Yesterday we celebrated the Japanese Hyakudokai New Year’s Celebration. The name Hyakudokai is taken from the motto “‘keep active until 100 years old’. According to Mrs. Horikawa, the President of the association, the club began in Hiroshima in 1957, encouraging the elderly to live long with good health and to help one another to preserve the tradition, arts and culture of Japan. The organization in Seattle is led by the local elderly Japanese community with the average age of around 75. They are a talented and active group for sure! This year there were six members over the age of 88, the oldest member being 96! They are an inspiration to us all.
This year they have many activities planned such as cooking classes, visiting with the local Asian senior home, a casino trip, knitting classes to make caps for cancer patients, Ikebana, yukata, koto and various classes to learn Japanese arts and crafts. If you or your friends are interested in attending any of these classes and live in the Greater Seattle area, please feel free to contact me.
