Published April 4, 2024

A private memorial service was held on March 27 for Sakaye Aratani, the elegant matriarch of the Aratani family, whose philanthropy and support of numerous institutions have left an indelible mark on the Japanese American community. She passed away on March 18 at 104 years old.

A walk through Little Tokyo will include cornerstone institutions that were supported by George and Sakaye Aratani and have been named in their honor, including Japanese American Cultural and Community Center’s Aratani Japan America Theatre; the Japanese American National Museum’s George and Sakaye Central Hall; and the Union Center for the Arts’ Aratani Courtyard.

Sakaye Aratani was born in 1919 to Eijiro and Katsu Inouye and grew up in Gardena, where her parents were in the nursery business.

Aratani was incarcerated at Poston, Ariz. during World War II. She met her husband George a few years before the war. He was incarcerated at Gila River, not far from Poston, and enlisted in the Military Intelligence Service as an instructor teaching Japanese to U.S. Army personnel. But before leaving for Minnesota to report for duty, he proposed to Sakaye. She and her future mother-in-law traveled to Minnesota to join him. The couple were married in 1944 among close friends in Minneapolis.

After the war, the family moved to Boyle Heights. It was during this time that Aratani became very involved in philanthropy. Her first involvement was with a group of women in Los Angeles, both Japanese and Caucasian, whose mission was to help starving war widows in Japan. They reached out to women’s groups and churches throughout the U.S., requesting discarded nylon hosiery. The group sent the hosiery to the war widows, who created thread and ornaments to sell in order to survive.

Aratani was a board member of the Japan America Society, holding the post for 20 years. She organized the first JAS Golf Tournament, which continues today.

In a statement on its website, the Japan America Society said Aratani had a profound influence on the organization and its mission: “Sakaye’s heart was always devoted to serving others and was a lifelong advocate for the Japan America Society that promoted building U.S.-Japan relationships. Her kindness and generosity knew no bounds, even welcoming a JAS member recently to her home and providing a full tea-ceremony service even though she was weak from age.”

In the early 1950s, she and a group of women golfers organized the first Nisei Women’s Golf Club, which met monthly to play and socialize. She was its first president.

She helped form a group of ladies from Japan who created a forum for young musicians to perform in an orchestra, now known as the Asia America Symphony Association. Many Japanese youth have had the opportunity to perform under conductor Dr. Akira Kikukawa. Aratani was one of the founders of the Asia America Symphony Women’s Guild, which organized fundraising events to support the association.

Aratani was also one of the founders of the Japanese American Montebello Women’s Club, a philanthropic group that organized many fundraisers for the City of Hope, and raised money to purchase wheelchairs for Keiro Nursing Home.

In a 2017 interview with Densho, Aratani recalled, “There was about five or six of us got together and decided we should form a club, because there’s nothing like that over there in Montebello. So we decided, well, we’ll make plans to raise funds and get the ladies interested. And I think even ’til this day, there’s no club like the Montebello Women’s Club. We were so active, we did so much for the community, and I’m so proud of being part of it.”

During the 1960s, Aratani helped Miki Sawada, an heiress to Mitsubishi Japan, to create a large orphanage for biracial children born after the war. They were shunned by society and discarded. Sawada took them in and created the Elizabeth Saunders Home. When she decided to transport many of these children to South America, where they were guaranteed work on the coffee plantations, she was very concerned the children would not have shoes. Aratani immediately went to work collecting discarded shoes from schools and gymnasiums. Sawada found that Aratani had fulfilled her request beyond what she anticipated.

At UCLA in 2004, the Aratanis endowed the first academic chair in the U.S. to study the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans and their efforts to gain redress. The late Lane Ryo Hirabayashi was the first to hold the endowed chair.

In 2013, the Aratanis supported the UCLA Department of Asian American Studies, creating the Aratani Endowment, which is designed to promote projects to benefit and advance the Japanese American community and strengthen ties between the community and UCLA. The couple also endowed the George and Sakaye Aratani Community Advancement Research Endowment (or Aratani C.A.R.E.) Awards.

Aratani was the first Japanese American woman to be recognized by the Japanese government, receiving a Kunsho in 1963. In her later years, she served as president of the Aratani Family Foundation, following in the footsteps of her late husband.

In her leisure time she enjoyed chigiri-e, the art of paper-tearing. She also excels in sumi-e(calligraphy) and won several awards for her work.

On the tribute page “Remembering Sakaye,” her daughter Linda Aratani reflected that her mom always looked on the “bright side of life.”

“She said her secret to a happy long life was that she was a grateful person, especially for the small things. She would say, ‘I wake up every day and give thanks I got up!’”

Her survivors include daughters, Donna Kwee (Kwee Liong Tek), Linda Aratani; grandchildren, Melissa Aratani Kwee, Stephanie Kwee-Ng and Ng Chee Yuen, Evan Kwee and Claudia Kwee, Jeff Yusa and Angie Yusa, Jann Clark & Adam Clark, Alison Kwee & Sam Eatwell, Joy Melcher and Blake Melcher; and great-grandchildren, Yi-Ning, Ng Yi-Shen, Sydney Clark, Ng Yi-Ren, Aubrey Clark, Lucas Kwee, James Melcher, Mia Melcher, Naomi Kwee, and Amelia Sakaye Eatwell.

In lieu of gifts, the Aratani family has suggested making a donation to the organizations that were a large part of Sakaye’s life: Japan America Society of Southern California, Japanese American National Museum, Keiro, or Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. Links to donate to these organizations from her guest book page: https://www.remember-ingsakaye.com/

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