WHAT MAKES SAN TAI SAN UNIQUE
On March 15th, 69 teams, 414 players, 1,250 attendees, and 70 volunteers came to Terasaki Budokan’s FREE, co-ed, intergenerational, 3-on-3 basketball tournament, San Tai San. Thanks to your support, and from the help of our vendors, volunteers, and sponsors, LA84, City National Bank, and Andrew & Chantel Uchida and Family, we raised over $5,000!
San Tai San is the only free, intergenerational, co-ed basketball tournament in DTLA, but there are more unique things about it.
Families Playing Together
Since this tournament is intergenerational, we get to see parents and their children being able to play and cheer for each other in the same tournament.
Make it stand out
Kim Kawasaki, Budokan’s Programs Manager, is the perfect example of this unique experience. She said, “I had such a great time— in the morning, my daughter, who’s in 1st grade, and my son, who’s in 3rd grade, were able to play. And at night, me and my husband and my twin sister came out of retirement to play in the Masters Division!”
Their team, the OG Ois, ended up winning every single game!
During their children’s divisions, Kim, her husband, and her sister eagerly watched their kids play and fulfilled their coaching duties. At night, their kids got to cheer them on!
Kim (pictured above in the center back) and her family
Make it stand out
Geoff Tsudama, Little Tokyo Service Center’s Controller, has been a long-time supporter of Budokan and San Tai San. This year, he and his daughter, Meisa, were able to play in the tournament together.
Geoff was on the OG Ois alongside Kim and her family, and Meisa was in the Girls 3rd/4th Grade Division earlier in the day. Geoff, his wife, and his youngest daughter showed their support for Meisa, and they stayed until the end of the tournament to do the same for Geoff.
“It’s such an important time to bring people from all over LA to this one place where we can all play basketball together. I’m really proud that now my daughter gets to play in this tournament, too.” - Geoff Tsudama
Geoff (pictured above to the right) and Meisa (pictured above in the center)
Friends vs Friends
This tournament was filled with friends competing against friends— from elementary schoolers to the Masters Division.
Not only are Kim and Geoff friends who play basketball together, but they were friends with every team they faced. They’ve been playing against some of these folks for over 20 years!
The younger generations played alongside and against friends at San Tai San, too. Geoff’s daughter, Meisa, said, “San Tai San is important to me because I get to hangout with my friends, and I get to play some fun basketball with not just teams of 5, but teams of 3.”
Make it stand out
Watching the high schoolers, you could tell that they all knew each other and that they had a blast getting to play basketball together. At certain points during the tournament, the teams would start laughing before switching back into game-mode. When they weren’t on the court playing, they would scream and shout their support for their friends.
“Today was really fun, because we all know each other even though we’re on different teams. Even though we’re still competing, it’s not like it’s ‘high school competing,’ where it’s intense— it’s fun. Basketball is important, because it brings us all together and we get to have fun with our friends.” -Kayla Tanijiri, Claw Arcade Captain (High School Division)
Darin (pictured above to the left) and Kayla (pictured above in the center)
Passing the Baton
San Tai San started on the streets of San Pedro in the early 2000s as a capital campaign fundraiser to build Terasaki Budokan. Now, some of the folks who participated back in the day are paving the way for younger generations to join San Tai San in the gym they helped build.
Geoff said, “I’ve been involved with San Tai San since before we had the Terasaki Budokan, when we were taking it to the streets.” Flash forward from the 2000s to 2025, now he’s sharing San Tai San with Meisa.
Make it stand out
Darin Nakauchi, the coach of Claw Arcade, said, “It was great to see all of the different ages come out to play basketball and support the community. I used to play in San Tai San back in the day when it was on the streets, so it’s amazing to see this tournament come to life at Budokan.”
Not only is Darin transitioning from player to coach in San Tai San, but he’s also shaping future generations as a BBA Program Facilitator at Terasaki Budokan. Through his coaching and the BBA program, he’s teaching the fundamentals of basketball and providing mentorship to young athletes.
Darin (pictured above in the center)
At San Tai San 2023, one player’s mother, Debrah Nishihira, shared, “My husband, who is Japanese, grew up with basketball in Torrance. He used to coach two boys teams when he was younger, and now that he’s in his 30s, he still gets those teams together to play. One of those kids he coached is now our son’s coach. We like to support our community and we want our kids to grow up giving back, like our generation and the generations before us did.”
We can still see the community passing on the legacy and paving the way for future generations, and we hope it continues on!
“Today is easily my favorite day at Budokan of the year. I’m so grateful for the community that has been built here to come today and just have a good time. It’s a free event that we hope everyone enjoys where they get to come here, be in Little Tokyo, and play some basketball.” - Kim Kawasaki
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who came out and played, watched, volunteered, sponsored (City National Bank, LA84 Foundation, and Andrew & Chantel Uchida and Family), bought food and drinks from our awesome vendors (Kouraku, Obanyummy, and Tilt Coffee), donated, and tabled (Little Tokyo Service Center + Mi CASA, Kizuna, City National Bank, The Nihon Collection, National Marrow Donor Program, and Little Tokyo Neighbors). You all brought amazing energy to our gym and plaza.
Stay tuned for more photos and videos hitting our Instagram soon, and we hope to see you at next year’s San Tai San!
