We had a family reunion on my dad's cousin's side of the family in October. So, everyone there was a relative of the Fujisaki sisters, my grandma Kumae Kuida and her sister, who married into the Ikeguchi side of the family. Mrs. Ikeguchi had 4 daughters that I can think of, Eiko, Jean, Ginger and Mary, and 3 sons that I can think of Joe, Fred and George. There may be more, but these are the ones that come to mind. Actually, Fred might have been a cousin of the cousins.
Chris Aihara, a community friend and 2nd cousin who I see frequently in Little Tokyo, is Mary's daughter. I remember my grandma was always grateful to Mary's family, who let our family stay at their house after the war. I always remember Mary's stories about growing up with live chickens on the farm.
The reunion was organized mainly by Neil Ito, one of Ginger's sons. I remember Ginger as a child for her saltiness and spunk. She was a teacher in the mountains and she and her husband ran Ito Ski Rentals near Snow Valley for decades. She scolded my parents for letting me read "Love Story" in the 4th grade.
Here is the Kuida side of the family, with the youngest children at the reunion.You can see we are but a small subset of the overall group, with my grandma only having 3 children, and my dad is the only one who had children. Actually my grandma had another son in Japan, who died in the military when my dad was young.
This is the Kuida family doing foam crafts and arty things.
These are the gamblers at the winner's table at the end of the poker game.
See Joe at the far left. As the patriarch, he was the winner who took all.
The food was amazing, as some of the Ito's work in the fishing industry I think. With made-to-order sushi (from Sushi Chef Institute in Little Tokyo) and the most incredibly delicious fried fish, you couldn't go wrong. Maiya was 5 months old at the last Ikeguchi reunion 5 years ago. I look forward to the next one!
Photo credits to my brother Darin.
(NaBloPoMo#15 of 30)
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