Sadako’s 90th Birthday Party!
On Saturday, June 29, long-time member Sadako celebrated her 90th birthday with the BCSF Sangha and friends of The Grateful Crane, a production that her eldest son, Soji, put together. The party started at 5:30 pm and was held in the social hall of BCSF. BWA members, friends, and family helped set up the social hall.
A scalloped solid purple paper placemat was placed on every table with a salmon and chicken karaage bento. Hashi and napkins were on top of the bento. Placed above the bento was a small cardboard box that reads, “Okagesama de Sadako’s 90th Birthday, June 27, 2023.” To the left of each bento was a shoyu packet. Placed on top of the bento was the program, which consisted of a meet and greet, pictures with the birthday queen, and provided memory sheets; dinner, a program provided by the Grateful Crane, following dessert.
BWA members helped set up the inari and maki sushi, mixing wasabi and shoyu on the social hall's front table. Others made hot water for tea as guests, and some of The Grateful Crane production crew came in and played the piano beautifully in the Hondo, which you could hear from the social hall.
Once guests arrived, the social hall was buzzing, and everyone was happily chatting about and catching up with friends we hadn’t seen since the pandemic. Seeing the social hall filled up as much as it had that evening was uncommon. The food was delicious, and the company was delightful. While we were eating, BWA members, Soji and Hiroshi Jr. came around with the platter full of sushi and hot tea, always ensuring none of our cups went dry. It was quite the service, if I may say so myself.
After eating, we were instructed to go into the Hondo for a small program provided by The Grateful Crane. About six members sang songs, some accompanied by piano; some were acapella. Some of the songs were sung in Japanese, including Kyu Sakamoto’s “Sukiyaki,” which the cast encouraged the audience to sing along with because most people know this song by heart. The music was captivating, stunning, and heartwarming; definitely, a birthday party to remember.
After the musical program, we all took a group photo of everyone sitting in the pews. Afterward, we returned to the Social Hall, where the famous Yasukochi’s Coffee Crunch Cake was served with flan.
Sadako’s favorite treats were inside the cardboard box: two manju from Sacramento, two mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, and dark chocolate. I think I heard Soji saying that one of them was Hiroshi, her late husband’s favorite, but I missed it. Overall, I think it was a favorite of both of them combined, which filled my heart because it was a nice reminder of Hiroshi, whom we also miss dearly.
I’m so grateful I could spend this evening with Sadako and create more memories. Sadako is a wonderful lady who is so loved by the BCSF community. When I first started coming to this temple seven years ago, she was one of the few that was nice enough to say ‘hi’ to me. In fact, my earliest memory of her was her cleaning up the kitchen, putting away the leftover manju, and packing it in the box they came in. She gave me the box as I was sitting down and said, “Here, take this home.” I left the box at the temple because it was a lot of manju, and I figured someone else would’ve wanted it. I was touched that she didn’t know me and decided to give me the leftovers.
Happiest Birthday to Sadako! I appreciate your friendship and all that you did for BCSF and beyond. Cheers to many more birthdays!
