Press Release : Takahashi Foundation Announces Major Awards, Concluding its Open Application Process

 Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation

Henri and Tomoye Takahashi, along with Tomoye’s sister Martha Masako Suzuki established the family foundation in 1986. All three American citizens were incarcerated in the Topaz, Utah concentration camp during World War II, simply because of their Japanese ancestry. After the war the family returned to San Francisco, determined to help build friendship and good will for Japanese Americans and to improve understanding with Japan.

 The Takahashi Trading Company imported finely crafted home goods from Japan for their growing number of Takahashi retail stores in the Bay Area and NYC.  Their wholesale business expanded as they sold to stores and museum shops around the country. Henri passed away in 2002.

In 2010, Tomoye Takahashi and Martha Suzuki were awarded Japan’s highest award of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays for their contribution toward strengthening US-Japan relations and their work in the community.

Mission Statement : The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation is dedicated to the mission of supporting the Japanese American community and aims to foster friendly relations between the United States and Japan through cultural and educational projects.

Cultural Preservation: We are committed to preserving and celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the Japanese American community, with an emphasis on the arts and education.

Telling Japanese American Stories: We encourage the telling of Japanese American history as told by Japanese Americans.  We hope to help expand understanding of the Japanese American experience by encouraging the survivors and descendants of WWII incarceration to speak for themselves without censure.

Broad Accessibility: We aim to reach as wide an audience as possible, and give preference to projects which appear to have the most meaningful impact into the future.

We are not currently accepting requests or applications for grants.