Luncheon Gathering of Royalty

The Nisei Week Queens’ Luncheon was held Aug. 12 at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. The annual gathering brings together the current and former queens for an afternoon of reminiscing and sisterhood.

Front row, from left: Tracy Isawa Ahn ’83; Tish Okabe Kato ’85; Jamie Mizuhara Sakamoto ’02; Lauren Kinkade Wong ’01; Nikki Kodama ’04; Sandra Fukushima Ninomiya ’89; Jaclyn Tomita ’16.

Middle: 2018 Nisei Week Foundation President Cory Hayashi; Sandy Toshiyuki ’76; Helen Funai Erickson ’63; Faith Higurashi Ono ’59; France Yanai Wong ’62; Em Kato Yamada ’52; Judy Sugita DeQueiroz ’53; Dianne Kubota Hamano ’61; Karen Uchizono Gaston ’88; Jordyn Adachi ’17.

Back: Steffanie Tamehiro Takahashi ’05; Nicole Cherry ’03; Frances Shima Matsumoto ’81; Jill Hiraizumi Artino ’08; the 2018 Nisei Week Court – Lauren Miyamoto, Marica Snyder, First Princess Kelli Mock, Queen Alice Amano, Miss Tomodachi Juli Ann Drindak, Tori Kamada; Tiffany Hattori ’98; Traci Murase Tanaka ’99; baby Kalia with mom Tricia Tanaka Yamada ’06.

Photo by MARIO G. REYES/Rafu Shimpo