Our mission is to provide a facility in Downtown, Los Angeles for youth, families and seniors that offers sports, community activities, and opportunities to connect visitors to Japanese American culture and a vibrant,sustainable Little Tokyo.
“I know that it will be a great opportunity for other Japanese American kids like myself to reconnect with our culture and history through Little Tokyo… Budokan will help bring us closer to our roots.”
– Maiya Kuida-Osumi (Budokan volunteer)
“Little Tokyo is a place that has shaped my identity and the place I hope will shape my daughter’s identities as well. We have the power to shape Little Tokyo’s evolution and I believe in everything the Budokan promises to achieve.”
– Silvia Yoshimizu-Yee (Straight Outta Little Tokyo Organizer)
“The Budokan is not just a place to go to be active, you could go to Little Tokyo and learn about our culture. It’s almost our responsibility, we have to keep our culture going and we have to keep our traditions alive.”
– Natalie Nakase (LA Clippers Assistant Coach)
“Growing up with JA activities like basketball and church has taught me values that applied on and off the court. I have made life-long friends and I hope younger generations will have the same opportunities and experiences at Budokan.”
– Randy Masada (Budokan Volunteer)
“For the past few years, it’s been ‘tomorrow’ or ‘someday.’ Now, it’s ‘today,’ it’s for real.”
– Bill Watanabe (Former LTSC Executive Director)
“I’ve been waiting to play in the Little Tokyo Gym since I was a teenager. I’ll be 40 when the Budokan opens in 2020 and I am so excited to see this community dream finally come to life. I wish my great grandparents were still around to see the Budokan open.”
– Adina Mori-Holt (Budokan Staff)
“The Budokan is a gift to the next generation. My parents will be able to watch me play basketball at the Budokan, and maybe even witness their grandchildren do the same.”
– Tiffany Hashimoto (Budokan volunteer)
“I’ve always believed that this project was beyond sports. I wanted kids to really understand the meaning of Little Tokyo, its roots, its history and why it is an important place to remember.”
– Alan Kosaka (Budokan Capital Campaign Chair)
“The younger generations will finally have a place to play basketball and get back in touch with their roots. It will serve as a center where the upcoming generations can have a place to meet and have fun.”
– Aidan Kosaka (Budokan Volunteer)
“We always saw Budokan as a community-wide effort that will have a tremendous benefit for all of us, especially for children, A Home Court for All.”
– Mike Murase (Budokan Campaign Director)
“We are happy to see Budokan named after my father. He was proud to be a Japanese American and he wanted the Japanese American community to prosper. As JA families are spread all over the Southland, the Terasaki Budokan will provide Little Tokyo with a place where all generations can visit and feel like we belong.”
– Keith Terasaki (Terasaki Family Foundation)
“Little Tokyo is one-of-a-kind.’ I hear it every day from customers who come here. I think the Budokan will preserve the community spirit.”
– Irene Simonian (Bunka-do Proprietor)
“The Little Tokyo community is one of the most inclusive communities that I have ever seen. Everybody holds their arms open wide to people who want to enjoy Japanese art, food, culture, history and to understand the Japanese American experience.”
– Jan Perry (Former LA City Councilwoman)
“LTSC has instilled in me a strong sense of compassion for the Japanese American community. The Budokan Project has allowed me to put that compassion to work.”
– Griffin Yamada (Budokan volunteer)
“The Budokan was completely driven by ideas like a community garden so seniors living in the area could grow vegetables and have a safe walking path to get out in the open air.”
– Scott Ito (Budokan Project Director)
“Terasaki Budokan will not only serve a diverse local population of all ages and income levels, but will also attract sports-minded and health-conscious users from across LA County.”
– Dean Matsubayashi (LTSC Executive Director)
“I believe this facility is really needed for Little Tokyo and the Japanese community. It started a long time ago, maybe 20 or 25 years ago… since then we have been trying to build this sports facility.”
– Hayahiko Takase (Little Tokyo architect interviewed in 2009)
“This facility will provide a space for recreational and afterschool program opportunities for local, low-income youth of all ethnicities– which is sorely lacking in downtown neighborhoods.”
– Erich Nakano (Deputy Director of LTSC)
BILL WATANABE
FORMER LTSC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
tenure 1979-2012
DEAN MATSUBAYASHI
FORMER LTSC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
tenure 2012-2019
ERICH NAKANO
CURRENT LTSC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
tenure 2019-present
RYAN LEE
TERASAKI BUDOKAN
DIRECTOR
rlee@ltsc.orgcreate new email
MICHELLE CHAN
TERASAKI BUDOKAN
FACILITY RENTAL & EVENTS MANAGER
mchan@ltsc.orgcreate new email
KIM KAWASAKI
TERASAKI BUDOKAN
PROGRAMS & SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
kkawasaki@ltsc.orgcreate new email
LIANNA GUTIERREZ
COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH COORDINATOR
lgutierrez@ltsc.orgcreate new email
CASSANDRA FREDERICK
ADMINISTRATIVE & SCHEDULING SUPERVISOR
cfrederick@ltsc.orgcreate new email
KRISTAL DE MARCOS
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSSITANT
kdemarcos@ltsc.orgcreate new email
MATTHEW KAO
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
mkao@ltsc.orgcreate new email
MIKE MURASE
TERASAKI BUDOKAN
CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR
mmurase@ltsc.orgcreate new email
SCOTT ITO
TERASAKI BUDOKAN
PROJECT DIRECTOR
sito@ltsc.orgcreate new email
ALAN KOSAKA
TERASAKI BUDOKAN
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN CHAIR
akosaka@ltsc.orgcreate new email
ADINA MORI-HOLT
TERASAKI BUDOKAN
COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT
MINAKO SHIRAI-FERRANTE
TERASAKI BUDOKAN
REAL ESTATE PROJECT MANAGER
COURTLYN SHIMADA
DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE
CHRIS AIHARA
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Click below to learn more about our facility!
