About YOSC

The Young Okinawans of Southern California was founded in 1996 and is a subcommittee of the Okinawan Association of American, Inc., a non-profit organization. The YOSC is intended for OAA members who are ages 16 to 40. With the help of Hawaii's Young Okinawan Group, we developed our Rules and Regulations and Membership Form.

Our purpose:

The YOSC organizes activities for Young Adults, Young Families, and Young Professionals, which represents the various interests of our members. Our past activities include Hai-Sai America - Night of Okinawan Rock featuring Mongol 800 and Bleach 03, Stories From the Past series of film screenings, Theater Night at the East-West Playhouse, Karaoke Party, Jon Nakamatsu Concert, and Akabana.

The YOSC participates in OAA events by helping wherever needed. Events we have participated in include the New Year's Party, Picnic, Undokai, and Bazaar. Our goal is to keep young adults informed of OAA activities so that they will be aware that the OAA exists for all generations. Hopefully, the future leaders of the OAA will emerge through their active participation in the YOSC.

Committee Members

OAA Advisor: Helene Shimane

Cultural Committee Chairs: Eriko Kurashige and David Kurashige

Co-Chair of Cultural Committee: Amy Oshiro

Membership Committee Chairperson: Yuko Yamauchi

Social Committee Chair: Mariko Walton

Treasurer/Fundraiser Chair: Garrett Ginoza

Committee Member Bios

Cultural Committee Chairs: Eriko Kurashige and David Kurashige
We both share a passion to spread the Okinawan culture to the next Generation. The events that we like to host are geared to teaching the little ones about the Okinawan culture. We've used puppet shows, music, dance, karate, and cooking demonstrations in our past events and activities. We hope that these little ones will be tomorrow's OAA and YOSC members.

Co-Chair of Cultural Committee: Amy Oshiro
Born: Los Angeles, California Both parents from Okinawa Japan.
I have 4 sisters.
I have one daughter Melissa Tran(Okinawan/Vietnamese)
Graduated from Cal Poly Pomona - Bachalor of Science Managements & Human Resources
Work: Currently I work for Tengu Company a beef jerky manufacturer in the city of Santa Fe Springs. as Sales & Marketing Manager +10year. Before that I worked at a local movie theatre in the city of Glendale as an Assistant Manager +7years.

Growing up I remember how my parents actively attended almost all the Okinawan Club events. One of my memories is the Okinawan Picnic at the Elysian Park. I remember all my sisters and I always look forward to this picnic every year. The meeting of family friends, eating onigiri, listening to Okinawan music and especially the games for the kids. I love to share some of my wonderful experiences of growing up listening to Okinawan music and meeting new people to my daughter. I feel that it is important to install my daughter with as many Okinawan culture experiences such as food, language and hopefully one day I will be able to take her to Okinawa, Japan.

That is why I have recently joined the YOSC to become a more active in the Okinawan community and to share with my daughter the Okinawan Spirit.

Membership Committee Chairperson: Yuko Yamauchi
Yuko Yamauchi, born under the sign of the Boar, grew up in what she calls the 'Dena Hood, in the city of Gardena. Technically born in Okinawa, she was immediately uprooted at 7 months of age where her family moved to Los Angeles. She even used to live near the old Okinawa Clubhouse back in the 1970's. However, it wasn't until she moved to Gardena that she got her first real taste of Uchinanchu culture (besides homecooking and parents' secret hogen talk) when she began Okinawan dance lessons with Aiko Majikina at age 6.

Thus, the seeds of her Uchinanchu identity finally found a way to replant and began to thrive. Since then, she's participated in lots of cultural activities and some political, too, as she learned about the base issue that is ongoing in Okinawa. More recently, she studied at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts through the Kempi scholarship for one year in 2000 and ended up staying in Shuri for another 5 years where she gained her Shinjinsho in Classical Ryukyuan Music for the sanshin and Shinjinsho in Ryukyuan Dance. Above and beyond that, her time spent in Okinawa finally filled in the missing pieces of her identity and she came to intimately understand the place her family left behind. She also strengthened her "chimugukuru" as she spent time with all of her relatives and learned what it's like to live in modern day Uchina as a teacher and translator.

As much as she loved it, she felt she needed to return to give back somehow to the Kenjinkai and the community that she had left behind and returned in March of 2006. She began working in the OAA office in Gardena (though she lives in Torrance now) where she loves spending time with her sempai and all the leaders who represent the history of Uchinanchu in southern California. She passionately hopes for the YOSC and OAA to continue growing and expanding to meet the evolving needs of and to foster island pride of all Uchinanchu in the surrounding southern Cal communities.

Social Committee Chair: Mariko Walton
Mariko Walton held the title of Miss Anti-Social for 23 years consecutively, perversely qualifying her for the current position she serves with the YOSC. She is a shin-Nisei and third generation Californian who inherited the worst traits from both sides. Besides living in California and Okinawa, she did an OE in New Zealand as well. As an Okinawan, her only understanding of Japan is through tourism and pop culture. A self-described caucAsian mariko-ist, she is the token outsider wherever she goes.

Mariko holds a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz and is one course shy of a minor in Electronic Music. She is currently working towards a Certificate in Procrastination but cannot find the time for it due to her interests in veganism and talking in the third person. Mariko is also responsible for the YOSC web presence so if anything is incorrect, blame her.

Treasurer/Fundraiser Chair: Garrett Ginoza
Garrett was born in Oahu, Hawaii. He grew up on a family farm that used to raise taro back in the 1950's but had been changed to a banana farm by the time he was born (That's right he grew up on an actual banana farm! Is he a Hawaiian country bumpkin or what!) Later by his teenage years the farm changed again from bananas to exporting tropical flowers to Los Angeles (Better, but he's still a bumpkin!).

He went to school at the University of Hawaii where he received his degree Bachelors & Masters degrees in Economics. Given his country bumpkiness it was especially impressive accomplishment since he literally had to walk uphill (both ways!) through the tropical forests of Hawaii to get to his university classes.

Starting in 1996 he began training in Okinawan karate, specifically Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu, and continues to trains today in Gardena, CA under Sensei Eihachi Ota as a 5th degree black belt (godan). And beginning in 2007 he will become the Chairman of the Martial Arts Committee under the umbrella of the Okinawa Association of America.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1999 he became involved with the OAA and its Young Okinawans of Southern California group.