a sumo tournament at parties hosted by Ki Nimori (FF ’60–02, AP ’74–84). Annually, the Fishes would hold the International Beer Festival where the cost of admission consisted of a can of beer from around the world; the cans would end up in Gary’s ever-growing collection.

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Gary Fish performing at the HS Talent Show in 1986

Following his retirement, he eventually settled down in Livingston, MT—his birthplace—with his wife. He was heavily involved in acting, directing, and entertaining. Gary went on six national tours as an actor with the Montana Repertory Theater and was involved with the local theater productions as well as acting for commercials and movies when cast. He was also an active member of the St Andrew’s Episcopal Church as a choir member and served on the vestry.

Gary had many role models growing up such as baseball players like Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Dizzy Dean, Enos Slaughter and Harvey Haddix. But his two most influential role models were his mother and father. They too had a wonderful sense of humor. His father, a salesman, was also a talented musician and entertainer. He had been in the Marine Corp and wounded in the battle for Okinawa in World War II, but never spoke ill of those he fought against and showed much compassion and forgiveness, which was very influential to Gary. Later in life, Gary’s role models included Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King for their teachings of non-violence, forgiveness, racial equality, compassion and humility. He was a devote Christian but actively studied other religions and belief systems, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Islam.

He had a wonderful sense of humor and enjoyed being in comedies, entertaining people and making them laugh.

He loved teaching and inspiring students to think creatively.

Montana and its natural beauty as well as the country of Japan were emblazoned on his heart. His curiosity of all things led to a lifelong joy of reading and discovery. When once asked why he didn’t become a politician, his answer was that he believed he could make a greater impact on the world as a teacher.

He did just that. He left an impact that has been felt globally.

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My favorite memory of Mr Fish is when he emceed the student talent show in ’87 or ’88; Every time he introduced an act, he appeared as a different character.

Absolutely amazing and hysterical. I wouldn’t be in the TV business today if it weren’t for what he taught me as a young drama student. He was an inspiration to me, not only as a teacher, but as a father and husband. I’m grateful to have had him in my life. Oh, and who remembers the Steve Martin photo at his desk that was signed “Best Fishes.”

—Bob Redell ’89

I got to know Gary more after returning to the States, due to ASIJ faculty reunions. After settling in California and later marrying, my new husband was combining our contacts. When he read Gary’s name, he commented, “I used to know a Gary Fish. We were acolytes together in the Episcopal church in Livingston, Montana.” Amazingly, it was Gary! The thought of Gary brings the picture of a fellow dressed in overalls, which became his uniform here. Gary was so full of humor, and he valued and honored not only friends near and far, but mankind in general. He lived and acted on his values. I was privileged to have known him.

—Nancy Moore (FF ’65–68)

One Saturday night, after a session at Alaete’s favorite Brazilian restaurant in Shibuya, a group of us ended up heading west on the Chuo Line, and Gary was working his magic. His antics had us laughing, and several young Japanese commuters were joining in the fun. Jokes, pantomimes, his smile.

When the train stopped at Nakano, the young people surrounded Gary and “kidnapped” him as they moved across the platform to their express train. Everybody wanted Gary to be in their production. From community theater to ASIJ plays to the Montana Rep Theater, Gary was a wanted man.

Even when he wasn’t acting, he played leading roles. As a husband, father, teacher, colleague, and friend, Gary performed in a way that made others feel good—he was a man of vitality, integrity, and humor. The “kidnappers” on the Chuo Line that night released Gary and waved farewell just before the doors closed, and as our train left for Kichijoji, Gary kept talking, laughing, and entertaining. Gary won many Academy Awards for having a positive influence on those of us lucky enough to know him.

Gary Fish was teaching in the High School while I survived in the Elementary, so we didn’t run into each other often.

But we had great gatherings on the weekends. We always looked forward to and enjoyed those fun times together, especially with Gary and Thurman Dennis (FF ’62–93) keeping us well-entertained with stories of their adventures. Those memories of Tokyo and of ASIJ will never be forgotten.

—Clara Kobayashi (FF ’62–71)

Gary Fish with the members of the One Acts Play I Know I Saw Gypsies in 1995

Gary, Rich Zielinski (FF ’82–83), Ian Taylor (FF ’78–88), Tim Willson (FF ’80–87, AP ’85–87), and musical choreographer Shuny Palmisano pose for a photo in the Little Theater in 1983

—Dan Gogerty (FF ’88–05)

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My family moved to Japan in the fall of 1988, and on one of my first days at ASIJ, I saw a flyer about auditions for the Fall Play, M*A*S*H. Knowing I needed to make friends, I decided to try out. I was lucky enough to be cast in a great part by Mr Fish—he inadvertently set the whole course of my ASIJ social life over the coming years! He was also my IEA teacher that fall (history of India and East Asia), and like many of his students, I remember struggling to come with creative designs for maps of India, China, and Japan. I tried making an “upside-down map,” but unfortunately I got no points for creativity. I emailed with him a couple of years ago and brought this up, and he replied, “Today, I would probably give you extra points for creativity for an upside down map of Japan. I’ve mellowed with age.” He went on sabbatical for my senior year and I really missed him.

Alaete Fish, Phil Knobel (FF ’70–75), Gary Fish, and Maurice Rasmussen (FF ’68–74) pose for a photo in 2015

—Jeff Slutzky ’91

Karen Seevers (FF ’77–87, ’90–95, ’96–17, AP ’91–06) with Alaete and Gary in 1992 Gary was above all a “people person,” eager to socialize and share his ready wit and smile. In short, he was hilarious, regaling us with comical tales and impromptu accents, all the while being kind and caring, never having a critical or untoward comment about others. And beyond all of his sterling personality traits, Gary was an outstanding teacher, devoted to his students and to his craft.

—Polly Phillips Vasche (FF ’65–67)

Gary with One Act Plays stage managers Mika Tamura ’95 and Lisa Napoli ’96 in 1994

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Gary Fish was a wonderful human being.

He was smart, funny, and demanding in a good way. I took modern European history from him. “You will marshall your arguments,” he told us one day in 1974. I had never heard the word “marshall” used in that way before, but I understood what he meant. We marshaled our arguments. Thank you, Gary Fish.

—Miriam Rich ’76

We organized faculty ski trip to Ki Nimori’s home village of Kijimadaira, Niigata, where Gary demonstrated his Western Montana ski skills—including a one-and-a-half somersault on the slope—that impressed all of us!

—Peter Nagafuchi (FF ’66–68)

Libby Beyreis ’90, Gary Fish, Julie McCord ’93, Sakurako Nishida ’90, and Barbara Knode (FF ’88–94 AP ’67–86) pose for a photo in 1990

Gary was so kind to meet us in Montana and show us around Yellowstone Park the day before we moved back to Japan. It was such a memorable experience for us.

We talked about the old days, and it was so nice to connect with a former teacher. We love thinking about his time at ASIJ in the 1960s, before the internet, when long distance phone calls were difficult and expensive.

—Jen Van Ness ’94 and Andrew Melton ’94

Andrew Melton ’94, Jen Van Ness ’94, Gary Fish (FF ’65–95, AP ’76–77, ’78–83), Alaete Fish (FF ’78–95, AP ’76–77, ’78–83), and Daniel Fish ’93’s daughter Jordan taken at the Grand Canyon in Yellowstone on July 29th, 2020

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A Wise Choice Miranda Liu profiles Wise Young ’68, one of two recipients of our inaugural Alumni Impact Award in 2022. A pioneering medical professional, Wise has brought hope to a generation of spinal cord injury patients.

Founding Director of the W. M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University, Dr Wise Young ’68 was awarded the ASIJ Alumni Impact Award last spring for his lifetime body of medical research. His pioneering work on the treatment of spinal cord injuries and regenerative medicine has impacted the lives of countless people and advanced the science of such treatments. The recipient of numerous plaudits for his work, Wise was named “America’s Best” in the field of spinal cord injury research by TIME magazine in 2001.

After graduating from Stanford in 1977, Wise attended New York University, which had what was regarded as the top neurosurgery program in the country at Bellevue Hospital.

“I was in my second year as a resident when I took care of someone with a spinal cord injury. At that time, there was nothing you could do for spinal cord injury. I was blown away by that,” Wise told The Ambassador in 1998. “And that’s what I had to tell the family of this 17-year-old boy who broke his neck in a wrestling accident during a match.

I was on the wrestling team at ASIJ, so it struck close to home. I thought, ‘This guy just bruised his spinal cord and he’s going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life. There must be something I can do.’ The worst feeling that one can have as a doctor is to feel helpless.” That experience prompted Wise to submit a grant proposal, the funding of which began his research in 1979.

Incredibly, the first therapy that Wise tried in the laboratory ended up proving to be effective. A number of scientists had described a progression of pathological changes in the spinal cord: at 30 minutes after injury, the injured area typically appeared relatively undamaged. However, over four to six hours, the spinal cord rapidly deteriorated, turning into a bloody soup in the middle. “I was curious as to how and why this occurred,” Wise told us in 1998. “Therefore I stuck electrodes into the spinal cord to measure blood flow and extracellular ions and used methylprednisolone (MP) to see its effect.” High dose MP remarkably prevented the fall in blood flow. “I realized that the attitude toward spinal cord injury was so pessimistic that nobody would be willing to accept my findings. The only way to prove it was to pull together a consortium to test it, rigorously. Before this could be done I had to show it was safe.” In 1981, Wise gave the therapy to 30 people with spinal cord injuries—17 of whom walked out of the hospital. From there, Wise was able to move to clinical trials and begin the long journey of getting this new approach to treating spinal cord injuries accepted by the medical community—something that took decades of perseverance to achieve.

But af ter years of publications and talks and the establishment of multiple foundations and symposia, Wise finally helped to bring about what he described as “a revolution in neuroscience.” When just a decade ago, the

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majority of neuroscientists Wise interacted with were adamant that regeneration of the spinal cord was impossible, by 1998, that had made a 180-degree turnaround. “Most scientists who are knowledgeable about the field believe that effective regenerative therapies are not only possible but can be achieved within a relatively short time,” he told The Ambassador at the time.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about Wise’s work is that the driving factor behind his research was always to bring hope to patients with spinal cord injuries. He shared that he felt frustrated and without a good answer for years when asked with skepticism if he wasn’t “raising false hope” by journalists throughout his career, before it finally came to him: “While hope is painful, no hope is devastating.” Although not a possibility at the time, Wise met the 17-year-old patient during his residency, building a future where “restoring sufficient function to people so that the injury no longer prevents them from doing the things they want to do,” is something he felt strongly about. In fact, when he was interviewed on the Today Show in 1995 regarding prominent actor Christopher Reeve’s spinal cord injury, Wise emphasized the importance of facing serious cases

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such as Christopher’s with a positive mindset, stating, “This is exactly the kind of thing that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If everybody gives up hope, nothing will happen and he will indeed remain the way he is.”

Almost three decades later, Wise is still working hard to bring hope to patients with spinal cord injuries and their families. The spinal cord injury website he founded in 2001, CareCure.net, contains both up-to-date news on treatments for spinal cord injury and a forum to allow patients and their families to share resources and exchange information about clinical trials, services, doctors, and clinics. From 2003 to 2018, Wise established and led the China Spinal Cord Injury Network to determine efficacy of lithium and umbilical cord blood mononuclear cell therapies of people with chronic complete spinal cord injuries in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan with positive results in multiple rounds of clinical trials. Further clinical trials in the United States were put on pause for COVID, but got back underway again in mid-2021.

The human emotion behind Wise’s work was a motivating factor for those who nominated him. Mara Purl ’68 noted that “his extraordinary

The Alumni Awards Committee

Wise in his lab in New York in 1985

contribution to the field of medical research and his dedication to helping those with spinal cord injury to walk again” moved her to submit him for consideration for the award. Marty Honda ’68, who remembers Wise as a “very creative guy” ever since their time in high school, agreed, sharing that he nominated Wise because of his outstanding research that brought new hope for patients.

The same held true for the members of the selection committee, made up of ASIJ alumni, faculty, staff, and student representatives. Current f acult y member Sus an Islascox shared that she was inspired by Wise’s dedication to research and advancement in regenerative medicine and moved at the opportunities not previously possible that he is providing in the lives of those with spinal cord injuries. Fellow committee member Ellie Reidenbach ’22 found the story of Wise’s work moving and voted for him “because he brings hope to people

worldwide who lost their mobility through spinal cord injuries.” She added that she was “inspired by how he dedicates his life to contributing to research that will help millions of people. Additionally, I think he is a great role model for all the STEM students at ASIJ who started science research to make a positive impact on the world.”

Alumni Council Award Subcommittee Co-Chair Gary Yamada ’00’s comment really sums up what a meaningful impact Wise has made in his field, sharing, “Wise’s accomplishments speak for themselves. His treatments have improved the quality of life for so many people.”

The Alumni Awards Committee, led by co-chairs Buddy Marini ’85 and Gary Yamada ’00, along with Sandra OrtonTweed ’85, Naomi Hayase ’99, Kelly O’Brien ’02, and Alex Heideman ’11, reviewed 34 nominees for the 2021–2022 Alumni Impact Award. It was a challenging selection process, as the nominees had incredible accomplishments. After careful deliberations, the committee, along with ASIJ faculty and student representatives, selected The Thirteen Sisters and Wise Young ’68 for the inaugural recipients.

This year, Minako Abe ’88 joined the committee, and we introduced a new ASIJ Young Alumni Changemaker Award, which will recognize an alum who graduated within the last ten years and has brought about a significant positive change to a community or institution.

We are looking forward to seeing more alumni nominations and their positive contributions in their field or pursuit. If you know of a strong candidate for either award, please submit your nominations through ASIJ’s website linked at the QR code below. All ASIJ alumni are eligible to be nominated, regardless of whether they graduated from ASIJ or not.

https://www.asij.ac.jp/ alumni/alumni-awards

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Strength and Courage Award Shun Ueno ’22, the recipient of this year’s Strength and Courage Award, speaks to us about perseverance and the challenges he faced after a life-changing accident.

The seventh annual Strength and Courage Award was presented to Shun Ueno ’22 in June of this year. The award of ¥1 million is presented annually to a senior who has displayed courage and personal strength during their time at ASIJ. “It was a little bit surprising when I received the email from Ms Clear that I had been nominated for the Strength and Courage Award, because I had decided not to nominate myself. I was really grateful that someone had nominated me,” Shun commented.

Deserving students are nominated by faculty, counselors, and administrators at the end of the first semester of their senior year, and invited to submit an essay describing the ways in which strength and courage played a role in their lives. Submissions are reviewed by the Child Protection Task Force composed of students, counselors, administrators, and members of the Board of Directors. Nominees are then interviewed by the task force as a part of the selection process. One of those nominating Shun was Doug McQueen, Shun’s college counselor. Doug, who got to know Shun very well through the college admission process, described him as “a rock,” and an inspiration to “our faculty, [his] cohort, and ASIJ as a whole.”

Shun’s outstanding strength and courage is rooted in an experience that not many other high school students could possibly fathom, not to mention face: after sustaining a severe spinal cord injury during middle school, he walks with a cane. And while many of Shun’s teachers and classmates see him as an inspiration, it was a long and difficult journey for Shun to be able to see himself in that light. Eloquent and well-spoken, Shun evocatively described his mixed feelings towards his cane, or “partner in crime,” as a love-hate relationship. “We live together, go to school together, travel together… he supports me through my hardships, and is always there for my triumphs. He is so vital to my everyday life, and for that I am forever grateful. Yet I also hate him,” he shared.

“Despite everything he has given me, I wish I wouldn’t have to see him ever again.” It was only in recent years that Shun came to realize that his cane could signify not loss but hope.

Shun first came to ASIJ in Grade 6 after three years in Australia. An athletic child, he had thrived in his rural town in Gold Coast, Queensland, enjoying the opportunities available to him in the nature that surrounded his home and school. “I would play rugby during lunch at school, and I really took up golf. We lived really close to the golf course, so I got

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really serious about it,” Shun shared. “We were actually only planning to stay in Australia for two years, but since I really wanted to continue playing golf, my family actually extended our stay.” Ever modest, Shun was hesitant to admit that he was “pretty good,” but in fact, he was selected by the state of Queensland to play at a national level. After returning to Tokyo, the urban environment led Shun to trade his golf clubs for a skateboard. “Even though I couldn't do cool tricks, I just loved skating downtown, you know, skating through the streets,” Shun reminisced. “I just loved that feeling of freedom.”

Shun dreamed of a career in sports for his first year and a half at ASIJ before his family returned to Australia for a brief visit during winter vacation of his seventh grade year. It was while enjoying his holiday in the backyard pool at a friend’s house that Shun’s life was turned upside down. Unfamiliar with the layout and depth of the pool, Shun mistakenly dove in headfirst in a shallow area. “I clearly remember everything before and after. The only thing I don’t remember anything about is actually hitting the bottom,” he recollected, recounting the terrifying experience. “After diving in, the next thing I remember is that I was just floating face down in the water. At first, I tried to move my arms, but I couldn’t.

So I thought, I just broke both of my arms, because I dove in with them straight in front of me. And so then I tried to turn my body with my legs, and I realized I couldn’t do that either. So I was fully conscious, face down in the water, and I kept trying to turn my body to get air, but I couldn’t.”

Shun was soon rescued, but only after being face down in the water for more than five minutes. After being rushed to the hospital, the first priority was to check for brain damage that may have occurred after being left without oxygen for so long. “It was crazy,” Shun shared. “I had only seen MRIs and CAT scans in movies.” But he was fortunate—the tests came back showing that he hadn’t suffered brain damage.

“The first thing the doctor told me was, ‘You’re very lucky.’

I was very, very close. Maybe 30 seconds more and I would have had brain damage.”

But that left the question of his spinal cord injuries. “When the doctor told me I was lucky, I was like, ‘What are you talking about?!’” Shun admitted. “I just had no clue what was going on. At that age, I didn’t know the specific functions of a spinal cord. I couldn’t connect the fact that I damaged my spine to the reason I couldn’t move my body. So it was just pure confusion as to why I was being told I was lucky that I didn’t have brain damage and why I couldn’t move any part of my body.”

He soon found out that the road to recovery was long and uncertain. At first, he was put into a halo neck brace, which connects to the patient’s head with metal bolts in order to stabilize the neck. “For three months it was just constant headaches,” Shun recalled, “It was not a good time for me. And until I got the brace off, I couldn’t start rehab.”

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During the time Shun was in the halo neck brace, his family decided to return to Japan for his rehabilitation process, so Shun was forced to lay on a stretcher in the back of the airplane for the duration of the long journey back to Tokyo. “Obviously, I couldn’t move, and I was like maybe ten centimeters away from the ceiling,” he recounted. “Now that I can look back on it and laugh, I suppose it makes a good story. But I think that it is in the top five worst moments in my life.”

Back in Japan, he was checked in to a rehabilitation center in Saitama specifically for people with injuries and disabilities like his own. He was there from January until August, for about eight months. “Usually it’s around six,” he shared,” because with spinal cord injuries, the first six months kind of determines the trajectory of how recovery will go. But because I was so young, that window was a little wider than usual for me.”

The rehabilitation process was physically and emotionally grueling for Shun, especially for a middle schooler at a time in his life where teenagers usually gain independence. “It was indescribably demoralizing and humiliating,” he recalled. “I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. How could I when I couldn’t perform the most basic tasks on my own anymore?

I couldn’t get dressed. I couldn’t even eat. I couldn’t go to the bathroom, so I had to wear diapers and have a catheter, which was pretty degrading. I had no independence and I had to ask my nurses to do everything.” He also turned away visits from friends during the entirety of his stay at the hospital in Saitama. “I reasoned that my hospital was too far for them to visit, but looking back, that was a lie,” he confessed. “I was too embarrassed and scared to be seen in my most vulnerable state, especially by my closest friends.

I wanted them to remember the ‘old me.’”

But while his lack of independence was the cause behind many of Shun’s negative feelings of frustration and humiliation during his rehabilitation, it was also a strong motivator.

“Independence was a very big thing that I strove towards, and that motivated me for sure. Because I lost all of that. I had no independence; I was being fed by my younger brother or the nurses. So that was a big part of my motivation, thinking, ‘I don’t want to be in diapers forever.’ So continuing to push myself in the pursuit of independence was great for my recovery. I couldn’t give up, because if I did, I would have been letting one fateful accident get the better of me.”

It took eight months of intense effort and many struggles, but finally, Shun regained enough mobility to walk with a cane.

“That was the proudest moment of my life,” Shun recalled.

But his discharge from the rehabilitation center and return to Tokyo for his eighth grade year at ASIJ came with mixed emotions. His new independence came with a sense of pride and relief for all that he had overcome, but his need for a cane was bittersweet, Shun recalled. “That time marked the beginning of my love-hate relationship with my cane—a union that served as a constant reminder of everything I had lost.”

Shun receiving the Strength and Courage award from Doug McQueen at the high school award ceremony

Shun returned to school a week later than his classmates, and while he had made incredible progress since his accident, he was extremely self conscious of how he had changed since his friends had last seen him. Despite the fact that independence had been a major motivator for him during his time in rehab, he was still forced to rely on the help of others to get through the school day. “I was still very dependent,” he recalled. “Back then, I wasn’t able to carry my own backpack, so I would have to ask people to carry my bag to the next class. I had this big ankle brace, and I had to walk much slower and I was really wobbly.” But even in the face of these obstacles, Shun remained determined.

“The doctors had said that maybe an electric wheelchair was an option for me, but I absolutely did not want to come to school in a wheelchair. Maybe I was being immature in that sense, but I was so stubborn on that point.” But it wasn’t easy—Shun wasn’t even able to eat in the cafeteria until his sophomore year of high school, having lunch in a separate room during eighth and ninth grades. “For so long, the crowd was just too much for me,” he shared. “But as I gradually grew stronger and more comfortable weaving through people, I was finally able to go back to eating with everyone. And even though that’s nothing for a normal student, it was very, very big for me.”

One big source of strength for Shun through his return to school was his friends. After fear and embarrassment caused him to keep them at arm’s length during his rehabilitation process, Shun was worried about connecting with his old friend at school. “I was obviously very, very nervous,” he recalled. “I think I mentally aged so much during those nine months, because there was so much going on in the hospital, not just rehab, but life experiences in general. I was worried I would feel pretty emotionally distant from your average

middle schooler, and I was afraid that maybe I wouldn’t be able to connect with my friends again.” But he was relieved to have the exact opposite experience of his fears. “Everyone was very welcoming,” Shun recounted. “I felt very happy and very cherished. It was really heartwarming.” And Shun’s friends’ support wasn’t limited to welcoming him back—as he learned to navigate campus with his cane, his friends learned how to help him. “Once I knew that if something went wrong, I had the support of my friends, that really boosted my confidence. I knew I had someone to lean on.”

But alongside the physical challenges Shun faced returning to school after his accident, it was difficult to mentally and emotionally overcome the barriers he came up against. “I very clearly remembered life before the accident,” he recalled.

“And I would always compare my experiences now and then.”

It was especially difficult for his eighth grade year, which was spent in the same middle school building he’d been in for his sixth and the first half of his seventh grade years before his accident. “I would always think, ‘I would just have run up the stairs back then. Now I have to go around and ride the elevator.’ Stuff like that was hard—the fact that I knew what it felt like to be ‘normal’ was tough for me.”

“It’s still an ongoing challenge in some sense,” he reflected further. “I’m much better at thinking positively now. But it’s still a little bit tough, because my body still remembers how it feels to run. I feel a little like a bird that was once free in a cage.

Now, obviously, I don’t feel that way all the time. But back in eighth grade, in that same building, it felt like, just a year ago I was running around with the other kids, and now I’m on the sidelines just watching my friends play soccer during lunch.”

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Shun as a sixth-grader in 2016

But as time went on, with the support of his friends and others in the community, slowly, Shun’s mentality began to change. “With time I started to come to understand that it’s something I can’t change,” he recollected. “I thought, ‘I have to embrace this. I can’t just shy away from it forever, because if I have 80 years left to live, I can’t go on like this anymore.’ His attitude towards his cane, which he once saw as a symbol only of all he had lost, began to change. “I realized that it didn’t signify loss, but rather hope and appreciation.

I remembered the days when I had nothing—no mobility, no independence, no freedom. So when I received anything such as the humble gift of moving my toes, I felt a profound sense of hope. This hope soon deepened to an appreciation of life itself as moving a single toe changed to moving my foot and then, with the help of my cane, to the ultimate gift of walking again. In some senses, I felt like the luckiest person in the world.”

The change in mentality only a few short years after an accident that permanently impacted his mobility already displays impressive strength, but Shun’s change in attitude didn’t just stop with hope for himself. “Something just clicked in my mind. I just recognized that my story can have an impact on people.” It started in small ways, like opening up about his experiences to Doug during college counseling sessions—Doug recollects being taken aback by Shun’s honesty, vulnerability, and frankness during their conversations together, describing Shun’s courage and resilience as “simply unfathomable.” Shun’s confidence continued to grow with time until he, the boy once ashamed for his friends to see him in a vulnerable state, stepped up and spoke to seventh grade students about resilience during an advisory lesson.

“Ms Vriend, one of the counselors, contacted me about presenting at a session on the theme of perspective. At the time, I was writing college essays and learning how to open myself up in words, so I thought it was a pretty good opportunity for me to share my story and potentially impact those kids,” Shun shared. “It was really big for me. It felt like the first full circle moment for me, because I broke my neck when I was in seventh grade, and I got to share my story for the seventh graders. It was a really special moment.” Monica Clear (FF ’17–22, AP ’17–22), the Safeguarding Coordinator during Shun’s senior year, was deeply impressed by his presentation, describing his courage as amazing. “It was super brave,” she commented.

Unsurprisingly, Shun’s impressive resilience and bravery shone through in his college essays, and he was accepted to his first choice school—Stanford University—in early December of his senior year. He’ll be facing new challenges, like living on

30

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

his own in dorms for the first time and deciding what he w a nt s to s t u d y.

“It’s exciting but scary at the same time,” he admitted with a laugh. “I’ve never even been to campus. I feel like I have a blank canvas, in a sense, and I want to explore a lot of things and take a lot of classes.”

His mature approach and comfort with uncertainty reflects the confidence of someone who knows he can overcome whatever challenges life throws at him. He’s truly living his motto, the Japanese saying “nana korobi ya oki” or “fall 7 times, get up 8.”

Now a young adult with a wider and more mature perspective, Shun still sometimes struggles with negative feelings about his cane from time to time. But his experiences help him view his situation from different perspectives. “I made the conscious choice to shift my perspective from comparing myself to what I was before the accident and instead start comparing to the time immediately after the injury when I had nothing,” Shun shared. “An example I used for the seventh grade presentation was based on the ‘cup half full’ adage. For me, even if my cup is four-fifths empty, I can’t be a four-fifths empty person. I have to be a one-fifth full person. I think that analogy really struck well with the kids.”

But for now, Shun is excited to begin his next chapter at Stanford. “I’m very interested in joining the Stanford Disability Alliance,” Shun shared eagerly. “My friends at ASIJ are so supportive, but I’m the only disabled person at this school, and even in the area where I live, I don’t see disabled people that often. So in a sense, I do feel like I’m alone in this. But since Stanford is a huge school, there are so many people like me that share similar experiences. And I’m just so excited to meet and talk with those people.”

As he heads off to college, Shun is well-equipped with the strength, courage, and positive perspective he’s gained to tackle any challenges he faces. He’s coming up on the sixth anniversary of the first time he walked with his cane, and he feels ready to face the future. “As I reflect on these years, I realize that with great adversity comes even greater selfgrowth,” he shared. “I have lost so much but gained so much more. I am excited to open doors, not just the ones once closed by my injury, but also the new doors of opportunity I will create for myself as I head into college and adulthood.”

FUNDRAISING UPDATE

21–22

As this year is the 120th anniversary of our founding we’ve been looking back in our archives and it is clear that we have had a generous and supportive community right from our start back in 1902.

Some of our earliest fundraising materials uncovered from 1903 make a similar case to now, that we need the support of our community to propel us forward.

Last year was an outstanding year for the ASIJ Annual Fund. With your support, we raised ¥102 million and surpassed our goal of ¥100 million—a truly exciting milestone for our school. To celebrate our anniversary year we are hoping—with your help—to raise ¥120 million for the 2022–23 Annual Fund.

Why do we continue to need to raise more money? As donations to the Annual Fund increase each year, so does ASIJ’s ability to reach for more of its aspirations. ASIJ depends on the participation of all of its community members to fund those things that already define ASIJ and help us become the school that we all aspire for it to be. This school year we were able to expand our Partnerships Team with the addition of a Director of Service Learning. The work that Claire Psillides has already done in that role in just a few months is already reshaping and growing our program.

Thank you to those of you who have already made a gift to ASIJ this school year—we are extremely grateful for your loyal support. If you would like to join our donor community and make a gift that is meaningful to you, you’ll be joining those who, throughout the past 120 years, have supported the ASIJ mission.

With appreciation,

Claire Lonergan Director of Giving

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2022

31

FUNDRAISING UPDATE Results Summary

We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of the ASIJ community. With your support, we raised a total of ¥102 million for the 2021–22 Annual Fund. We set a record with 925 households contributing to our school and surpassed our goal of raising ¥100 million.

¥102,086,028 +19% ¥102,086,028

The following pages celebrate the community members who made contributions to the ASIJ Annual Fund from July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022 whose gifts supported the many programs that help ASIJ to be a defining moment in the lives of our students. It is our pleasure to recognize your role in making a difference to our students.

¥76,534,396 ¥76,534,396

¥85,521,398 ¥85,521,398

Total Raised in 2021–22

2019–20

2020–21

2021–22

2019–20

2020–21

2021–22

Giving by Constituency 413 Current Parents 290 Alumni 413 Current Parents 210 Alumni 290 Parents Alumni 196 210Current AlumniFaculty/Staff Parents 49 Former Faculty/Staff 196 Current Faculty/Staff 7 Friends 49 Former Faculty/Staff 7 Friends 32

Total Raised

in 2021–22 +19%

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

It’s wonderful to see our donation used to better the school and that we can make a difference.

—Daisuke and Seiko Yamada Current Parents, Lantern Society

COMMITTEE UPDATE PTA Parent Annual Fund Committee

The ASIJ PTA Annual Fund Committee was established last fall (2021), and is an active volunteer committee which is focused on building the parent community of giving at our school.

Committee members are ASIJ parents that act as ambassadors for the Annual Fund, answer common questions about the school’s fundraising and promote parent participation in the Annual Fund.

The committee partners with the ASIJ Advancement Office to coordinate efforts that align with the school’s overall fundraising activities and focuses their outreach on Giving Tuesday and April Appreciation.

If you have any questions or are a parent interested in joining this committee, please contact annualfund@pta.asij.ac.jp.

Jill Kashiwagi ASIJ PTA Annual Fund Committee Chair

Alumni Council Giving Committee

Paul Hastings ’00 Alumni Council Giving Subcommittee Chair

The objective of the Alumni Council’s Giving Committee is to encourage the alumni community to participate in the Annual Fund. During its first year, the members of the Giving Committee were brought up to speed about the goals and impact of the Annual Fund and ASIJ’s broader fundraising efforts, engaged in regular discussions with ASIJ’s advancement team about the school’s fundraising strategy, participated in Giving Tuesday, actively promoted the Annual Fund through social media, sent personalized appeals to members of their class, and answered questions from alumni. The Giving Committee is always seeking to grow its membership, so please consider joining our efforts.

Please contact Miranda Liu at alumni@asij.ac.jp if you would like to join us.

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2022

33

DECADE CLUBS Quadruple Decade Club

Double Decade Club

Blizzard, Jan ’71 & Craig Burkart, Ned ’48 & Pauline Cohen, Rick ’69 & Topper-Cohen, Barbara Downs, Vicky Glazier, Ken ’67 Haines, Andrew ’60 & Lisa Nicol, Joanna ’52 Nielsen, Jeannette ’59 Pietraszek, Henry & Margaret Schaffer, Sally ’76 Shimizu, George ’39

Chitani, Yinsei ’68 & Yoshio Coopat, Tom & Cheryle Duke, Sue ’83 Ewart, Emilie ’97 & Jake Floch, Patty & Bruzek, Ken Fujishima, Julie ’84 Huo, Eugene ’96 Huo, Jeffrey ’94 Kidder, Paul ’76 & Terry Kuroda, Mitzi ’77 & Elledge, Stephen Lury, Dick ’65 & Gemma Mera, Yuhka ’81 Morgenstern, Fred ’83 & Kendra Pierce, Lucia ’68 Plum, John & Mimi Porté, Thierry Sanders, Mike ’87 & Jun Squier, Mid & Carol Stokes, Paul & Rose Tunis, Jeffrey

Triple Decade Club Adams, Jim & Nancy Boatwright, David ’73 Carlin, Chris & Donna Cooper, Peter & Pam Crandall, Les & Aiko Fattal, Leon ’57 & Suzanne Francischetti, Mark ’72 Harnik, Peter ’69 James, Larry & Sharon Jones-Morton, Pamela (PhD) Kemmerer, Ruthli Kobayashi, Albert ’42 & Betty Kroehler Magnuson, Jody ’73 & Magnuson, Clark Livingston, Jerry ’81 & Bonnie Lund, Andy ’81 & Denise McCoy, Will ’59 & Lynne Meyer, Mary ’65 Moss, Carolyn ’73 & Hawkins, Daniel Wakat, Barbara ’88 Walsh, Bob ’81

Decade Club Berkove, Ethan ’86 & Kyra Bernier, Jeff & Seiko Cannon, Alan & Kitakado, Fuyumi Ehrenkranz, Andra ’83 & John Greig, Katherine ’94 Harte, Esther Kamano, Hiroyuki & Harumi Martino, Bill ’63 & Betsy Matsuo, Yuki Lee & Taro Meller, Louise ’63 & Lukowski, Jay Miller, Scott & Mary Mizuno, Toshizumi & Junko Nishida, David & Tina ’85 Nishikawa Fu, Hiroko & Fu, Ming-Xia Norris, Peggy ’65 & Charles Piez, Catherine ’82 & Whatford, Mark Pontius, Pamela ’97 & Rankin, Gregory Schlichting, Richard & Cynthia Seltzer, Susan & Theo Snell, Richard & Fran Sult, Nathan ’75 & Tarter, Beth Taffel, Max ’04 Takada, Yuko Turner, Sally ’66 Wilce, Matt & Suzuki, Sho Yao, Alejo & Lusan Zee, Jinly ’90

Decade Clubs recognize donors who have given for 10, 20, 30, 40 or more consecutive years. Donations of any amount count toward Decade Club status. Decade Club members have a tremendous impact at ASIJ with their sustained support.

34

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

GIFT CLUB MEMBERS Black & Gold Society

Meguro Circle

Head of School’s Circle

Anonymous (1) Caldwell, Dale & Megumi Ciganer Albeniz, Archie & Yoko Nishikawa Fu, Hiroko & Fu, Ming-Xia Predeek, Shane & Nao Ryu, Roy ’77 Sasanuma, Catherine & Taisuke Seltzer, Susan & Theo Zee, Jinly ’90

Anonymous (1) Acton, Jeff & Akiko Agud Ruiz, Jordi & Vila Viñas, Raquel Arikai, Takashi & Haruka Bernier, Jeff & Seiko Cannon, Alan & Kitakado, Fuyumi Dan, Basil & Chieko DiCicco, Daniel ’89 & Yuko Fujishima, Julie ’84 Handte, Christopher & Keiko Harada, Mary ’81 & Peterson, Greg Hu, Hua & Gao, Shan Hyland, Jason & Cvetkovikj, Andrijana Imai, Eiji & Hiromi Kamibayashi, Kyoichiro & Yukari Kondo, Taro & Reiko Ku, Wei & Utsuki, Mina Kuwana, Yumi ’82 & Eiichiro Lee, David ’86 & Kaori Matsui Koll, Kathy & Koll, Jesper Michels, Nancy & David Miyashita, Hiroshi & Junko Mukherjee, Jaya & Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Nakamura, Mariko & Hiro Park, Chiman & Seo, Alice Platek, Nir Porté, Thierry Reilly, Ken & Debbie Takahashi, Masaki & Yamaguchi, Yumi Takamiya, Toshiro & Shino Toppino, Stephanie & Jon-Paul Winebarger, John & Fumie Wu, Wengang & Jiang, Mingzhu Yuson, Rusty & Sowder, Stuart

Anonymous (1) Bender, Brian & Ayako Chuchro, Katie & Doug Cook, Justin & April Dennis, Thurman Downs, Vicky Drabkin, Mark & Miwako Edmunds, Eric & Misa Fink, Jim & Mika Folsom, Richard & Stephanie Fujiwara, Fuyuki & Tomoko Fukikoshi, Akihiro & Tomoko Fukuma, Lalaka ’93 & Jin Graffagna, Michael & Takenaga, Mika Green, Michael ’89 & Yuki Hardin, Jim & Marti Hassan, Matthew & Ojima, Mari Higa, Ernie ’70 & Aya Holjo, Mats & Hiroe Hori, Shinichiro & Suzuko Kanda, Yasuyuki & Aya Kasamatsu, Rika & David Jun Kikuya, So & Haruko Kobayashi, Terumi & Takashi Kumar, Partha & Lia Kwan, Sora & Jason Ledbetter, Phaedra ’81 & Mark Lee, KJ & Monica Matsudaira, Aki McBride, Ross & Madoka McGuire, Matthew & Abe, Michi Miller, Tony & Melin, Cecilia Muir, Jim & Kanai, Miwa Murai, Noriko & Yeskel, Bill Nakashima, Amane & Chizuru Neureiter, Kirk & Mariko Norris, Peggy ’65 & Charles O'Neill, Stephen & Karen Ohashi, Hiromasa & Momoko Okada, Hikaru & Yoshiko Okamoto, Tet ’98 & Eri Oku, Seiichi & Miki Okuno, Marcus & Kazuko Oshima, Robert ’68

¥2,000,000—¥4,999,999

Lantern Society

¥1,000,000—¥1,999,999

Griffin, Grace (Ting) '61 & Griffin, Michael Laughlin, Morgan & Sato-Laughlin, Rumiko Murakami, Yumiko & Moses, Todd Nakano, Akinori & Mariko Nakayama, Tetsu ’84 & Ayumi Noddin, Bob & Janette O'Shea, Stephen & Saigusa O'Shea, Kie Shibagaki, Keigo & Zadvorskaya, Yuliya Silecchia, Tom & Tate, Saori Tahara, Kunio & Eriko Takahashi, Tomomichi & Yoko Tsusaka, Miki & Jun Uruma, Fred & Ryoko Yamada, Daisuke & Seiko Yoshikawa, Tatsuo & Miho

¥500,000—¥999,999

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

¥200,000—¥499,999

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2022

35

Ouk, Chris & Karen Piez, Catherine ’82 & Whatford, Mark Pike, Kathy Possman, John & Shoko Reese, Lenore & Isenberg, Joshua Sakemi, Takeshi & Mie Sharp, Robert ’87 Slattery, Ronald & Toshiko Sloan, Erika ’04 & Schaeffer, Kevin Smith, Charles & Emi Steele, Julia ’01 & Ito, Masahiro Suzuki, Rei ’84 Suzuki, Shunsuke & Saeka Takahashi Anton, Yuriko ’84 & Anton, Philip Takami, Manabu & Miyuki Takebe, Tsuyoshi & Maki Talbot, Jay & Yuki Toki, Kei & Cao, Jie Tsuchida, Carol Tsujiguchi, Hironobu & Maki Xu, Bin & Hou, Rachel Yang, James ’62 Yoshida, Jenni ’91

Mustangs League ¥100,000—¥199,999

Anonymous (2) Barger, John & Elizabeth Benner, Michael & Noriko Betsuyaku, Tetsuo Bidinger, Michael & Keiko Boardman, John & Antonia Boatwright, David ’73 Boaz, Reina ’99 & Josh Burkheimer, Ian & Inaba, Yoko Caldwell, Paul & Sawada, Mayumi Cashell, Kieron & Haga, Kotoha Chavali, Cram & Anya Chitani, Yinsei ’68 & Yoshio Chuang, Peter & Harumi Conrad, Andrew & Chitose Cromwell, Penny ’67 Daver, Roxana & Massion, Peter Dornoff, Jeff & Deanne Ehira, Hiroaki & Nao Ehrenkranz, Andra ’83 & John Epstein, Jonathan & Liu Fallon, Rob & Jana Fujisaki, Koa ’99 Funayama, Rio & Coco Galvin, Jeff & Miki

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Go, Taka & Aiko Goho, Kenji & Mieko Golden, Eric & Ayako Graham, Seth & Suzuki, Akemi Guillemette, Eddie & Chi Hartz, Chris & Jen Hastings, Paul ’00 & Wissel, Debbie ’99 Hatakeyama, Maki & Yasu Hershon, Andrew & Mika Hinoki, Yasuo & Akiko Hirano, Pina & Yoko Hisada, Michie Hishida, Hiroaki & Kim, Kyungmi Huang, Maria ’62 & Dean Igarashi, Koji & Mie Igarashi, Satoru & Julie Inoue, Katsuo & Asami Ishibashi, Kenzo & Seiko Ito, Masatoshi & Kumi Kamano, Hiroyuki & Harumi Katayama, Mary ’70 & Shohachi Kato, Tadashi & Mena Kawasaki, Lauren & Tats Kim, Jongmin & Choi, Ellen Kindred, Jon & Sachiko Kobayashi, Kazumasa & Aki Koike, Junji & Aya Kothari, Preeti & Vivek Lane, Nick & Holly Lee, Michael Lee, Sukkyou & Kaneko, Yoko Leuck, Daniel & Terada, Mika Lin, George & Yayoi Lury, Dick ’65 & Gemma Ma, Sam & Quan, Veronica Majid, Nasir & Chie Marini, Buddy ’85 & Hitomi Matsueda, Atsushi & Lee, Myoungseon McClelland, Randy ’89 & Rockney, Elaine Mentzas, Spyro Mizuno, Toshizumi & Junko Mohamed, Iku & Emi Nagasaka, Taiji & Mia Nakajima, Ikutaro & Mika Nakatomi, Ryosuke & Moeko Nelson, Brian ’85 Nishida, David & Tina ’85 Nishimi, Tetsuya ’94 & Kiyoko Niwa, Hideo & Kazuko O'Donovan, Erin & Tim Ogawa, Andy ’90 & Makoto Ogawa, Ryuzo ’99 & Tomoko Oh, Jisa Oline, Mark ’78 & Rebecca

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

Ozeki, Arthur & Kaya Piscopo, Albert & Kara Plum, John & Mimi Plush, Marcus & Fiona Polashek, Michael & Hashiuchi, Mitsuko Rahman, Farida ’68 Rich, Motoko ’87 and Topping, Mark Richardson, Kay ’76 & Wynant, JS Saitoh, Yasuhiro & Yayoi Salathé, Regina & Gregory Sano, Yutaka & Kyoko Schmelzeis, Joseph ’80 Scullion, Bill & Tsugiko Seki, Ichiran & Wu, Iris Semaya, David & Masako Shang, Bill ’75 & Chen, Stella Shirakawa, Kotoe ’03 & Tomohiro Silver, Nick & Yumiko Smith, Gary & Jeng, Amy Sonoda, Sonochan & Chie Stout, Kevin & Noriko Sumida, Shiori ’99 Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda ’72 Svininnikov, Andrey & Svininnikova, Yasuko Taffel, Max ’04 Takada, Yuko Takahashi, Atsuhiro & Naoi Takai, Kota & Megumi Takano, Kyoko & Hiroyuki Takizawa, Sayo & Eiji Tanaka, Wakana Tange, Paul & Denise Terao, Sayumi ’07 Thomas, Peter & Vanessa Tilley-Bouez, Lara ’01 Tojo, Hidetoshi & Nahoko Trozpek, Robin ’67 & Ludd Ueki, Tom & Sachiko Umeno, Ko & Misato Wang, Jianfeng & Ting Watanabe, Shinsuke & Kanako Watkins, Clive & Sprague, Tasha Whitson, Tom & Misty Xiao, Simon & Wang, Lesley Xu, Yeren & Wang, Fan Yamasaki, Paul & Afifah Yan, Jack & Moriyama, Natsuko Yokosuka, Mariko & Masato ’98 Yoshida, Kumiko Young, Eric ’84 & Sally Zeising, Reid M ’84 & Suzi Zhang, Charles & Shen, Shirley Zuber Meehan, Amy & Meehan, Phil

GIFT CLUB MEMBERS Tomodachi Club ¥50,000—¥99,999

Anonymous (4) Akaishi, Masahiro & Maki Anderson, Rusty ’76 & Lori Aoyagi, Matthew & Nagako Armstrong, Peter ’52 Asano, Takahiro & Naoko Barboriak, Laura & Eric Barry, Matt ’90 & Amie Bender, Dan & Ruth Bernier, Kenichiro ’19 Buford, James & Ali Carr, Noah & Kimberly Chapman, Marc ’95 & Matsuhisa, Yoshiko Chen, Changyu & Nakao, Ai Corcoran, Michael ’94 & Theresa Cornute, Chris & Wakako D'Honau, Billy ’84 Esparza Pedroza, Gonzalo & Esparza Gaucin, Martha Fujii, Dan ’82 & Yuki Gilmartin, Ed Gonzalez Gonzalez, Carlos & Murrieta Fernandez, Andrea Goto, Satoshi & Yoko Guillot, Frank ’65 & Ann Gumagay, Raul & Karen Haddad, Scott & Caroline Hafeez, Omar & Shah, Aine Hatton, Andrew & Jennifer Hattori, Enna ’11 Hattori, Hitomi ’83 & Seikou Hiramoto, Hideyuki & Shiobara, Fumiko Hoffman, Christian & Mikiko Hokari, Goro & Nami Hsia, Lynn Imoto, Yoh & Anna Inoue, Yasutaka & Kanako Inui, Tetsuya & Keiko Ishido, Keiko & Masayuki

Ishihara, Tetsuo & Yuko Ito, Taeko & Katsuhiro Juanda, Johnson & Aya Kagawa, Osamu & Mami Kagimoto, Hardy & Eve Kaneko, Jun & Yukiko Kaneko, Patrick & Akane Kaneko, Tetsuya & Sofia Karim, Arshad ’92 & Tanabe, Hiroko Kashiwagi, Blake & Jill Kawahara, Jun & Noriko Kitabatake, Hide & Emiko Kitakoshi, Akihito & Alisa Kobayashi, Takashi & Toshiyo Kozloski, Richard & Laura Kurata, Fred ’67 & Naomi L'Heureux, Marc & Heidi Lang, Benjamin & Aki Linsley, Peter & Ritsu Lloyd, Aaron & Chiho Lockheimer, Hiroko Lorenzon, Dimitri & Huizi, Laura Ludlow-Ortner, Julia ’72 & Ortner, Robert Makita, Akira & Yuko Mallat, Mary Margaret & Deck, David Marini, Nina ’88 Martino, Bill ’63 & Betsy Matsumoto, Toyokazu & Naomi Matsuo, Yuki Lee & Taro McNeill, Jeffrey & Kazuko Mera, Yuhka ’81 Miller, Chad & Kitahara, Cathy Miller, Mark Minamisawa, Toshiyuki & NingNing Morgenstern, Fred ’83 & Kendra Nagata, Paul ’74 & Susan Neale, David Nishikawa, Emi

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

Nixon, Nik & Choi, Choi Noda, Roy & Keiko Odagiri, Akito & Kaoru Oka, Mari ’68 and Mutsuo Okada, Lisa Okamura, Taro & Yayoi Okuda, Jun & Natsuko Onchi, Tomohito & Kaori Pere, Carlos & Heurtematte, Elizabeth Pierce, Peter & Sare, Steven Prieb, Roy & Walsh, Miho Rice, Stephen ’64 & Kimiyo Rogers, Ed & Betsy Sasao, Toshi & Masami Savarese, Lynn ’73 & John Schiff, Pei & Doug Schlichting, Richard & Cynthia Schmeil, J.C. ’86 & McLain, Ashley Sekiguchi, Shuhei & Heather Suzuki, Erie & Tamami Suzuki, Yuimi Tanaka, Rei & Hollie Tanaka, Hiroko Tanaka, Takumi & Diana Tischler, Jonathan & Matsumoto, Eiko Toyama, Kentaro ’87 Turner, Sally ’66 Upadhyay, Bhupesh & Sajala Vincent, Phillip ’07 Wakai, Yasuhiro & Chang, Yu-Ching Whitehead, Chuck ’79 & Debbie Wilson, Derek & Grace Witt, Gene & Janet Yamada, Leslie ’64 Yamagata, Satoshi & Erina Yang, Chengwen & Gong, Jian Yomine, Daniel ’62 Yoneyama, Gaku Yoshioka, Sayuri Zhang, Jessica & Zhao, Changming

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2022

37

ALUMNI DONORS 30s

60s

’39 Shimizu, George

’60 Bergt, Dave

40s

Haines, Andrew

Glazier, Ken

Lyons, Phyllis

Kerr, Virginia

Namkung, George

Kurata, Fred Trozpek, Robin (Weeks)

’42 Kobayashi, Albert ’48 Burkart, Ned

’61 Caligiuri, Tanya (Stephens) Harris, Bonnie (Bongard)

Colville, Glenn

Markley, Pat

Sapala, Beth (Danker)

Hays, Ruth

Zehr, Kei (Uramatsu)

Oka, Mari (Kodaira)

50s ’50 Harkness, Don Lenz, Pam (Alexander)

’51 Fisher, Carl Kurtz, Barb (Hester)

’52 Armstrong, Peter Nicol, Joanna (Strother) Potter, Meredith (Woods) Story, Morris

’53 Eills, Nancy (Brewer) McGurk, Ann (Potter)

’56 Harkness, Sarah (Wheeler)

Griffin, Grace (Ting)

’62 Huang, Maria (Ting) Meyer, Fred Yang, James Yomine, Daniel

’63 Martino, Bill Meller, Louise

’64 Rice, Stephen Yamada, Leslie (Davis)

’65 Farkas, Jennifer (Burkard) Gorham, Joyce Guillot, Frank Hansjergen, Gary Kurahashi, Nancy (Nagase) Lury, Dick

Matsumoto, Ted

Meyer, Mary

Meyer, Elizabeth (Winn)

Norris, Peggy (Tsukahira)

’57 Fattal, Leon ’58 Rasmussen, Stirling ’59 McCoy, Will Nielsen, Jeannette (Elsener)

’66 Beecken, Tim Bronsal, Jeannie (See) Dean, Ron Marsh, Daniel Roberts, Leslie (Okada) Saubolle, Michael Turner, Sally (Noll)

38

’67 Cromwell, Penny

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

’68 Chitani, Yinsei (Chang) Oshima, Robert Pierce, Lucia (Buchanan) Rahman, Farida

’69 Cohen, Rick Harnik, Peter Neff, Suzi

70s ’70 Burleigh, Barbie

’73 Boatwright, David

’76 Anderson, Rusty

Gadsby, Ellen

Clough, Julie (Van Wyk)

Feldman, Andy

Higa, Ernie

Kleinjans, Connie

Kidder, Paul

Huskins, Debbie

Kroehler Magnuson, Jody (Kroehler)

Hayao, Kenji

Leybold, Sandy (Colville)

Rich, Miriam

Katayama, Mary (Sung)

’71 Blizzard, Jan (Schaale)

Melnick, Mark

Horwitz, Liz (Yanagihara) Richardson, Kay

Holloway, Kathy

Moss, Carolyn

Moore, Craig

Reiser, Dorothy (Cohen)

Sanoden, Jim

Rubinfien, Elisabeth

Shorrock, Terry

Savarese, Lynn (Ashby)

Jacobson, Kim

Weiss, Steve

Smith, Karen (Frost)

Kuroda, Mitzi

Wilson, Dave

Thomas, Tory

Phillips, Marjie

’72 Alger, Ellen (Matthews)

’74 King, Helen (Hong)

Buzzell, Elizabeth (Yamashiro)

Nagata, Paul

Davis, Jenny (Skillman)

Reynolds, A-Lan (Von Hornlein)

Flynn, Karin (Jagel) Francischetti, Mark Gleason, Ann Ludlow-Ortner, Julia (Ludlow) Rainoff, Brad Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda (Suzukawa) Wexler, Barbara (Teasdall)

’75 Jagel, Erik Kidder, Jon Niimi, Reiko Shang, Bill Sult, Nathan Wakamatsu, Ernie

Schaffer, Sally

’77 Honaman, Andy Ryu, Roy Sato, Kumi Sundberg, Carl

’78 Bailey, Mark Clark, Barbie Hamill, Jenny Kellar, Margie (Miciano) Matsumoto, Kent Oline, Mark Peters, Susan Yanagihara, Midori

’79 Whitehead, Chuck ASIJ was a very special place for me in several ways. I loved the music, the theater and the arts where I spent a lot of my time. The modular system ASIJ had allowed us to take as many classes as we could fit in our schedule, and that helped teach me how to run my life independently—a great help in college life and since. I made many special friends whom I have stayed in touch with through the years. With my donations to ASIJ, I hope to help others to have the special experience I had when I was there.

—Liz Horwitz ’76

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2022

39

80s ’80 Breer, Charles

Nelson, Brian

Nakayoshi, Yasu

Cavanaugh, Tom

Nishida, Tina (Yamano)

Ogawa, Andy

Eimon, Ivar

Orton-Tweed, Sandra (Orton)

Zee, Jinly

Kirby, Kyoko (Ono)

Rosen, Yaron

Phelps, Sarah (Mulkern)

Sheehan, Dave

Schmelzeis, Joseph Walsh, Will

’81 Ewing, Jeff

Elstrom, Deanna (Ciarlante) Lee, David

Harada, Mary (Che)

Nakamatsu, Greg

Hinz, Joel

Schmeil, J.C.

Ledbetter, Phaedra (Onuma) Livingston, Jerry Lund, Andy Mera, Yuhka Soga, Michitaka Walsh, Bob

’82 Fujii, Dan Kuwana, Yumi (Mera) Piez, Catherine

’83 Burks, Sally

’87 Beitchman, Greg Kohl, Kari (Wilkinson) Rich, Motoko Sanders, Mike Sharp, Robert Toyama, Kentaro

’88 Abe, Minako Cobb, Bitsy (Horn) Durfee, Peter Marini, Nina

Duke, Sue

Morgenstern, David

Ehrenkranz, Andra (Bowman)

Wakat, Barbara

Hattori, Hitomi (Wakita) Krisher, Joe Morgenstern, Fred

’84 Appeldoorn, Caspar

’89 Anonymous (1) Cole, Marcy DiCicco, Daniel

Yoshida, Jenni

’92 Fillion, Daniel Harvey, Chris Karim, Arshad

’93 Christopher, Allison (Babb) Fukuma, Lalaka (Ogawa) Nakayama, Mayumi

’94 Cooper, Brendan Corcoran, Michael Greig, Katherine Hanawa, John Huo, Jeffrey MacCallum, Margaret Nishimi, Tetsuya

’95 Chapman, Marc ’96 Anonymous (1) Huo, Eugene

’97 Alenafiastutie, Evi Ewart, Emilie (Fisher)

Green, Michael

Pontius, Pamela

D'Honau, Billy

McClelland, Randy

Whitworth, Brooke

Fujishima, Julie

Nor'Azam, Bin Mohd Idrus

Nakayama, Tetsu

Sano, Tokuya

Suzuki, Rei

Sparrgrove, Brett

Jones, James

Takahashi, Tomi

Vaughan, Kathy

Morohoshi, Shinobu

Takahashi Anton, Yuriko (Takahashi) Young, Eric Zeising, Reid M

’85 Brennan, Susie (Burks) Callanan, Erin

40

’86 Berkove, Ethan

’91 Kaser, Patrick

Okamoto, Tet

90s

Yokosuka, Masato

’90 Barry, Matt Curnutt, Heather

Krouse, Jennifer

Ghosh, Bapi

Marini, Buddy

Krisher, Ako (Inatomi)

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

’98 Davidson, Christopher

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

’99 Boaz, Reina Fujisaki, Koa (Shino) Ogawa, Ryuzo Sumida, Shiori Wissel, Debbie Woods, Bob

00s

ALUMNI DONORS

’00 Fincher, Adair

10s

’06 Araki, Yumi

’10 Forster, David

Garrett, Greg

Dirkse, Tai

Maeji, Kana

Hastings, Paul

Jacobsson, Timmy

Marut, Justin

Joslyn, Andrew

Thornton, Michael

Takano, Mimi

Kearney, Ryan

Uchida, Rie

Sack, Jonathan

Yong, Calvin

’01 Steele, Julia

’07 O'Hearn, Patrick

Thomas-Polak, Sarah (Thomas)

Terao, Sayumi

Tilley-Bouez, Lara

Vincent, Phillip

Woods, Matt

Wakutsu, Kohei

’03 Keese, Brent

’08 Bird, Miles

Shirakawa, Kotoe

Conwill, Laura

Sloan, Sean

Eisenhart, Carson

’04 Anonymous (1)

’09 Bender, Will

Mothersill, Jason

Kuwahara, Kei

Sloan, Erika

Lintvelt, David

Taffel, Max

Teslik, Ashley

’05 Wakutsu, Shuji

’11

Hattori, Enna Heideman, Alexander

’12 Keese, Julie ’13 Wakayama, Takuya ’14 Nakayama-Cooper, Erica ’19 Bernier, Kenichiro

20s ’20 Chaivaivid, Um Prairie, Satchel

’21 Bass, David Clark, Moira McCready, Aidan McCullough, Luke McCullough, Walker

’22 LeDell, Naomi Whenever I look back upon my time at ASIJ, I am incredibly grateful for how the combination of faculty, facilities and location of the school provided a unique educational experience that prepared me for life in a way that still influences me today. It is exciting to help shape this experience for current and future students, including supporting the school in their quest to expand access to this education to students with diverse financial backgrounds.

—Max Taffel ’04

Mustangs League and Alumni Giving Committee Member

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

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ALUMNI PARENTS Donors

Anonymous (5) Adams, Jim & Nancy Aoyagi, Matthew & Nagako Apibalsri, Kittipong & Pattaraporn Barber, John & Sue Barkay, Avihou & Maya Barry, Jim & Martha Bass, Steven & Riku, Toshimi Bender, Dan & Ruth Benner, Gretchen Benning, Miyuki Bernier, Jeff & Seiko Betsuyaku, Tetsuo Blizzard, Jan ’71 & Craig Blodgett, Seth & Sandy Boardman, John & Antonia Brennan, Susie ’85 & Sean Brinsley, Catlan & John Burpee, Mark & Nakamura, Machi Bywaters, John & Ellen Caldwell, Dale & Megumi Callanan, Regina & John Cannon, Alan & Kitakado, Fuyumi Carlin, Chris & Donna Chitani, Yinsei ’68 & Yoshio Cho, Sutong & Torii, Mami Ciganer Albeniz, Archie & Yoko Comes, Lance & Osborne, Carol Conrad, Andrew & Chitose Cook, Justin & April Coopat, Tom & Cheryle Cooper, Peter & Pam Cosby, Jeannette Cusi, Diego & Cansino, Julieta Daver, Roxana & Massion, Peter DiCicco, Daniel ’89 & Yuko Dornoff, Jeff & Deanne Downs, Vicky Duyan, Scott & Brenda Edmunds, Eric & Misa Estrem, Paul & Eileen Farkas, Jennifer ’65 & Arthur Feng, Kenneth & Sun, Sharry Fitzpatrick, Cory & Mei-Ling Folsom, Richard & Stephanie Foster, Mio & Malcolm Fujii, Dan ’82 & Yuki Fujii, Keith & Vicky

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Ghosh, Bapi ’90 & Miwa Gogerty, Dan & Lana Gunnestrand, Andreas & Louise Harte, Esther Hartz, Chris & Jen Hassan, Matthew & Ojima, Mari Hastings, Paul ’00 & Wissel, Debbie ’99 Hatakeyama, Maki & Yasu Hattori, Hitomi ’83 & Seikou Hermann, Beatrice & Kenneth Higa, Ernie ’70 & Aya Honnet, Chuck & Ellen Howe, Dale & Tsuchii, Noriko Hu, Hua & Gao, Shan Huber, Susan Hyland, Jason & Cvetkovikj, Andrijana Inahara, Kyoko & Curtis Ishibashi, Kenzo & Seiko Izushima, Yasuhiro & Noriko James, Larry & Sharon Johnson, Mark & Gessert, Rebecca Kagimoto, Hardy & Eve Kamibayashi, Kyoichiro & Yukari Kanekoa, Brittany & Kasey Kang, Edwin Kanzawa, Elizabeth & Shunsuke Kashiwagi, Blake & Jill Katayama, Mary ’70 & Shohachi Kawasaki, Lauren & Tats Keese, Jack & Pamela Kessler, Jack Kieffer, Lawrence & Rieko Kindred, Jon & Sachiko Kirby, Kyoko ’80 & Peter Kochhar, Rakesh & Priti Krueger, Manfred & Rueller, Stefanie Kumar, Partha & Lia Kwan, Sora & Jason L'Heureux, Marc & Heidi Lahad, Meenakshi & Samir Lane, Nick & Holly Laughlin, Morgan & Sato-Laughlin, Rumiko Lee, David ’86 & Kaori Lee, Richard & Hiromi Linsley, Peter & Ritsu Lockheimer, Hiroko Macek, Craig & Debby

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

Majid, Nasir & Chie Mallat, Mary Margaret & Deck, David Matsui Koll, Kathy & Koll, Jesper Matsumoto, Toyokazu & Naomi McCready, Amanda & Jim McCullough, Angie & Jake McGuire, Matthew & Abe, Michi McNeill, Jeffrey & Kazuko Mendoza, Eli & Chizu Merlino, Marc & Lotta Michels, William & Mary Miller, Scott & Mary Miller, Tony & Melin, Cecilia Mizuno, Toshizumi & Junko Mohamed, Iku & Emi Montesanti, Kathleen Morgenstern, Fred ’83 & Kendra Mukherjee, Jaya & Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Nakai-Ishida, Tomoko Nakashima, Amane & Chizuru Nakayama, Mayumi ’93 Narahashi, Yoko Neal, Sheri Nelson, Brian ’85 Neureiter, Kirk & Mariko Nishida, David & Tina ’85 Nishikawa Fu, Hiroko & Fu, Ming-Xia Noddin, Bob & Janette O'Donovan, Erin & Tim Ogawa, Andy ’90 & Makoto Ohashi, Hiromasa & Momoko Oka, Mari Okubo, Aki & Yasuko Okuno, Marcus & Kazuko Ono, George & Mariko Piasecki, Nicole & Heymann, Peter Pierce, Peter & Sare, Steven Pietraszek, Henry & Margaret Pike, Kathy Piscopo, Albert & Kara Platek, Nir Plum, John & Mimi Porté, Thierry Possman, John & Shoko Prairie, Ginny & Shane Prasad, Srilalitha & Sharma, Venkatesh Prasad Proctor, David

Radmilovich, Abby & Todor Reckord, Josh & Nancy Relnick, Phil & Nobuko Richter, David & Michelle Rivera, Damaris & Fahy, John Rivet, Paul & Kathryn Rogers, Ed & Betsy Salathé, Regina & Gregory Sasanuma, Catherine & Taisuke Sasao, Toshi & Masami Sato, Kumi ’77 & Kanak, Donald Schiff, Pei & Doug Schlichting, Richard & Cynthia Scott, Allan & Sakai, Yukiko Scullion, Bill & Tsugiko Seifert, Lucas & Anna Semaya, David & Masako Servin, Carlos & Claudia Shang, Bill ’75 & Chen, Stella Shimizu, Kaoru & Jeong-Shimizu, EJ Sliter, David & Karen Smith, Gary & Jeng, Amy Snell, Richard & Fran Squier, Mid & Carol Stokes, Paul & Rose

Sullivan, Susan Sundberg, Carl ’77 Suzukawa-Tseng, Linda ’72 Suzuki, Taku & Keiko Sylvester, John & Williams, Paige Takada, Yuko Takahashi, Tomi ’84 & Miho Takano, Kyoko & Hiroyuki Talbot, Jay & Yuki Tanaka, Takumi & Diana Tange, Paul & Denise Tanimoto, Hiroshi & Michiyo Thanasongtrakul, Thanakorn & Purita Thomas, Peter & Vanessa Tokoro, Tetsuro & Rika Toppino, Stephanie & Jon-Paul Tsusaka, Miki & Jun Tunis, Jeffrey Uchida, Kimiko & Shuji Ueda, Yoshihiko & Karen Ueno, Naoko Umezaki, Margit Uruma, Fred & Ryoko Volkov, Sergey & Tennaya Wakamatsu, Ernie ’75 & Yuko

Wakutsu, Kyoko & Hiroshi Wardell, Linda Welckle, Steve & Noll, Karen Whitson, Tom & Misty Wilson, Derek & Grace Winebarger, John & Fumie Witt, Gene & Janet Yamada, Daisuke & Seiko Yamasaki, Paul & Afifah Yang, Seok Jun & Kim, Amy Yang, Song & Matsui, Yurina Yao, Alejo & Lusan Yoden, Tomohiro & Kyoko Yu, Tong & Jung, Joo-Young

As a graduate of ASIJ, I continually donate to help the school cover future costs, as tuition does not cover all the costs the school has for providing the best education possible.

Both of my sons attended ASIJ from nursery/ kindergarten through to the eighth and tenth grades respectively; before moving to Hawaii before attending college in America. So as an alum and former ASIJ parent it makes sense to me, to keep giving back to ASIJ.

— Brian Nelson ’85 Mustangs League

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

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PARENT DONORS Donors

Anonymous (21) Abe, Minako ’88 & Shelton, Michael Acosta, Alan & Nakajo, Akiko Acton, Jeff & Akiko Agud Ruiz, Jordi & Vila Viñas, Raquel Akaishi, Masahiro & Maki Akiyama, Ko & Yuko Aomi, Shinya & Emi Aoyagi, Matthew & Nagako Apibalsri, Kittipong & Pattaraporn Arikai, Takashi & Haruka Armstrong, Phillip & Suzuki, Ruriko Armstrong, Rieko & Ryan Asano, Takahiro & Naoko Baker, Peter & Katrina Barboriak, Laura & Eric Barger, John & Elizabeth Barlow, John & Aoy Bell, Mike & Gloria Benba, Selim & Aygun Benba, Deniz Bender, Brian & Ayako Benner, Michael & Noriko Bernier, Jeff & Seiko Bertrand, Michella & Habtemariam, Fitsum Bidinger, Michael & Keiko Bregeon, Denis & Desperques, Karine Bryson, Sayako & Robin Buford, James & Ali Burkheimer, Ian & Inaba, Yoko Burpee, Mark & Nakamura, Machi Caldwell, Dale & Megumi Caldwell, Paul & Sawada, Mayumi Cancella, Jason & Eileen Carr, Noah & Kimberly Carreon, Courtney & Brian Carrillo, Christy & Littlefield, Tim Cashell, Kieron & Haga, Kotoha Chapman, Marc ’95 & Matsuhisa, Yoshiko Chavali, Cram & Anya Chen, Changyu & Nakao, Ai Chuang, Peter & Harumi Chuchro, Katie & Doug Ciganer Albeniz, Archie & Yoko Cokerdem, Shayne & CokerdemDePriest, Diane Confer, Dwain & Miah Conrad, Andrew & Chitose

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Cook, Justin & April Corin, Matthew & Amy Cornute, Chris & Wakako Crockett, Rigel & Janzen, Ariel Curren, David & Naoko Curtis, Jeremy & Angela Dal Santo, Nicholas & Kim, Thanh Dan, Basil & Chieko Davis, Jared & Meriwether, Amber Davis, Lennie & Tamera de Leon, Roberto & Emily Dohrenwend, Peter & Amber Drabkin, Mark & Miwako Draper, Alan & Lisa Druker, Ari & Miho Durfee, Peter ’88 & Megumi Ehira, Hiroaki & Nao Ellis, Brad & Hana Elstrom, Deanna ’86 & Peter Epstein, Jonathan & Liu Esparza Pedroza, Gonzalo & Esparza Gaucin, Martha Fallon, Rob & Jana Farrer, James & Gracia Faulk, Laura & Andy Feldman, Bradford & Joyce Feliciano, James & Kiridani, Yoko Feng, Kenneth & Sun, Sharry Fichardt, Hardi & Emily Fillion, Daniel ’92 & Erin Fink, Jim & Mika Fu, John & Ito, Ai Fujii, Gene & Amy Fujii, Keith & Vicky Fujishima, Julie ’84 Fujita, Manabu & Aki Fujiwara, Fuyuki & Tomoko Fukao, Tsuyoshi & Mariko Fukikoshi, Akihiro & Tomoko Fukumoto, Daisuke & Naomi Funayama, Rio & Coco Galvin, Jeff & Miki Go, Taka & Aiko Goho, Kenji & Mieko Golden, Eric & Ayako Gonzalez Gonzalez, Carlos & Murrieta Fernandez, Andrea Goto, Satoshi & Yoko Graffagna, Michael & Takenaga, Mika

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

Graham, Seth & Suzuki, Akemi Grant, Thomas & June Green, Michael ’89 & Yuki Groeneveld, Lee & Sasha Guillemette, Eddie & Chi Gumagay, Raul & Karen Gunnestrand, Andreas & Louise Gunzburger, David & Joni Gustin, Corey & Yasuko Haddad, Scott & Caroline Hafeez, Omar & Shah, Aine Hanawa, John ’94 & Ellie Handte, Christopher & Keiko Harada, Kenjiro & Ryoko Harigaya, Masatomo & Tomoko Harris, David & Tiffany Harrison, Jeff & Manon Hartz, Chris & Jen Hassan, Matthew & Ojima, Mari Hatton, Andrew & Jennifer Herbert, Bruce & Evelyn Hershon, Andrew & Mika Heur, Dan & Nicole Higashi, Dairi & Sachiko Hinoki, Yasuo & Akiko Hiramoto, Hideyuki & Shiobara, Fumiko Hirano, Pina & Yoko Hisada, Michie Hishida, Hiroaki & Kim, Kyungmi Hoffman, Christian & Mikiko Hokari, Goro & Nami Holjo, Mats & Hiroe Hori, Shinichiro & Suzuko Hundleby, Natalie & Fukaya, Keisuke Hyon, John & Toyoda, Maiko Igarashi, Koji & Mie Igarashi, Satoru & Julie Imai, Eiji & Hiromi Imoto, Yoh & Anna Inoue, Katsuo & Asami Inoue, Yasutaka & Kanako Inui, Tetsuya & Keiko Ishibiki, Daigo & Mai Ishido, Keiko & Masayuki Ishihara, Tetsuo & Yuko Ito, Masatoshi & Kumi Ito, Taeko & Katsuhiro Ito, Yoshi & Kae

Iwata, Ken & Catherine Izushima, Yasuhiro & Noriko Jain, Gaurav & Vibhu Jessee, Michael & Miyuki Johnson, Mark & Gessert, Rebecca Juanda, Johnson & Aya Kagawa, Osamu & Mami Kagimoto, Hardy & Eve Kakihara, Saori & Chang, Yongjin Kanda, Yasuyuki & Aya Kaneko, Jun & Yukiko Kaneko, Patrick & Akane Kaneko, Tetsuya & Sofia Kanekoa, Brittany & Kasey Kanematsu, Tohru & Yoko Karim, Arshad ’92 & Tanabe, Hiroko Kasamatsu, Rika & David Jun Kashiwagi, Blake & Jill Kato, Akiko Kato, Tadashi & Mena Kawahara, Jun & Noriko Kawasaki, Lauren & Tats Keyes, Justin & Sasaki, Mai Kieffer, Lawrence & Rieko Kikuya, So & Haruko Kim, Jongmin & Choi, Ellen Kitabatake, Hide & Emiko Kitakoshi, Akihito & Alisa Kobayashi, Kazumasa & Aki Kobayashi, Takashi & Toshiyo Kobayashi, Terumi & Takashi Kochhar, Rakesh & Priti Koike, Junji & Aya Kondo, Taro & Reiko Kothari, Preeti & Vivek Kozloski, Richard & Laura Krueger, Manfred & Rueller, Stefanie Ku, Wei & Utsuki, Mina Kumar, Partha & Lia Kwan, Sora & Jason Lai, Steve & Yuriko Lang, Benjamin & Aki le Roux, Riaan & Wilna Lee, David ’86 & Kaori Lee, Ignatious & Yoshida, Yoshie Lee, KJ & Monica Lee, Michael Lee, Richard & Hiromi

Lee, Sukkyou & Kaneko, Yoko Leuck, Daniel & Terada, Mika Liao, Alice & Mane, Nikhil Lin, George & Yayoi Lin, Tzuhong & Wu, Anne Linsley, Peter & Ritsu Liu, Kendrick & Hu, Jingjing Llamzon, Leah & Larry Lloyd, Aaron & Chiho Lorenzon, Dimitri & Huizi, Laura Ma, Sam & Quan, Veronica Macek, Craig & Debby Makita, Akira & Yuko Mantel, Klaas & Makiko Marini, Buddy ’85 & Hitomi Matsudaira, Aki Matsueda, Atsushi & Lee, Myoungseon Matsumoto, Izumi & Delaney, William Matsumura, Masayuki & Keiko Matsuno, Toshihiko & Maiko Matsuo, Yuki Lee & Taro Matthews, Sean Ryan & Gabby McBride, Ross & Madoka McGuire, Matthew & Abe, Michi McShane, Ai & Rory Mehta, Manish & Keya Meinhold, Eddie & DePass, Kristen Mentzas, Spyro Merino, Stefan & Ione Michels, Nancy & David Miller, Chad & Kitahara, Cathy Miller, Mark Minamisawa, Toshiyuki & NingNing Miyashita, Hiroshi & Junko Mohamed, Iku & Emi Morita, Sergio & Mayumi Muir, Jim & Kanai, Miwa Murai, Noriko & Yeskel, Bill Murakami, Yumiko & Moses, Todd Nagasaka, Taiji & Mia Nakai-Ishida, Tomoko Nakajima, Ikutaro & Mika Nakamura, Mariko & Hiro Nakano, Akinori & Mariko Nakano, Teruki & Yoko Nakashima, Amane & Chizuru Nakatomi, Ryosuke & Moeko Nakayama, Tetsu ’84 & Ayumi

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

Nakayoshi, Yasu ’90 & Ikuko Neureiter, Kirk & Mariko Nightingale, Walter & Maria Eugenia Nishikawa, Emi Nishimura, Hiroyuki & Etsuko Niwa, Hideo & Kazuko Nixon, Nik & Choi, Choi Noda, Roy & Keiko Noddin, Bob & Janette Nor'Azam, Bin Mohd Idrus & Alenafiastutie, Evi O'Neill, Stephen & Karen O'Shea, Stephen & Saigusa O'Shea, Kie Obata, Gen & Yuko Ochi, Masato & Akari Odagiri, Akito & Kaoru Odaira, Noritsugu & Tomoko Ogawa, Ryuzo ’99 & Tomoko Oh, Jisa Ohno, Yukari Okada, Hikaru & Yoshiko Okamoto, Tet ’98 & Eri Okamura, Taro & Yayoi Oku, Seiichi & Miki Okubo, Aki & Yasuko Okuda, Jun & Natsuko Okuno, Marcus & Kazuko Onchi, Tomohito & Kaori Ono, George & Mariko Osborne, Todd & Molly Ouk, Chris & Karen Ozeki, Arthur & Kaya Park, Chiman & Seo, Alice Park, Sangpil & Hwang, Jung Pere, Carlos & Heurtematte, Elizabeth Perkins, Morgan & Caraccioli de Perkins, Ingrid Piscopo, Albert & Kara Pitale, Jon & Laura Platek, Nir Plush, Marcus & Fiona Polashek, Michael & Hashiuchi, Mitsuko Prairie, Ginny & Shane Predeek, Shane & Nao Pressley, Patrick & Nabinger, Alexandria Prieb, Roy & Walsh, Miho Raub, Josh & Shimada, Mihoko Reese, Lenore & Isenberg, Joshua

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PARENT DONORS Reilly, Ken & Debbie Ricci, Vince & Amemiya, Mari Rich, Motoko ’87 and Topping, Mark Rivera, Damaris & Fahy, John Rivet, Paul & Kathryn Robinson, Ian & Kristen Rogers, Ed & Betsy Sadhu, Ashish & Kawaguchi, Mika Saitoh, Yasuhiro & Yayoi Sakagawa, Leila & Kenichi Sakemi, Takeshi & Mie Salathé, Regina & Gregory Sano, Yutaka & Kyoko Schiff, Pei & Doug Schumacher, Lynelle & John Seifert, Lucas & Anna Seki, Ichiran & Wu, Iris Sekiguchi, Shuhei & Heather Seltzer, Susan & Theo Shibagaki, Keigo & Zadvorskaya, Yuliya Shimizu, Kaoru & Jeong-Shimizu, EJ Shy, Leah & Wilson, Frazer Silecchia, Tom & Tate, Saori Silver, Nick & Yumiko Slattery, Ronald & Toshiko Smith, Charles & Emi Smith, Dan & Vu Thi, Huong Smith, Gary & Jeng, Amy Sobajima, Hisaya & Kinuko Sonoda, Sonochan & Chie Sorba, Alan & Emi Spencer, Darren & Sally Srinivasan, Rengan & Rengarajan, Srividhya Steele, Julia ’01 & Ito, Masahiro Stout, Kevin & Noriko Suzuki, Erie & Tamami Suzuki, Shunsuke & Saeka Suzuki, Yuimi Svininnikov, Andrey & Svininnikova, Yasuko Taflan, Peter & Fumiko Tahara, Kunio & Eriko Tajima, Fumiko Takahashi, Atsuhiro & Naoi Takahashi, Masaki & Yamaguchi, Yumi Takahashi, Tomomichi & Yoko Takai, Kota & Megumi Takami, Manabu & Miyuki

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

Takamiya, Toshiro & Shino Takebe, Tsuyoshi & Maki Takeuchi, Mumi & Narusawa, Koh Takigayama, Yue & Hiroaki Takizawa, Nicola & Takao Takizawa, Sayo & Eiji Tanaka, Rei & Hollie Tanaka, Hiroko Tanaka, Takumi & Diana Tanaka, Wakana Tepper, Jonathan & Maxson, Michele Thiel, Andy & Tia Thomas, Peter & Vanessa Timms, Ryan & Yamaura-Timms, Aya Tischler, Jonathan & Matsumoto, Eiko Tojo, Hidetoshi & Nahoko Toki, Kei & Cao, Jie Toppino, Stephanie & Jon-Paul Tremarco, Joseph & Clear, Monica Tsuchida, Carol Tsujiguchi, Hironobu & Maki Ueki, Tom & Sachiko Ueno, Naoko Umeno, Ko & Misato Upadhyay, Bhupesh & Sajala Uruma, Fred & Ryoko Vargo, Miho & Keith Vermeire, Marc & Deborah Volkov, Sergey & Tennaya Vriend, Pete & Amy Wakai, Yasuhiro & Chang, Yu-Ching Wang, Jianfeng & Ting

Watanabe, Shinsuke & Kanako Waters, Eric & April Wheeler, Stephen & Gabi Wilcox, Scott & Sheila Wilkinson, Bryan & Randi Wilson, Derek & Grace Winebarger, John & Fumie Wray, Robert & Morishima, Takako Wu, Wengang & Jiang, Mingzhu Xiao, Simon & Wang, Lesley Xu, Bin & Hou, Rachel Yaguchi, Masahiro & Suyapa Yamada, Daisuke & Seiko Yamagata, Satoshi & Erina Yamazaki, Masahiro & Toyoko Yan, Jack & Moriyama, Natsuko Yang, Chengwen & Gong, Jian Yang, Song & Matsui, Yurina Yeh, Chris & Torigoe-Yeh, Shino Yoden, Tomohiro & Kyoko Yokosuka, Mariko & Masato ’98 Yoneyama, Gaku Yoshida, Kumiko Yoshikawa, Tatsuo & Miho Young, Mathew & Nicole Young, Sandra Yu, Tong & Jung, Joo-Young Yuson, Rusty & Sowder, Stuart Zhang, Charles & Shen, Shirley Zhang, Jessica & Zhao, Changming Zuber Meehan, Amy & Meehan, Phil

Education is an investment that echoes long into the future. We have enjoyed supporting ASIJ to help enable the school to attract and retain the best talent available while providing the best environment for the school community to prosper now and into the future.

— Stephen & Kie O’Shea Current Parents & Alumni Parents, Lantern Society ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

FACULTY DONORS

Faculty & Staff Anonymous (3) Alcodray, Aaron Apel, Tricia Apel, Warren Armstrong, Rieko Augustine, Brad Baker, Katrina Baker, Peter Beardsley, Meena Bell, Gloria Bell, Mike Benning, Miyuki Berg, Josh Blodgett, Sandy Blodgett, Seth Brigham, Akiko Bryson, Sayako Bryson, Sean Burpee, Mark Cancella, Eileen Cancella, Jason Carreon, Courtney Carrillo, Christy Claudio, Milan Clear, Monica Cokerdem, Shayne Cokerdem-DePriest, Diane Confer, Dwain Confer, Miah Crockett, Rigel Cruz, Tina Cunningham, Ashley Curtis, Pip Davis, Lennie Davis, Tamera de Leon, Emily de Leon, Roberto Denver, Amy DePass, Kristen Dirkse, Tai '06 Dohrenwend, Peter Easterday, Emily Eimon, Ivar '80 Faulk, Andy Faulk, Laura Fichardt, Emily Fichardt, Hardi Fisico, Misael Foster, Mio

Fuller, Jody Garrison, Greg Ghadimi, Mary Ghosh, Bapi '90 Ghosh, Miwa Gilmartin, Ed Haddad, Caroline Hardin, Jim Hardin, Marti Harrison, Jeff Harrison, Manon Hatagami, Masami Heidt, Nick Hertrick, Olivia Hertrick, Scott Hirano, Sumino Hirasawa, Naoko Howe, Dale Hundleby, Natalie Ill, Brad Ill, Linda Ito, Taeko Iwata, Catherine Iwata, Ken Jacobsson, Timmy '06 Janewicz, Laurel Jessee, Michael Jessee, Miyuki Jiménez, Gabriela Johnson, Mark Kakihara, Saori Kanekoa, Brittany Kano, Iku Kanoh, Aileen Kanzawa, Elizabeth Kato, Akiko Kita, Virginia Kogure, Nathalie Koizumi, Mary Krisher, Ako '90 Lahad, Meenakshi Landry, Tracie L'Heureux, Heidi L'Heureux, Marc Liao, Alice Liu, Miranda Llamzon, Leah Lonergan, Claire Macek, Craig

Macek, Debby Maloney, Michael Markovich, Annie Marut, Justin '10 McCullough, Angie McCullough, Jake McQueen, Doug McQueen, Naoko McShane, Ai Meehan, Phil Meinhold, Eddie Milton, John Moll, Maddie Morohoshi, Shinobu '98 Murray, Jilene Nabinger, Alexandria Nakai-Ishida, Tomoko Nakamura, Machi Nakayoshi, Ikuko Nakayoshi, Yasu '90 Neal, Sheri Neale, David Nickle, Kathleen Noll, Karen Ogawa, Ryo Ortwein, Megan Ostermiller, Jenny Peak, Lindsay Pettit, Nami Pfeiffer, Mary Pitale, Jon Pitale, Laura Power, Candace Power, Erin Prairie, Ginny Prairie, Shane Prasad, Srilalitha Pressley, Patrick Quinto, Jeff Raggio, Jason Raggio, Kristy Raub, Josh Reed, Jane Richard, Jamie Rivera, Damaris Rojas, Karena Sachdeva, Koshika Sack, Jonathan '00 Sakagawa, Leila

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

Schumacher, John Schumacher, Lynelle Shibata, Mayumi Shibuya, Rica Shimada, Mihoko Shy, Leah Smith, Dan Spencer, Luke Sugiya, Minako Sutter, Sarah Suzuki, Ryosuke Tajima, Toshi Takano, Kyoko Takano, Mimi '10 Takeuchi, Mumi Takigayama, Yue Takizawa, Nicola Thiel, Andy Thiel, Tia Toyoda, Maiko Tremarco, Joseph Tsuji, Koshiro Upadhyay, Bhupesh Upadhyay, Sajala Vargo, Miho Vermeire, Deborah Vermeire, Marc Voigt, Suzanna Vriend, Amy Vriend, Pete Wakutsu, Kyoko Watkins, Clive Welckle, Steve Wilce, Matt Wilcox, Scott Wilcox, Sheila Wilkinson, Bryan Wilkinson, Randi Wilson, Frazer Wood, Lo Wu, Min Yamanaka, Christine Yanko, Matthew Yokosuka, Mariko Yoshida, Hiromi Yoshioka, Sayuri Zuber Meehan, Amy

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FACULTY DONORS Former Faculty & Staff Adams, Nancy Bender, Dan Bender, Ruth Callanan, Regina Chen, Stella Chitani, Yinsei '68 Colfelt, Amy Colfelt, Todd Cooper, Pam Cooper, Peter Crandall, Les Dennis, Thurman Dohrenwend, Amber Downs, Vicky Duyan, Brenda Duyan, Scott Edgar, Clee Edgar, Suzanne

Ellenberg, Lisa Floch, Patty Fukuda, Taeko Gessert, Rebecca Gilman, Irene Gogerty, Dan Gogerty, Lana Hatakeyama, Maki Hoffman, Joe Huber, Susan Inahara, Kyoko Ingebritson, Wally Jones-Morton, Pamela (PhD) Kemmerer, Ruthli Lewis, Chuck Mallat, Mary Margaret Massau, Kay Muhl, Dick

Okada, Lisa Pierce, Peter Pietraszek, Margaret Reckord, Josh Reckord, Nancy Relnick, Nobuko Roberts, Leslie '66 Snell, Fran Snell, Richard Squier, Carol Squier, Mid Sundberg, Carl '77 Umezaki, Margit Vasché, Polly Wanless, Randy Williams, Renee Witt, Gene Witt, Janet

Tribute Gifts

Friends

Corporate

In Memory of Rudy Pariser ’41 Shimizu, George ’39 In Honor of Nick Heymann ’18 and Benjamin Heymann ’20, who attended 2007–2010, with gratitude Piasecki, Nicole & Heymann, Peter

Alexander, Sarah Horton, Sheri Hsia, Lynn Kamano, Hiroyuki & Harumi Kroll, Cody Millican, Katie Parker, Susan

AFLAC International, Inc. Indeed Japan

Grandparents Kindred, Jon & Sachiko Macek, Gary Narahashi, Yoko Witt, Gene & Janet Yoshida, Katsuhisa

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Gift-in-Kind Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., Ltd. McBride, Ross & Madoka Ochi, Masato & Akari Sharp, Robert ’87

ANNUAL FUND 2021–22

Corporate Matches Anonymous (2) BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd. Capital International Investors Deere & Company Deutsche Bank GAP Japan K.K. Gap, Inc Goldman Sachs Google Google Cloud Japan Microsoft Corporation Prudential Financial Raytheon Technologies (Pratt & Whitney)

ENDOWMENT Endowment: Securing ASIJ’s Future through Endowed Gifts

Current Endowed Funds

A strong endowment is essential to ensuring the future of ASIJ. Unrestricted support of the Annual Fund is key to allowing ASIJ to make immediate program enhancements; however, the endowment ensures ASIJ’s long-term financial security.

Alumni Scholarship Fund

The difference between cash reserves and endowment is that while cash reserves may be used for immediate purposes, the goal of an endowment is to preserve the capital while the return on its investment helps to fund ongoing operations.

Edwin and Haru Matsukata Reischauer Fund

Quite often, donors establish a fund within the endowment to support a particular goal, to ensure in perpetuity a program that is important not only to the school, but to the donor. Other funds are established with no restrictions on their use other than they be used wherever the school believes students will derive the most benefit.

Restricted or unrestricted named funds may be established with a minimum gift of ¥5 million.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how to support the endowment, please reach out to the Advancement Office, donate@asij.ac.jp.

ASIJ Technology Fund David Nicodemus Bequest

Faculty Development Fund Financial Aid General Endowment Hoffsommer Memorial Fund John Sullivan Memorial Fund Ki Nimori Fund Munzenmeyer Memorial Fund Ray Downs Faculty Fund Ray Downs Scholarship Fund Reischauer Fund

Endowment AFLAC International, Inc. Cohen, Frederick & Barbara Dennis, Thurman Edgar, J. Clifton & Suzanne Go, Takakuni & Aiko Reese, Lenore & Joshua Waseda Bacchus Club

Strength & Courage

Corporate Partners in Education

Strength and Courage Fund The Takakuni Go Fund Vicky Downs Scholarship Fund

Aflac Waseda Bacchus Club Donations from our Corporate Partners in Education (CPE) are invested in the school’s Endowment in order to support the school’s Grants and Speakers program.

Floch, Patty & Bruzek, Ken Lund, Andy ’81 & Denise

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THE GATE SOCIETY Planned Giving

Those who have generously arranged to include ASIJ in their estate plans become members of The Gate Society.

Planned giving is a long-term fundraising option that enables individuals to make charitable donations that consider both the personal and family needs of the donor. Planned gifts are usually made of assets, rather than current income, and are a tax-effective means of giving to our school. While there are tax and other financial benefits associated with planned giving, the most meaningful reward is knowing that your gift will leave a legacy and have an impact on future generations of our students.

Planned Giving Can Include:

Members Anderson, Irene ‘74 & Somes, James

Huddle, James ‘70

Bergt, Dave ‘60 & Jeannine Cohen, Frederick ‘69

Ludlow-Ortner, Jules ‘72 & Ortner, Robert

Cooper, Peter & Pam

Muhl, Dick

Dennis, Thurman

Nichols, Kerry & Lynn

Downs, Vicky

‡ Nicodemus, David ‘33

‡ Downs, Ray ‘50

Proctor, David

Forgrieve, Bruce '77

Shibata, Hideko ‘66

Glazier, Kenneth ‘67

‡ Snyder, Ronald

Harada, Mary ‘81

‡ Sullivan, John

‡ Harris, Frederick

Sundberg, Carl ‘77

‡ Haven, Robert

Suzuki, Chizu ‘64

Hesselink, Ann ‘71

Tunis, Jeffrey

‡ Hoffsommer, Abigail ‘27

Ware, Brent ‘74

Jones-Morton, Pamela (PhD)

‡ Hoffsommer, Walter ‘29

• Simple bequests of funds • Gifts/bequests of stock or property

‡ Deceased

• Making ASIJ the beneficiary of a life insurance policy • Charitable gift annuity • Charitable remainder trust ASIJ has been receiving planned gifts for more than 30 years, and throughout our school’s history there have been a number of alumni, former faculty/staff and alumni parents who have generously arranged to include ASIJ in their estate plans and leave a gift to our school.

Please contact the advancement office at donate@asij.ac.jp for more information on making a bequest, or to request guidance on how to include ASIJ in your estate plans.

In May, 1980 when introducing my son, Jeffrey ’84 to ASIJ, we entered a classroom while a class was in session. A bright young student from the back of the room, yelled: “It’s a great school!”

Jeff thrived as a student and starred in football, basketball and pitched for the Mustangs. In fact, in 1983, ASIJ won the Department of Defense Boys’ High School Far East Tournament.

We found ASIJ better than “great!” In fondness and in gratitude I am a member of the Gate Society and will forever be supportive of ASIJ.

—David Proctor

Alumni Parent ’80–83

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Receptions

2022 Tokyo, Japan

ALUMNI RECEPTION Farida Rahman ’68 and Mari Oka ’68

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ALUMNI

On the evening of September 29, 2022, a buzz of excitement filled the air around Meiji Kinenkan as ASIJ alumni, alumni parents, and former faculty from around Japan gathered for a very special alumni event: ASIJ’s 120th Anniversary Reception.

Our room on the second floor of the elegant Minato-ku venue was lit in soft gold light as a nod to our school colors, and displays of historic ASIJ artifacts around the room added to the celebratory mood. As community members entered the room, they were delighted by a slideshow of photos from throughout the school’s history, all the way from 1902 to the present, and conversation built around the centerpieces of the event, a giant golden daruma on the stage and an elaborate black and gold anniversary cake near the podium.

Receptions

Alumni Council Alumni Award Committee Co-Chair Buddy Marini ’85 chats with Jonathan Haggan ’90

The event kicked off with warm welcome addresses from Head of School Jim Hardin, Director of Advancement Clive Watkins, and Director of Strategic Partnerships Ryosuke Suzuki, with Alumni Council President Deanna Elstrom ’86 leading the group in a toast. Current theater manager David Neale led a heartening chorus of “Happy Birthday, Dear ASIJ,” and Lungwen Kang ’83 and Asmita Barua ’96 kindly volunteered to cut the cake, which was later enjoyed by all.

Kamalavani Thota (AP ’16–21), Jyoti Chaturvedi (AP ’17–21), Linda Panchmia (AP ’13–21), Japan Center Co-Director Mariko Yokosuka

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Receptions With guests representing the impressive diversity of the alumni community, it’s no wonder the event was a huge success. Alums from the Classes of ’65 through ’21 mingled and conversed, reuniting with old friends and classmates and making new connections throughout the evening. “I truly enjoyed meeting alumni of different generations,” shared Farida Rahman ’68.

We were also excited to have six additional members of the Alumni Council in attendance alongside Deanna: Peter Durfee ’88 and Joseph Schmelzeis ’80 representing the Alumni Giving Committee, Minako Abe ’88 and Buddy Marini ’85 representing the Alumni Award Committee, and Eri Sumino ’14 and Nina Yamano ’95 representing the Alumni Connect Committee.

Egan Sadler ’19, Zenon Sadler ’19

Another highlight of the evening was the chance for alumni to reconnect with their teachers, and for former faculty to reunite with their colleagues from years passed. In attendance at Meiji Kinenkan were former faculty members Yukiko Kawasaki (FF ’16–18), Connie Shimizu (FF ’77–11, AP ’85–94, ’95–96, ’00–05), and Tomoki Shimizu (FF ’88–93, AP ’85–94, ’95–96, ’00–05), former Director of Admissions, former Interim Director of Advancement and former Board Chair, Mary Margaret Mallat (FF ’08–21, AP ’98–13), and well-loved former Transportation Manager Steve Mita (FF ’65–12, AP ’89–05). Long-serving current faculty members David Neale, who taught middle and high school drama and film for almost 20 years, and Jody Fuller, who teaches elementary school music also attended.

Naomi Wakatake ’79, Amy Boyd Hirao ’78, Atsuko Koshida ’77

Yuhka Mera ’81, Momoko Cunneen ’05, Lisa Hayakawa ’07, Phillip Vincent ’07

Current faculty members Jody Fuller and Anita Gesling (AP ’09–22) catch up with Steve Mita (FF ’65–12, AP ’89–05)

Robert Fujita ’13, Dean Aizawa ’12, Alto Ono ’14

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Receptions

As the evening came to a close, many alumni lingered, exchanging business cards and contact information with newly-formed connections and planning future meetups with old friends. The smiles on the faces of everyone in attendance as they rounded out the night marked a successful first Tokyo alumni reception in two years.

More information about next year’s event will be available in summer 2023. We hope to see you there! For more events in Tokyo in the interim, please visit our Tokyo alumni group at the QR code below.

A special ASIJ 120 cake was made for the event, complete with a shockingly accurate fondant logo

Lungwen Kang ’83 and Asmita Barua ’96 cut the ASIJ 120 cake

Jonathan Haggan ’90 and Victor Yamaguchi ’90

Mari Segawa ’92, Arshad Karim ’92, Kay Kinyama ’92

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Alumni Council Alumni Connect Committee Member Eri Sumino ’14

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Receptions

Dorothy Schmelzeis (AP ’76–81) with her son Joseph Schmelzeis ’80, Alumni Council Giving Committee Member

Parthasarathy Thota (AP ’16–21)

Kendra Morgenstern (AP ’03–20), Fred Morgenstern ’83 (AP ’03–20), David Lee ’86, Rida Sadler ’86 (AP ’09–10), Deane Saddler (AP ’09–10)

Dean Aizawa ’12 chats with Hitomi Hattori ’83 (AP ’98–15)

Former Board Chair (2004–07) Mary Margaret Mallat (FF ’08–21, AP ’98–13) with Director of Giving Claire Lonergan

Alexander Shumway ’10 and Shuchismita Basu ’12 check out the historic school display

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Receptions

2022 New York City, New York

ALUMNI RECEPTION Bob Noddin (AP ’10–22), Chair of ASIJ Board of Directors and Board of Trustees Photography by Yumi Matsuo Studio

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Receptions

Ellie Reidenbach ’22, Julia Neely ’21, David Bass ’21, Ryan Ondo ’22, Mina Ohashi ’21, Asa Ohira ’20, Jetisha Edwards ’21, Amberly Yang ’21

After a two-year break, the ASIJ Alumni Office was thrilled to once again host alumni, alumni parents, former faculty and friends at our annual community reception. We were delighted to once again be able to provide an enjoyable evening for reuniting with old friends and classmates, reminiscing about ASIJ and Tokyo, and making new connections with community members in the region.

Lance Stuart, Jessie Furness ’75, Jeff Zavattero ’83 (AP ’09–11), Nathan Westby ’83

The reception was held on Saturday, October 8 at the Harvard Club of New York, conveniently located in midtown Manhattan just outside of Times Square.

Almost 200 community members joined Director of Advancement Clive Watkins and Alumni Coordinator Miranda Liu for an unforgettable event—as both Clive and Miranda joined ASIJ during the past two years, neither had had the chance to meet in person with US-based alumni, and they were both delighted to finally be able to speak face-to-face with so many community members. The presence of Bob Noddin, Chair of the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees, Scott Wilcox, Deputy Head of School for Learning, and Amy Zuber Meehan, High School Principal, made the evening even more special.

Christopher Young ’06, Mari Richardson ’06, Sho Ohno ’06

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Receptions

Alumni from across the decades were in attendance, from the Class of ’53 to our recent Class of ’22 grads, with a large number of current college students and recent graduates joining us from not just the TriState area but other schools along the East Coast.

We were delighted to host former faculty members Vera Adams (FF ’06–17, AP ’08–17), Vicky Downs (FF ’59–99, AP ’69–84), Barbara Laffan (FF ’66–67, AP ’66–67) and former Middle School Principal Scott Adams (FF ’05–17, AP ’08–17).

The event was filled with laughter, smiles, and hugs, with exclamations of delight as old friends and classmates were reunited for the first time in years punctuating the evening. “I had a great time,” shared Tom Cavanaugh ’80, “My highlight was meeting with Jonathan Cohen ‘80, a classmate I hadn’t seen since we graduated 42 years ago.”

Similar comments came from across the generations.

“I had a lot of fun, and it was great to reconnect with my old classmates,” Saki Ohashi ’16 shared.

Jack Latimore ’18 with his father Timothy Latimore (AP ’10–18)

Joji Tokita ’94, Chika Hayashi ’94, Lisa Asari ’94, Katharine Dow, John Pette ’94

Dean Hane ’19, Brandon Tatis, Hana Schulz ’19, Tanya Jackson ’16, Isabel Bosch ’19, Sofia Bosch ’16

Marley Stubban, Nathan Lorentz ’12, Takuma Riordan ’13, Drogin James ’13, Yumi Matsuo ’07, Patrick O’Hearn ’07, Emiko Yoshii ’09

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Eric Downs 84 with Vicky Downs (FF ’59–99, AP ’69–84)

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Receptions We were also thrilled to have several members of the Alumni Council present, with Lara Tilley-Bouez ’01, Max Taffel ’04, and Chair Paul Hastings ’00 (AP ’19–20) representing the Alumni Giving Committee and David Leslie ’03 representing the Alumni Connect Committee.

“The event was fantastic,” Paul, who attended with his wife Debbie Wissel ’99 (AP ’19–20), commented.

As the evening came to a close, many groups began to gather for their own nijikai (after parties) with old teammates or in decade groups, once again reminding us of the wonderfully interconnected, warm and welcoming nature of the ASIJ alumni community.

Abby Estes, Collin Howe ’16, Chris Legaspi ’08, Yumi Matsuo ’07, Lexi Howe ’18

We look forward to hosting another round of receptions in Tokyo and the United States in the near future. We hope to see you there!

For more alumni events in New York, please join our Alumni Connect: New York LinkedIn group with the QR code to the left!

Michael Thornton ’06, Jon Staff, Natalie Bowlus ’04, Max Taffel ’04

Hanano Watanabe ’04, Aleya Brahmachary ’04, Cynthia Maasry ’04, Grace Natale ’99

Rod McVeigh ’70, David Narazaki ’75, Jessie Furness ’75, Ko Koto ’78, Alma Guimarin ’72, Brooke Laffan ’78, Victoria Harnik ’73, Susan Yamaguchi ’73

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Alumni Connect

Greetings from Alumni Council Alumni Connect Committee Co-Chairs Deanna Elstrom ’86 and Brian Nelson ’85

It’s our pleasure as Co-Chairs of the Alumni Connect Committee to update the community on how Alumni Connect has grown since the last issue of The Ambassador.

Having kicked off in early 2022, the programs within the Alumni Connect umbrella bring together ASIJ alumni from across the world into local and global networks for friendship, networking and fun. In the past year, the Alumni Connect Committee’s main projects have been: City Network Events: Currently, we have Alumni Connect groups in Tokyo, Honolulu, New York, Boston, San Francisco and Seoul. Last spring saw a flurry of activity, with meetups in Tokyo (Apr 3), Honolulu (May 1), New York (May 21), and Boston (Jun 25), and the Tokyo group hosted another event in Hibiya Park just as this issue of The Ambassador was going to print. Please find reports and photos of the Honolulu, New York, and Boston events on pages 62–66—the Tokyo event was covered in the Spring 2022 issue of The Ambassador.

We are excited to announce new groups soon; stay on the lookout for groups in your area in 2023!

Online Industry Meetups and In-Person Networking Events: Alumni panelists come together to discuss their career experiences and insights. With the opportunity to ask questions and small group “break out” discussions with the speakers, these are rich learning and networking events.

In the 2021–22 school year, we hosted great sessions on Medical Research (Oct 7), DEI in the Workplace (Dec 10), and Engineering (Feb 11). We also had a very special Fireside Chat session with Merle Okawara ’58 moderated

by Deanna Elstrom ’86 (Apr 28). In the current school year, we hosted one online industry meetup on Law (Sep 28) and tried a brand new format with our very first in-person networking event in Boston (Oct 4). Please read on to find write-ups on the fireside chat with Merle, the online session Law on the in-person event in Boston.

We are excited to continue our online industry meetups to provide opportunities for alums around the globe to share knowledge and connect, while also increasing inperson networking opportunities in the future.

—Deanna Elstrom ’86 and Brian Nelson ’85 Alumni Connect Committee Co-Chairs 60

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Spencer Park ’89 is an international lawyer with over two decades of experience. He currently serves as Special Council for Milbank LLP after past positions at firms and organizations in Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and San Francisco.

He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, then received his JD from University of California, Hastings School of Law in 1997. Based in Seoul, Spencer specializes in cross-border corporate, private equity, finance and real estate investments.

David Leslie ’03 is Counsel at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in the firm's Complex Commercial Litigation practice, where he litigates in a broad range of practice areas.

David began his legal career as a trial attorney for the Colorado State Public Defender, and then worked as a law clerk for Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses for the Southern District of New York. David received his JD from NYU School of Law in 2013, where he served as an editor on the NYU Law Moot Court Board.

Janet Kanzawa ’10 is the primary point of contact for all contracts for Patagonia’s operations in her role as Corporate Counsel, and enjoys the opportunity to work with people in North and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Prior to joining Patagonia’s in-house legal team, Janet worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, as an associate in the New York and Los Angeles offices and a summer associate in the Tokyo office. Janet obtained her BA at Vassar College and her JD at Columbia Law School.

Merle Okawara ’58 is renowned as the second woman and first foreign national to list a company on the Japanese stock exchange. After ASIJ, Merle attended Northwestern University and then University of Geneva, and has been a member of the DELSOLE Corp. management team since 1966. She has served as non-executive director on several corporate boards and as senior advisor to Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co. Her civic activities include serving as past VP of the American Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Advisory Council for the UN Office for Project Services, the Fulbright Commission, Merrill Lynch Diversity and Inclusion Council and is presently an advisor to the WFP.

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Alumni Connect

While we first began our Alumni Connect: Industry Meetup program as a response to the inability to meet in person for the past two years, we soon learned that meeting online has its merits. As the ASIJ alumni community spans dozens of regions and time zones worldwide, we are excited that the ubiquitousness of Zoom brought about in the time since early 2020 means that we are able to provide simultaneous opportunities to connect and network for alums no matter where they live. Even as we begin to resume our in-person events this year, we look forward to continuing to provide opportunities to share professional experience and network virtually.

On April 28, 2022, at the end of the 2021–22 school year, the ASIJ Alumni Office had the privilege of welcoming Merle Okawara ’58 for a fireside chat. In this special Alumni Connect session, Merle, who is renowned in the Japanese business world for her groundbreaking success as a female American entrepreneur, spoke about her experiences getting her ideas off the ground, obtaining funding, and building her business over the years.

Merle has certainly had an impressive career since her time at ASIJ—she has been a member of the management team at her company, DELSOLE Corp., since 1966 after her college graduation, and was the first foreign citizen and second woman to list a company on the Japanese stock exchange. Merle has served on the boards of major corporations across a variety of industries in Japan, and has volunteered her time and expertise to such organizations as the American Chamber of Commerce, the Advisory Council for the UN Office for Project Services, and the Fulbright Commission. She has also published two books, entitled When Women Create Companies and Business Women Leaders in the Japanese Food Industry.

As one of the foremost women in the Japanese business world, Merle not only shared a wealth of knowledge from her experiences in entrepreneurship, but was also incredibly warm and down to earth, relating entertaining and surprising anecdotes from her youth as Japanese-American young woman navigating the perils of the Japanese business world starting in the 1960s. Her stories of overcoming the adversity she faced as a woman in business and bridging the cultural gaps between her American communication style and the expectations of Japanese companies and investors fascinated the audience. “It was interesting to learn about how even Merle, who seems to be above the clouds, had to struggle in the Japanese business culture,” commented Hiro Kobayashi ’71.

The session was moderated by Alumni Council Alumni Connect Committee Co-Chair Deanna Elstrom ’86, whose convivial conversation style and personal experience as a foreign woman who founded a business in Japan made her a natural fit. Faculty member Jason Cancella, who teaches the college-level Intro to Entrepreneurship class through the Syracuse University Project Advance program at ASIJ, joined the discussion to moderate the webinar Q&A.

The session was a great success, providing an engaging window into life as an American in Japan in the 50s and 60s, as well as insightful advice about entrepreneurship and navigating the business world. “It was a real pleasure to hear Merle address a wide range of topics with such eloquence and expertise,” commented Peter Grilli ’59. “When she speaks one can only sit up and pay attention: her comments carry enormous credibility born of hard work and genuine experience.”

Our first online Industry Meetup of the 2022–23 school year took place on September 28 and focused on the topic of law, and featured panelists Spencer Park ’89, David Leslie ’03, and Janet Kanzawa ’10. With a wide range of experience including litigation, corporate council, and international law, these alums in the field provided a lively discussion about the various paths a career in law can take, the ins and outs of the industry, and how a career in law can be particularly attractive for those looking to have a career in both the US and Asia. “It was interesting to hear the variety of experiences of the three panelists,” one participant shared after the event.

After the main panel, guided by alumni moderator Robert Sharp ’87, participants and panelists divided into small groups in breakout rooms. This allowed more specific, intimate discussion and the chance to network with both the panelists, and other participants—while many of the attendees were current college or law school students, there were also several seasoned professionals present. “The casual, intimate atmosphere had its merits,” shared Fung Yeung ’89. “It was very comfortable to listen and learn.” We are also always thrilled to hear feedback later that these conversations led to deeper connections between alumni—we have already heard from one of the panelists that they have been contacted by younger alums who attended the event, or who heard about them from friends or relatives who attended the event.

Between these online Industry Meetups, our first inperson networking event in Boston, and the more casual City Network groups in cities around the world, we look forward to providing more opportunities to connect within the alumni community than ever in the 2022–23 school year!

For those that missed Merle’s session, the recorded webinar is available at the QR code to the left.

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Alumni Connect

Photography by Jake Belcher

Alumni Connect: Boston After two years of successful virtual Industry Meetups in our Alumni Connect series, we were thrilled to host our very first in-person networking evening on Tuesday, October 4 at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, MA. This special event consisted of a panel discussion segment followed by a networking reception afterwards with drinks, hor d’oeuvres, and plenty of ASIJ swag.

Despite the rainy weather, dozens of community members from the classes of ’76 to ’21 gathered for a wonderful evening of socializing and making new connections. Clive Watkins, Director of Advancement, and Miranda Liu, Alumni Coordinator, were delighted to host a large cohort of current college students and recent grads along with mid-career alums, seasoned professionals, and even retirees. We were also thrilled to have former faculty member and current Professor of Linguistics at MIT Shigeru Miyagawa (FF ’75–77) in attendance.

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The evening began with an enlightening panel discussion with Nicole Thomas ’06, a finance professional currently overseeing strategic finance and growth at Chief, a private network designed for women in executive leadership to strengthen their leadership, magnify their influence, and pave the way to bring others with them. Joining her on the panel was Alex Busam ’10, a pre-sales engineer with a career background serving clients in the high-tech, professional service, and manufacturing industries currently serving as a Principal Solution Engineer at Salesforce. The discussion was moderated by ASIJ’s Deputy Head of School for Learning, Scott Wilcox, and provided both insightful career advice and entertaining ASIJ anecdotes.

After the panel discussion, Bob Noddin, Chair of the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees, shared briefly about current and future initiatives at ASIJ before commencing an enjoyable evening of networking. Amy Zuber Meehan,

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Alumni Connect

High School Principal, was also in attendance to share her unique insights with alumni of all generations. We were also excited to have Briney Dillon Burley ’93, who is a member of the Alumni Council’s Alumni Connect Committee, join us at the event.

We are so grateful for all the community members who came out despite the inclement weather, especially our current college student alums, many of whom were in the midst of midterm exams! We look forward to hosting our next Alumni Connect: Industry Meetup online in early 2023 and hope to announce another inperson event in the near future, as well.

We look forward to seeing you there!

For more alumni events in Boston, join our Alumni Connect: Boston LinkedIn group! https://www.linkedin.com/ groups/14050778/ Deputy Head of School for Learning Scott Wilcox joined Alex Busam ’10 and Nicole Thomas ’06 for a panel discussion

High School Principal Amy Zuber Meehan met with alumni such as Hannah Semaya ’20

Amberley Yang ’21, Rei Yatsuhashi ’21, Kenta Burpee ’21, Emily Harada ’21

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Alumni Connect

Kaito Ran ’18, Jocelyn Meyer ’17, Sarah Nakanishi ’17, Teresa Haberstroh ’17, Erika Zhang ’18, Billy Fujii ’17

Shigeru Miyagawa (FF ’75–77), Michael Thornton ’06

Victor Helton ’12, Jena Bloomer ’12, Hanan Bloomer ’14

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Liz Horwitz ’76, Kay Richardson ’76, Linda Ohkagawa (AP ’79–82), Kim McIntyre ’85

Chris Blizzard ’03 and former Board Chair Thierry Porté (AP ’95–10)

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REUNIONS

2022

Boston Reunion Boston, MA May 22, 2022

Alumni Council member Briney Burley ’93 hosted the Boston Alumni Connect group’s first meetup on Saturday, June 25.

The group enjoyed the warm weather with drinks and snacks on the terrace of The Anchor, a wine and beer garden on the water at Boston Harbor. Briney was excited to welcome Alisa Prager ’04, Amy Carlin ’92, Betsy Yoshimura ’97, David Kidder ’70, Erin Callanan ’85, Ginny Allen (FF ’82–07), Megan Brown ’96, Sleiman Elias ’14, Ashley Sullivan ’92, Connie Fukudome (AP ’90–00, FF ’72–73, ’74–75, ’77–78, ’79–06), David and Carol Prewitt (AP ’87–98, FF ’87–98), Gail and Michael Bjornholm (AP ’86–95, FF ’86–02), Gretchen Herault ’86, Megan Gates ’87, Yuko Oda ’93 for a fun-filled evening.

The group would love to welcome more alumni community members in the New England area!

For more information about future events, please check out the Alumni Connect: Boston LinkedIn group.

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2022

New York Reunion New York City, NY May 22, 2022

The New York City Alumni Connect group hosted its first alumni get-together in Central Park on Saturday, May 22. A wonderful group of alumni showed up despite the blistering heat to picnic, mingle, and reminisce about Chofu (with much-needed chilled rosé supplied by Donovan Raftery ’99 to help the group cool down). They had a great time connecting over shared memories of friends, faculty, and the campus, and learning about each others’ professional lives and post-ASIJ experiences.

2022

Boston, MA May 22, 2022

For information on future Hawaii events, don't forget to join the Alumni Connect: Honolulu LinkedIn Group!

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Along with host David Leslie ’03 and his wife Roshan Nozari Leslie ’05 and son Kian, the group was made up of Donovan Raftery ’99 and Lauren Hunter, Max Taffel ’04 and Allen Yang, Michael Thornton ’06, Laura Conwill ’08, Elaheh Nozari ’09, Hayden Jardine ’12, Alicia Clow ’15, Sakiko Ohashi ’16, Asa Ohira ’20, and Tourie Nozari (AP ’99–01).

Honolulu Reunion

Alumni Connect: Honolulu representatives Christie Samson ’00 and Brian Nelson ’85 want to give a big thank you and mahalo to the Hawaii ASIJ alums, former faculty, alumni parents, and families who turned up last weekend at Kapiolani Park for the ASIJ Hawaii Alumni picnic! Alums from the classes of ’84 to ’18 joined, and everyone brought Japanese food and local treats to share. The group had a great time reconnecting with classmates and meeting alums, former faculty, and parents from various years.

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The group hopes to continue holding regular events, so join the Alumni Connect: NYC LinkedIn group for updates!

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’96

26th Reunion Chicago, Il June 24–25, 2022

The Class of 1996 celebrated their 26th reunion in Chicago on the weekend of June 24–25. Classmates partook in drinks at LUXBAR on Friday night, and a group of former student athletes enjoyed basketball and other sports on Saturday afternoon. On Saturday night, the whole group gathered at HUB51 for good food and drinks and even better conversation. Sarah Kelsch ’96 put together a slideshow of nostalgic photos, and everyone had a great night reminiscing about their time in Tokyo.

“The reunion was great,” shared organizer Dennis Hudachek ’96. “We even played basketball one day with several folks from the ’96 Varsity team and even some folks who played for the team in Middle School!”

After three attempts at planning the ASIJ ’10 Ten-Year Reunion starting in 2019, with two postponements during the pandemic, ASIJ ’10 Class Agents Janet Kanzawa ’10 and Kana Maeji ’10 are thrilled to share that the ASIJ ’10 Twelve-Year Reunion successfully occurred on July 30–31, 2022 in Los Angeles! They gathered from near and far on the California coast and enjoyed a weekend reconnecting and reminiscing on high school memories.​

’10

12th Reunion Los Angeles, CA July 30–31, 2022

​Our group of 26 included Anne Marie Dornoff ’10, Gavin Bird ’10, Reza Bloomer ’10, Alex Busam ’10, Ryan Christianson '10, Emi Ellis '10, David Forster ’10, Kevin Gallagher ’10, Kai Hallberg ’10, Hana Kelley ’10, James Olson ’10, Harshit Sedani ’10, Bryan Yonamine ’10, Kai Yamamoto ’10, Justin Marut ’10, Abhi Sharma ’10, Gaby Sun ’10, Alex Vergel ’10 and Quinn Patrick ’09. Brady Miller ’10 and Miyori Takano ’10 also made virtual cameo appearances.

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Upcoming Reunions

’81

42nd Reunion

’92

30th+1 Reunion

Austin, TX Feb 17–20, 2023 Contact Jon Loeliger (loeliger@gmail.com) or Jess Linde-Price (jpmoshimoshi@gmail.com)

Tokyo, Japan Apr 1–3, 2023 Contact Jeff Kelsch (jeff@kelsch.com)

The Alumni Office offers the following services to support classes organizing reunions:

Are you planning a reunion?

Let ASIJ help!

• Communications: Let us send your emails to all of your classmates on our mailing list, even those you may have lost contact with over the years. We can set the sender and return address to your name and email address so those interested will get back to you directly!

• Advertising: We’ll put information about your reunion in our publications, such as The Ambassador and our monthly Alumni News emails to spread the word.

• Swag: No matter where you’re holding your reunion, we’ll send some free ASIJ swag for you and your classmates to enjoy.

• Campus visits: If you’d like to plan a reunion in Tokyo and include a trip to campus, let us know! We would love to host you.

Please contact alumni@asij.ac.jp for more details.

We hope to hear from you soon!

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ALUMNI COUNCIL UPDATE Last year marked a big change for our Alumni Council as we shifted from a local, event-focused model to an international council with subcommittees to support a wider breadth of alumni programming. Integral to this changeover was Alumni Council President Rei Suzuki ’84, whose experience as president of the previous Tokyo Alumni Council allowed him to provide context and help create a smooth transition for the new format of the Council. We were disappointed to learn that outside obligations meant that Rei would have to step down from his role this year, but we look forward to his involvement in the future and are excited to bring on a new President, Deanna Elstrom ’86, for the 2022–23 school year.

It has been my pleasure to serve as the president of the Alumni Council for the first year in its new structure. I have been involved in the Alumni Council for many year s, and I am always moved by how wonderful, diverse, and involved the ASIJ alumni community is. It was an honor to be involved in the transition to allowing even more alumni from around the world to engage directly with the school and with the alumni community at large through the Council. While I’m stepping down now, I now pass the baton to Deanna, who I know will do a great job in the position. I plan to remain involved in the future, and I am looking forward to seeing where the Alumni Council goes in the coming years.

—Rei Suzuki ’84 President of the ASIJ Alumni Council for the 2021–22 School Year

In late 2021 when I first lear ned about the new A S I J A l u m ni C o u n c i l ’s vision and activities, I felt motivated to get involved and volunteered to co-chair the ASIJ Alumni Connect Subcommittee with Brian Nelson ’85. Thanks to the professionalism and support of the ASIJ Alumni Office, it was even easier and more fun than I could have imagined. So, this year, when I was asked to step in as President, I readily accepted.

I am honored and excited to support the organization in fulfilling its mission to create value-added connections between ASIJ and the alumni community, whether those be Alumni Connect: City Network social connections, Alumni Connect: Industry Meetup professional learning and networking connections or acknowledgments of exceptional alumni through ASIJ’s two alumni awards.

Thanks to virtual meetings, the ASIJ Alumni Council is a truly global organization, leveraging the enthusiasm and talents of alumni around the globe. Please join our city-based LinkedIn groups so you can see what’s happening in your part of the world. We would love to have you involved!

—Deanna Elstrom ‘86 Current President of the ASIJ Alumni Council

The Alumni Office would like to say a big thank you and otsukare-sama desu to Rei! His support has been invaluable for the past year. We would also like to say welcome and yoroshiku onegai shimasu to Deanna—we are so glad to have her on board as we head into the second year of the new format of the Alumni Council.

The Council has accomplished so much since we began working under this new structure—for updates, please check the Alumni Award (page 25), Alumni Connect (page 60), and Alumni Giving (page 33) sections of the magazine. If you are interested in supporting the Council’s efforts, we would love to have you involved! Please contact alumni@asij.ac.jp for more information about joining the Council.

—Miranda Liu Alumni Coordinator THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2022

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ALUMNI

Class Agents

Classes pre-1955 and those noted below need class agents. Please contact alumni@asij.ac.jp if you are interested.

1955 1956

William L. Cryderman wcryderman@comcast.net Mei Sun Li meisunli@comcast.net Sandra L. Maclver Thompson sandra.thompson3@comcast.net

1957

Charles C. Wu wucc57@gmail.com

1958

Class Agent Required

1959

Class Agent Required

1960 1961 1962 1963

David E. Bergt dbergt@comcast.net Class Agent Required Katherine C. Bauernschmidt Clarke kcbclarke@gmail.com William L. Martino txmartino@yahoo.com Nancy Wu naninvan@me.com

1964

70

David Bonner dbonner@regenevita.com

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN

1965

Scott Hutchinson jshutch47@gmail.com Susan Broe Parmelee Sparmelee2@gmail.com

1966 1967 1968

Annie Nichols Campbell campbell.annie@gmail.com Grenda F. Penhollow Moss grendamoss@yahoo.com Nicholas D. Connor ndconnor@yahoo.com David T. Sakamoto dave.sakamoto@infoontheweb.com

1969 1970 1971 1972 1973

Laura B. Hertenstein Swanson laura@swanson.com Daniel Garnitz dangar46@yahoo.com Kathy K. Kobata kkobata21@gmail.com Linda Suzukawa-Tseng sutseng@wonder.ocn.ne.jp Class Agent Required

1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

Class Agent Required Reiko E. Niimi rniimi@gmail.com Elizabeth M. Yanagihara Horwitz liz@lizhorwitz.com Carl E. Sundberg carl_sundberg_ja@yahoo.com Deanna Adams Smith deannasmith1959@gmail.com Cheryl Wise shareallwise@gmail.com Margaret Meiers margaretmeiers@yahoo.com Sherry L. Davis Tighe tighezoo@sbcglobal.net Lisa Bastick omalasq@mac.com George Mimura georgemimura@yahoo.com Judith Walsh Baumhover baumhover@earthlink.net

ALUMNI

1985 1986 1987 1988

Sandra L. Orton Tweed sandra@prestonmatthews.com Diane E. Stewart Wack diwack@msn.com

Sergei P. Hasegawa sergei@purekitchen.com

Linnea M. Hasegawa tamagomeshi@yahoo.com Samantha Fritz Hurd samf@austin.rr.com

1990 1991 1992 1993

Kentaro K. Relnick krelnick@me.com Maiko Galles maikomizutani@hotmail.com Jeff Kelsch jeff@kelsch.com Katherine S. Sakuma Moore ktsakuma@yahoo.com

1999

Midori Kano mkano128@gmail.com

1995 1996 1997

Hisashi A. Shimizu sunny_shimizu@hotmail.com

2001

Kyoko Minegishi kyoko.minegishi@gmail.com

2012 2013

2003 Tyler Beesley

2014

jasonmothersill@gmail.com

2005 Tatsuya Izumi

izumtat@gmail.com

2015

2016 2017

baird.carly@gmail.com Rosalind E. Onions rosalind.onions@gmail.com

2008

2009 Caitlin E. McHose

caitlin.mchose@gmail.com Ashley Teslik ashleyteslik@gmail.com

2010

2018 2019

Janet H. Kanzawa janet.kanzawa@gmail.com Kana Maeji kanamaeji12@gmail.com

Ray M. Hotta ray.hotta@yahoo.com Allessandra Rogers rogeal01@luther.edu

Hikari Shumsky hikarishumsky@gmail.com Kenichiro Bernier b.kenichiro@gmail.com

2020 Arman Balian

armanbalian@me.com

Miles Bird miles.t.bird@gmail.com Jemil Satterfield jemilsatt05@gmail.com

Mina F. Hattori minahattori@me.com

Andy Takagi andy.takagi@gmail.com

tdirkse@asij.ac.jp

2007 Carly Baird

Akira Camargo akiracamargo01@gmail.com

Haruka Higo jjriko@aol.com

2006 Tai Dirkse

Mana Sasaki Kalohelani mkalohelani@gmail.com

Lia Camargo lollia1108@gmail.com

Sayuri Sekimitsu sayurisekimitsu@gmail.com

tyler_beesley@hotmail.com

2004 Jason Mothersill

Seung Joon Sung sjsung94@gmail.com

Andrew Deck andrewdeck227@gmail.com

2002 Anna L. Tuttle Delia

annalynnosu@gmail.com

Hannah T. Siegel hannahtsiegel@gmail.com Philip T. Tseng philtseng7@gmail.com

gtyamada@gmail.com

Vicky (Carter) Chen vickycarter@hotmail.com Sarah Godfrey sgodfrey617@gmail.com

2011

2000 Gary T. Yamada

Margaret R. MacCallum margaretreiko@gmail.com Yuki P. Maddox Vos pearlvos@hotmail.com

Naomi D. Hayase naomidhayase@gmail.com Tamina M. Plum taminaplum@gmail.com

McMahon T. Reid homereid@mit.edu

1994

Rose E. Hastings rosehastings@gmail.com Kacie E. Rosenberg Leviton kacie_r@hotmail.com

Robert L. Sharp robert@robertsharp.com

Kathrine L. Schmitt Simon schm0495@gold.tc.umn.edu

1989

1998

Class Agents

Celine Maeda-Tarumoto celinemaedatarumoto@gmail.com

2021

Karen Fukuda karenfukuda16@gmail.com Joshua Inahara inaharaj3@gmail.com

2022 Nio Kwan

niokwan@me.com Ellie Reidenbach ellie.reidenbach@gmail.com

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Artifact As we begin to think about the next phase in the life of the Chofu Campus, the discovery of one of the original renderings of the campus proved timely.

This hand painted view of the campus was produced in 1962 by the architects Corlett and Spackman. Hailing from California, the company had just completed the construction of the main arena for the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA. They had previously designed the Center Street School in Castro Valley and brought their indoor-outdoor California-style design to the Tokyo suburbs. With the exception of the Little Theater and MPR, the rest of the buildings shown here remain in use almost sixty years later.

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ALUMNI

Obituaries

Sayonara BARBARA RYNERSON (FF ’05–15, AP ’05–12), who is warmly remembered in the ASIJ community for her role as associate principal in the Elementary School, passed away on May 18, 2022. Looking back on Barbara’s career, her husband David Rynerson (FF ’05–15, AP ’05–12) remembers her as a true educational leader, dedicated to “uniting, enlightening and inspiring a sense of school community, all the while maintaining genuine warmth and love for people.”

Barbara’s colleagues at ASIJ agree—Aileen Kanoh, administrative associate in the Elementary School, shared, “Barbara was always about supporting and helping others.

She was selfless, and humble, and made everyone around her feel valued. I really admired her for those traits.”

Cathy Berghahn (FF ’11–19), who both worked with Barbara at ASIJ and then went on to work with her again at the American International School of Johannesburg (AIJS), described Barbara as an administrator and leader who left a positive impact in good times and through challenges. “She held tight to her values and fought to protect the needs of her students and team,” she shared. “She was also playful and enjoyed engaging in student activities and fun. It was precious to watch those interactions.” “It was one of life’s great gifts to work with Barbara for a decade at ASIJ,” Dan Bender (FF ’88–15, AP ’91–09), who also worked closely with Barbara as the principal of Elementary School, commented.

“I learned from her, marveled at her brilliance, and found an exceptional partner in a wonderful school in a beautiful land.”

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Barbara with Dan Bender at ASIJ Born in Peekskill, NY, Barbara met David in New York when she was 18. The couple spent some time in Phoenix, AZ, and New York before ending up in western Massachusetts, where Barbara waitressed and attended University of Massachusetts Amherst. After earning her teaching degree, she began working at Crocker Farm School in South Amherst while David finished school. Once David completed his teaching certification, the couple decided that if they didn’t move then, that they would spend their entire careers in Western Massachusetts. With salt water in their blood, they moved to Kittery Point, ME, and Barbara ended up working in Durham, NH, where she regularly rubbed shoulders with the luminaries from the New Hampshire Writing Project. Their son, Deane Antonio Rynerson ’12 was born in 1993.

In 1998, Barbara and David decided to take the plunge into international teaching. They ended up at the International School of Beijing, where Barbara began her rise to educational leadership. In 2005, Barbara came to ASIJ to serve as ES associate principal, where the family spent ten happy years.

“One of my fondest memories of her was seeing her standing outside of the cafeteria each morning and greeting the kids by name as they arrived at school. She knew all their names by heart and made it a point to get to know each child in the ES,” Aileen remarked. Barabara and David were involved, active members of the ASIJ community during their time in Tokyo, and Deane graduated from ASIJ in 2012, matriculating to Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR. In 2015, Barbara and David left Tokyo, and Barbara moved on to be the principal of Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt, The American School of Lima, Peru. Then, in 2019, Barbara became the ES principal at AIJS in South Africa. Barbara and David thoroughly enjoyed their time there, from safaris to wine tours near Capetown. David retired in 2020, to be with Deane in the midst of the pandemic. Barbara spent summers at their home in Belfast, ME, and was looking forward to another summer of sunshine and saltwater when she fell ill.

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Obituaries

Barbara and Dave Rynerson “Having taught on four continents, Barbara has left a lasting impression in and out of the classroom. As a teacher, a reading specialist, a literacy consultant, a collaborative associate elementary principal, an incomparable elementary principal, a supportive colleague, a true mentor, college instructor, and exemplary educational leader, she was appreciated, loved, and respected by colleagues, students, and parents alike,” David shared. And indeed, many who worked with her agree that Barbara’s clearly articulated and inspired approach to educational progress positively impacted the lives of all those in her school communities. “She practiced the art of active listening as she absorbed new ideas like a sponge, with a clear vision of where she wanted to take her schools academically and emotionally,” David recollects.

Aileen agrees, remembering, “She was a very good listener.

While many people are good advisers and talkers, not many could listen the way Barbara did.”

As an educator, Barbara was always working her hardest to improve student outcomes. “Barbara’s focus was always on the students and the learning. Her grasp of best practices was encyclopedic and her passion ran deep,” commented Dan. “Barbara was about tight connections to students, knowing each child not only by name but knowing them deeper,” Cathy said. “She would listen to their stories, celebrate their triumphs, share a kind word, and help them with their struggles.”

Barbara was not only an impactful educator, but an excellent colleague and administrator for the faculty and staff. Described by Dan as “a gifted administrator with the credentials and skills to move a school forward,” Barbara was known as a supportive supervisor and teammate. “I remember her turning on her motherly instincts whenever we had new teachers arrive,” Aileen recalled of her time working with Barbara. “At its root, teaching is an extension of love, of care for another,” Dan commented. “In schools and communities around the world many have felt with gratitude such love from Barbara.”

ALUMNI TAREK AL-GHOUSSEIN ’80, well known for his photographic documentation of landscapes and buildings in Kuwait and the UAE, passed away on June 11, 2022 at the age of 60 years old.

A child of Palestinian exiles in Kuwait, Tarek spent grades 3 through 9 at ASIJ and was well known for his athleticism on the JV football, basketball, and baseball teams. He also spent some of his youth in Morocco, before going on to receive a BFA in photography from New York University in 1985, and an MA in photography from the University of New Mexico in 1989. Later, Tarek served as a professor of photography and media at the American University in Sharjah, then was the director of the MFA in Art and Media programme and Professor of Visual Arts at New York University, Abu Dhabi. He was one of the first artists to join the Third Line Gallery, a Dubai-based space that works with pioneering Emirati and Middle Eastern artists. Tarek represented Kuwait at the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennial, and his works have been acquired by many institutions and museums around the world, including but not limited to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Smithsonian, Washington, DC.

KEN CHIANCONE ’75 of Hot Springs, SD, passed away on July 6, 2022. Ken attended ASIJ for grades 7 through 9, and played on the JV football team during his freshman year of high school. He went on to attain his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota and his master’s degree in clinical psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. Ken is survived by his children and his sister Cyndy Chiancone ’77.

VERONICA MILLER DICKES ’67, age 73, of Athens, Georgia passed away on Friday, August 26, 2022. Known during her time at ASIJ as “Ronnie,” she attended ASIJ from kindergarten to Grade 3, and then again for junior and senior years. Veronica is remembered in the 1967 Chochin as being “pretty to walk with, and witty to talk with,” as in the John Suckling quote.

Obituaries KARL-HERMAN GISTREN (AP ’68–70, ’79–87) passed away at the age of 86 in Sweden. The father of three alumni, Marin Gistren ’82, Henrik Gistren ’83, and Tomas Gistren ’87, he was a large part of the community during his time in Tokyo, and served as a trustee from 1983 to 1989.

LEWIS HAM ’48 passed away in Santa Barbara, CA on May 4, 2022. Born at Schoefield Barracks, in Honolulu, HI, Lewis was the oldest of three “Army brats,”—Judith Thornton ’53 and David Ham—who grew up in Vermont, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Michigan, and finally Tokyo. Lewis attended four high schools before arriving at ASIJ, spending his junior and senior years of high school here before graduating with the Class of ’48. In 1950, Lewis followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, becoming the third generation to receive a commission to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1954. In 1955, he married the fellow child of a West Pointer, Anne Maureen Candler. They welcomed four children and spent the next 20 years as a military family before Lewis retired from the Army in 1975. After leaving the military, Lewis forged a second career in higher education, serving as the registrar at several colleges in California. Lewis was passionate about his work in education for almost two decades before he retired for good in 1994. Lewis and Anne spent their retirement in Paso Robles, CA, and enjoyed traveling the world. Lewis is survived by his sister and brother, his four children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

MARILYNN HAYS (AP ’76–84), passed away on June 26th, 2022, in Sun City West, Arizona.

She was 85 years old. Marilynn was born in Des Moines, IA, and attended Grimes Independent School where she met her future husband, Ronald Hays (AP ’76–84). She graduated from Grimes High School in 1954 as Valedictorian of her class before working at Brenton State Bank in Dallas Center for two years. In 1965, Marilynn and Ronald were called to serve as ALC missionaries to Japan. The family lived for many years in Yugawara on the Izu Peninsula while the children, Janelle ’78, Jeffrey ’79, and Jonathan ’84, commuted to an international school in Yokohama by train, but moved to Tokyo in 1976 so that the children could attend ASIJ. They eventually returned to the United States

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ALUMNI after Jonathan’s high school graduation from ASIJ, after which Marilynn earned first a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree in English as a Second Language from Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1989. She then began her second career, serving in teaching positions at several universities before retiring to Sun City West, AZ. Marilynn is survived by her children and five grandchildren.

YAKO HIRAI ’78 (AP ’05–17) passed away on September 27, 2022. Remembered by family, friends and classmates as strong-willed, direct, and honest, Yako came from a family of strong characters.

Yako’s grandfather, Koh Hirai, was a poet who published his first collection before the age of 20, in the 1920s, and faced jail time due to his liberal political views, while his son, her father, Isaku Hirai, worked for over five decades translating novels from English to Japanese. Yako grew up in Tokyo and attended Nishimachi International School before enrolling at ASIJ from Grade 10. She made friends with many of her classmates, and stayed in close contact with them throughout her life. After graduating from ASIJ, she enrolled at Tufts University in Boston, MA, and graduated in 1982. She became close with the family of her college boyfriend, and returned to visit them in Boston many times throughout her life, long after the romance ended. “I marvel at Yako’s ability to maintain long-term relationships, even with the parents of her college boyfriend 44 years after breaking up. It’s amazing,” her husband George (AP ’05–17) shared.

After graduating from college, Yako began a job with First Boston, an investment firm, in Tokyo. The fast-paced environment suited Yako’s personality, and she used the large bonuses she earned to buy land in Karuizawa and eventually built a house for her parents there where they lived for 30 years. In the late 80s, Yako fell in love with Syndney on a business trip to the First Boston offices there, and asked for a transfer. She lived in Australia until 1993, when she moved back to Tokyo. In 1994, she first met her husband George Antonides at a business meeting, in which he remembers she told him, “Your product will not sell.” Her explanation of what her clients were looking for afterwards left George amazed with her skills, and they were met with business success together.

To celebrate, they went on a trip to Lake Yamanaka, where their romance began. The couple traveled extensively together and, in 1997, were married during their lunch break and returned to work afterwards, celebrating with a nice dinner out that evening.

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Obituaries In 1997, the couple relocated to New York City, and their son Sei Antonides ’17 was born in 1998. However, Yako was also diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma when she was seven months pregnant, and underwent surgery just two weeks after giving birth. Despite Yako’s health troubles, the family enjoyed traveling extensively together, often with or to the homes of the friends Yako had made throughout her life. Even as her condition worsened, she and George enjoyed traveling together until the very end. “She did not retreat or allow her health troubles to limit her,” George remembers of her proudly. “She was indomitable.”

ELEANOR HONAMAN (AP ’60–78), passed away on August 5, 2022 in Lititz, PA. She was 91 years old. Born in Carlisle, PA, Eleanor graduated from Carlisle High School in 1948 and went on to study at the Fokine School of Ballet, NYC, before teaching for the Hopper School of Dance in Harrisburg, PA. She was married and had her first son, Stephen ’73, in 1958, she and her husband William (AP ’60–78) were assigned to work as missionaries in Japan. Once in Tokyo, her second and third sons, Andrew ’77 and Walter ’78 were born, and Stephen began first grade at ASIJ in 1960. Andrew and Walter followed in 1966, while William served as a trustee from 1965 to 2000. Eleanor taught English conversation at Koran School for Girls and Rikkyo Primary School for Boys, both in Tokyo, and served in a variety of volunteer roles with organizations such as St. Luke’s International Medical Center in Tokyo and the Tokyo Community Counseling Service.

After retiring in 2000 at age 70, she moved to Landis Homes Retirement Community and continued as a volunteer visitor in its Health Care Center. Eleanor was preceded in death by her son Stephen ’73, and is survived by her husband William, her two sons Andrew ’77 and Walter ’78.

ANTONIO INOKI (AP ’86–88) passed away on October 1, 2022 at the age of 79. A professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts, he was a well known figure to the Japanese public. Born in Yokohama, he was the second-youngest of 11 siblings. Already a sportsman in school, Antonio competed in shot put in junior high school, and won the championship at the Yokohama Junior High School track and field competition. After moving

ALUMNI

Obituaries

to Brazil in 1957, Antonio went on to win the All Brazilian championships in shot put and discus. When he was 17, Antonio met famed Korean-Japanese wrestler Rikidozan in Brazil and returned to Japan to train with him. He went on to have a prolific career with the Japanese Wrestling Alliance and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. In 1971, he married actor Mitsuko Baisho (AP ’86–88) and their daughter Hiroko ’92 attended ASIJ for grades 6 and 7. In 2010, Antonio was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. He also served on the Japanese House of Councilors from 1989 to 1995 and again from 2013 to 2019.

classmates also remember what Lisa De Young Jastram ’74 described in a recent tribute as the “wild, carefree flight about the room that was his style of dance.”

TAKASHI ITO (FF ’08–17) passed away on June 11, 2022 in Yamanashi prefecture. Ito-san first joined ASIJ as a bus driver, but later made the switch to gardener to follow his passion for horticulture and agriculture.

He grew a variety of vegetables on campus and shared both his crops and his knowledge of gardening with students, faculty, staff, and parents alike. “He was a very well-loved gardener,” remembers ES Administrative Associate Aileen Kanoh, commenting that Ito-san was “the nicest man you could ever know.” At the news of his passing the alumni community was moved as well, with Leann Maggart (FF ’02–15, AP ’00–12) sharing her memories of Ito-san during her time at ASIJ and commenting, “I am saddened by his passing.”

In 1985 he struck out on his own to found Ken Production Services, initially continuing mainly as a bilingual coordinator, but then later moving into the business of importing lighting equipment to Japan. By 1995 he was working closely with Madison, WI-based lighting company ETC and ultimately became their main dealer for Japan as he built the company into a thriving operation with over 20 employees. For over two-and-a-half decades, KPS has designed and installed lighting systems for major theme parks, national theaters, TV studios, night clubs, hotel ballrooms, and retail stores throughout Japan. The current theatrical lighting systems at ASIJ are also their handiwork—Ken was highly involved in the design of the lights in the ASIJ Theater when it was rebuilt in 2005, providing guidance in the configuration of the lights and handling the entire installation process. He also set up the lights in the Black Box Theater, complete with a catwalk designed with the highest level of attention to safety so that students could be involved in the handson process of setting and adjusting the lights. He stayed involved through the years, and was always quick to respond whenever ASIJ experienced technical difficulties with the lighting. He never stopped loving the work, and although he handed daily operations over to others several months before his passing, he continued to take phone calls and visitors at home until the very end. He is survived by his wife Shukuko; daughters Kei and Yui and their families; siblings Don Lammers ’68, Wayne Lammers ’70 and June Lymburner ’75; and his mother Martha Lammers (AP ’65–75).

KEN LAMMERS ’74 passed away peacefully at home in Yokohama on October 18, 2022 at age 67 after nine years of quietly holding a stage-4 cancer diagnosis at bay with his determination that life should go on as normal. Born in Kyoto, Japan, he was the third son of missionaries in language training who were soon assigned to northeastern Hokkaido.

After five years of Japanese grade school in Kitami, Ken moved to Hokkaido International School in Sapporo, and then to ASIJ for grades 8 through 12. Growing up fluent in Japanese and completely in his element in Japanese culture, he had already decided he wanted to spend his life in Japan by the time he arrived at ASIJ. While at ASIJ, he sang in the Singers, ran lighting for the theater, and pursued interests in pottery, sewing, and numerous other creative hobbies. He won the Home Ec awards in an era when boys taking Home Ec was unheard of. Friends and

While still attending ASIJ, Ken began helping out with lighting for Kappa-za, a touring children’s theater company based in the Osaka area, and upon graduation signed on as the troupe’s lighting director for two years. He then returned to Tokyo to work for Kyoritz as a bilingual coordinator and lighting operator for major foreign music and stage acts visiting Japan. It was during this period that he met and married his wife Shukuko Nikaido.

DONNA LEHRER ’68 passed away on July 10, 2022.

Enrolled from 1962 to 1968 for grades 7 through 12, Donna truly loved being part of the ASIJ community and treasured her time with her classmates.

Her brother Scott Lehrer ’70 fondly remembers how she was like a big sister to the kids that took the bus ride from Tokyo to ASIJ every day. Her one vice was cutting classes

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ALUMNI with Mary Bush ’68 and hanging out in the Ginza, but she graduated on time and went on to be successful in banking and real estate.

After graduating ASIJ in 1968 she returned to Southern California and attended Pepperdine University. She subsequently worked at Security Pacific as an Operations Manager. After leaving banking she became the Director of Operations at ANR Industries for over ten years followed by a position as Head of Human Resources at Allen Corporation Supply. After taking retirement, Donna enjoyed going to concerts and was passionate about reading. She is survived by her brother, Scott ’70, and younger sister, Wendy Lehrer ’77.

LARRY MORI ’66 passed away on April 27, 2022 in Clearwater, FL at age 73. Larry was born in New Haven, CT, but moved to Tokyo with his parents shortly after birth.

Larry attended ASIJ from 1956 to his high school graduation in 1966, and stayed in close contact with his friends and classmates from ASIJ for the rest of his life. “The Mori family lived a few meters down the road from us. And we literally grew up together,” shared Manzo Nitta ’67, “We played baseball, chess, and mahjong and traded stamps and baseball cards. We spent summers together at their Chiba beach house and our Nagano mountain cabin, so we shared tons of memories.”

Michael Braun ’66 remembers, “we used to collect and trade postage stamps—I left ASIJ after my 9th grade year, but I still remember trading stamps in the stands by the athletic field.” Daniel Marsh ’66 and George Yen ’66, who were in the bridge club together with Larry, remember fond times playing cards in high school together. “Little did I imagine that Larry would go on to become a professional bridge player!” George shared.

And indeed, Larry went on to have an impressive career in bridge. After high school, Larry lived in Michigan, New York and Florida where he finally settled. He had an undergraduate degree in clinical psychology and an MSW, but was perhaps best known for his professional bridge career. A Grand Life Master, Larry had many bridge successes including five NABC+ wins and two second place prizes, as well as hundreds of regional wins.

In fact, Larry had bridge clients in Japan, where he flew for work every year, as he was bilingual. Larry was loved for his gregarious nature and thoughtful analysis and will be greatly missed by those who knew him. He is survived by his sisters Betty Mori ’68 and Catherine Mori ’73.

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Obituaries MURIEL NEVE (AP ’61–66, ’67–76) passed away September 6, 2022 at 98 years old. Born in San Jose, CA and raised in Oakland, Muriel graduated from Oakland High School and attended the College of the Pacific and University of California Berkeley before matriculating at Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, NJ. After two years at Seminary, Muriel traveled to Japan as a missionary, landing in Yokohama in November of 1948. After teaching at a school in Kyushu for a year, she was married to fellow missionary Llyod Neve (AP ’61–66, ’67–76) in 1949. The two had six children together before moving to Tokyo in 1959 where Lloyd took a position at the Tokyo Lutheran Theological Seminary and Muriel taught English part time at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, and worked on improving her Japanese language skills. Once her children were enrolled at ASIJ, Muriel was also very involved in the school community as a member of the PTA, and Lloyd served as a Trustee from 1969 to 1976. After all six of Muriel’s children graduated from ASIJ in 1976, Muriel and Lloyd moved to northern Japan, where Muriel put her language skills to use teaching Sunday school in Japanese. After leaving Japan, Muriel and Lloyd carried out a year of service in Papua New Guinea, and another year in South Africa before retiring in 1988 to Blair, NE. They traveled extensively, including two trips around the world through Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe, a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway, trips to Bulgaria, Spain, and Mongolia, and a 6-month service stay in Brazil. Muriel is survived by her children Kaj Neve ’69, Rachael Neve ’71, Leif Neve ’73, Kim Neve ’75, and Peter Neve ’76. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd, and daughter, Nina Jean Neve ’71.

TOMOKO WATABE TAKAFUJI ’62 passed away on March 22, 2022. Attending ASIJ just for her senior year, Tomoko was known for her sense of humor, her charming laughter, and her thick New York accent. She met her lifelong friend, Yurika Pringsheim ’62, during her time at ASIJ and stayed in touch with many of classmates. Tom Hargreaves ’62 remembers, “Tomoko was a spark that we first knew during the last year of our schooling, a spark that floated about the Nakameguro campus as a bubble of brighter light. She spoke with a New York City accent, had a New York City brashness, was filled with humor—and

ALUMNI needed a translator to shop in Tokyo. That was Tomoko.”

After graduating from ASIJ, Tomoko studied English literature at Waseda university and married Kunio Takafuji.

The couple lived in Fukuoka Prefecture in southern Japan and welcomed three children. Tomoko was highly involved with Rotary International and worked with international exchange students coming to Japan. She was still highly connected to her ASIJ classmates, and visited Yurika in Germany as recently as 2018.

GRACE TANAKA ’84 passed away on June 25, 2022 at her home in Tokyo. Born in New York City, NY, Grace’s father worked for Kanematsu Corporation and was posted around the world, including tenures in Brazil, New York and Tokyo where Grace attended Nishimachi International School and then ASIJ from 1982–84. During her time at ASIJ, she was known for her theatrical and musical talents, performing in the high school play Up the Down Staircase and in the high school musical Once Upon a Mattress as a member of the chorus. She served as the clerk for the ASIJ Thespian Society and was highly involved in both the production and staging of the One Act Plays in 1986. She was also a member of the high school Vocal Ensemble, performing at a number of ASIJ events and international school festivals, as well as on NHK educational television.

After graduating from ASIJ, Grace went on to earn her BA in 1988 from Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences, double majoring in Government and Asian Studies and highly involved in a variety of student organizations, including serving as a musical director for the a capella group, The Touchtones. Upon graduating, Grace joined Mitsui Bank in New York and two years later returned to Ithaca to earn her MBA from Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management in 1993. Grace’s MBA class elected her VP of Fundraising and her class has consistently set new benchmarks for reunion fundraising in each of its past five reunion years. Grace then went on to work for Morgan Stanley in international equity sales following graduation. Grace was a born traveler, fashion icon, and gifted singer who had belonged to the Oratorio Society of New York where she performed at Carnegie Hall several times. She was a passionate fan of the opera and also an avid follower of the news and global affairs.

Obituaries SUE LONG ZIMMERMAN ’59 passed away on August 6, 2022. Born Suzanne Long in Sewickley, PA, she was little sister to Bob Long ’55 and big sister to Winthrop “Buzz” Long ’62. At the age of 11, she and her family moved to Tokyo, Japan where her father had accepted an assignment with the YMCA to create outdoor education and camping programs for Japanese youth. Sue attended ASIJ from 6th grade until her graduation in 1959, mastering what she referred to as “fluent soba shop and taxi cab Japanese” and captaining the cheerleading squad. She spent summers at Lake Nojiri and fondly recalled watching lines of campers carrying lanterns and singing as they hiked back across the side of the mountain to their cabins after the evening circle. Sue crossed paths with her future husband, Don Zimmerman ’55, while at ASIJ, but they would not begin dating until back in the United States while she was studying nursing at Northwestern and he was completing his MBA at The University of Chicago. They ultimately headed west to San Francisco where she completed her nursing degree at French Hospital. They were married in 1962 and honeymooned at Lake Tahoe.

Soon after came her first son Steven, second son Michael and, after a move from the city to Marin county, a third son David. Between planning elaborate birthday parties and sewing handmade Halloween costumes, she found the time to put her nursing training to use to develop the Puppet Therapy program at Marin General Hospital where kids learned what to expect during their hospital visit from puppet doctors and nurses working on a tiny custom-built operating table. Sue also volunteered with countless community organizations she held dear to her heart, working as a hospice nurse, a docent at Audubon Canyon Ranch, a court appointed special advocate for CASA, and, as her boys were not quickly allowed to forget, a “sex ed” teacher at their elementary school.

Family, friends, holidays and adventure were constants.

Winter and summer family trips to Lake Tahoe, Hawaii or destinations like the Galapagos, Bhutan, India, New Zealand and Europe were regular occurrences as was a yearly hiking trip with her “Ladies of the Trail.” At the age of 60, she even undertook a backpacking trip on a long section of the John Muir Trail with a close friend.

When Don passed in 2004 after 42 years of marriage, Sue continued to travel, volunteer, enjoy her family and even found a new guy, Charley, a 12 pound snaggle-toothed chihuahua mix who rarely left her side for the next decade.

THE AMBASSADOR \\ FALL/WINTER 2022

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The Big Short Big questions, Short answers

Josh Raub, Manager of IT Services, joined ASIJ in 2006 along with his wife Mihoko Shimada, former middle school administrative associate and current Japanese teacher. Their children Owen ’26 and Myla ’29 currently attend the school.

Where are you from?

I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, MN, USA. What kind of student were you in school?

I was always a curious student and did well in school, but didn’t really care about grades or school spirit or anything like that. It wasn’t until I was in college and realized I could choose to study and participate in whatever I wanted that I really got invested. I threw myself into my studies, became the General Manager of my college radio station and had a blast. It’s the kind of thing I wish had been unlocked for me earlier and I hope we are unlocking that feeling for ASIJ students now.

What is your favorite thing about Japan?

At this point, I’ve lived almost half my life in Japan. It’s become my home and thus it’s hard to answer this question. But if I had to choose, I’d say the quality of the food. But I’m not referring to specific “Japanese” dishes. I mean the actual ingredients.

For example, vegetables in other parts of the world have been selected and prioritized for a long shelf life to survive the distances they travel to the table. The result are vegetables that often look good, but are bland to the taste. In Japan, taste is still the priority for every ingredient and eating any single item will almost guarantee it is the best tasting version you’ve ever had.

What is your favorite thing about ASIJ? Ginger chicken? Hahaha, that’s a joke for all of the oldies in the crowd. I think my favorite thing about ASIJ is the people. I’ve visited international schools all around the world and am always happy to return to ASIJ. No place else compares. I’ve worked under some of the best leaders here.

I have some of the most dedicated, hardworking, and fun colleagues here.

I always find interesting stories about alumni in The Ambassador. But most of all, it’s the students. In August, there are no students on campus yet, just faculty and staff working in the hot summer weather, preparing for the first day of school. Then on the first day of school, when the students start to file in from the buses, it’s like the whole campus transforms into a completely different place. It almost feels like magic.

Which talent would you most like to have?

To be able to sing. While I’m very musical and can hear pitch and tone and figure out any song on the guitar with relative ease, I cannot, for the life of me, do the same with my singing voice. It baffles me.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

I don’t know that I “identify” with a historical figure. What a strange question. Is Luke Skywalker historical?

Who are your favorite writers?

Favorites are hard. I really like Michael Ondaatje. In the Skin of a Lion is one of my favorite books. I like almost everything by Kazuo Ishigaru. I’ve read almost everything by Ursula K. Le Guin and Vladimir Nabokov. “Pale Fire” is maybe my favorite book. Zadie Smith.

Graham Greene. Jon McGregor.

Some of Pynchon, Kundera, and John Fowles. Better pump the breaks or I will never stop. Oh! I’m also a big comic book fan. Almost everything Brian K. Vaughan has written is great.

And G. Willow Wilson! I love what she has done for inclusivity in comics through her representations of women and Muslims.

Which living person do you most admire?

I have a lot of respect for Greta Thunberg. Her unrelenting commitment to fight global warming is impressive. Even more fascinating is how her simple action caused such a backlash and reactive response amongst some of those in power and that stand the most to lose as we move towards climate justice.

Her tenacity and perseverance in the face of those reactions have only furthered her cause and inspired even more people to take up the fight. That is quite impressive.

When and where were you happiest?

Right here, right now. I’ve had plenty of happy moments in the past, but I’m not one to get sentimental or dwell on them. Much better to keep striving to make each moment going forward my happiest one.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Real life? Hmmm. I guess I can’t pick Luke Skywalker…

Illustration Matthew Worsley 80

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