nwasianweekly.com
Mar. 18, 2006

(Photo provided by the Moriguchi family)
The Moriguchi family

Family unveils $100,000 gift to Wing Luke

By Carol N. Vu
Northwest Asian Weekly

One of the largest donations made by a member of the Asian American community to the Wing Luke Asian Museum’s capital campaign was announced last Sunday.

Uwajimaya Inc. and the Moriguchis, the Seattle family that owns the grocery store, have promised to give $100,000 to the construction and development of a new home for the Asian American museum. The pledge was unveiled to a crowd of more than 680 at Wing Luke’s 40^th anniversary gala at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center on March 12.

Joy Shigaki, the museum’s capital campaign manager, called the donation “very significant.” “They’re a very important family and business in the International District. They’ve been supportive of efforts to rejuvenate the International District,” she said.

Tyler Moriguchi, son of CEO and chairman Tomio Moriguchi, said he first heard about the gift at the Wing Luke dinner. Shocked by the announcement, he turned to his aunt and exclaimed, “What?!”

Tyler Moriguchi, who works in Uwajimaya’s corporate office, said the decision to donate was probably made by the company’s board. He said he is excited about the new museum because it will benefit not only Uwajimaya, but also “draw more people to the district as a whole.”

Uwajimaya spokesperson Alan Kurimura said this gift is “definitely” one of the largest single donations ever made by the family or the company. Neither Tomio Moriguchi nor his sister, Tomoko Matsuno, were available for comments this week.

With locations in Chinatown/I.D., Bellevue and Beaverton, Ore., Uwajimaya is the fourth-largest minority-owned private business in the state, with annual revenues of more than $70 million.

The Wing Luke is making plans to move into the East Kong Yick building on King Street, less than two blocks from its current location, a converted car-repair garage on Seventh Avenue South. The move will give the museum a permanent home that’s quadruple its current space and allow it to expand its offerings of art exhibits, cultural programming and more.

The Moriguchis’ pledge helps bring the total amount raised to $16.3 million, or 70 percent of the $23.2 million goal. Shigaki said the museum is “committed” to raising all the funds by December 2007. Construction is slated to begin next month.

Shigaki said the museum is anticipating an opening date of “early ’08.”

The gift from Uwajimaya and the Moriguchi clan is among the largest from someone in the Asian American community.

Gloria Lung Wakayama, co-president of the trustees, and her husband Dean donated $100,000 through a combination of in-kind and individual gifts. Trustee Paul Mar similarly gave $100,000.

Brenda Handley, who serves on the campaign’s steering committee and is part-Japanese, and her husband Chuck also gave $100,000.

Last week, the Second and Main Building Association pledged $100,000 to help the museum honor the legacy and contributions of Filipino cannery workers, many of whom lived in the Chinatown area in the first half of the 20^th century.

The $385,000 raised at last Sunday’s anniversary gala will not go towards the capital campaign; it will benefit the museum’s operating costs and programming.

Highlights of the evening’s auction included a $23,000 winning bid for a pair of tickets to the “Oprah Winfrey Show.” Ellen Ferguson, a local philanthropist and co-president of the museum’s board of trustees, won the package, which also included airfare to Chicago, where the show is taped, and hotel accommodations.

The auction also offered a dinner for 10 prepared by former Gov. Gary Locke and members of the Wing Luke board. So popular was the auction item that Locke agreed during the bidding frenzy to hold a second dinner. His two dinners fetched a total of $15,000 that evening. One of them will be shared by Dennis Su and Victor and Ruoxi Wu. The other dinner went to Nelson Dong.

Museum’s gallery named for Tsutakawa

Another surprise was unveiled at the anniversary dinner: the creation of the George Tsutakawa Art Gallery, to be housed inside the new museum.

The 1,130-square-foot space will honor the late Japanese American from Seattle who was a pioneering artist and educator. The gallery will feature rotating exhibits of works by Asian American artists, both local and national. A curator will also be hired specifically for the gallery.

Half a million dollars will need to be raised for this portion of the new museum. About $50,000 has so far been donated by friends of the Tsutakawa family and arts patrons.

“It’s the only space (in the world) named for my father,” said Gerry Tsutakawa, an artist himself. He called it “quite an honor.”

“My brothers and sister and my mother want to keep the legacy and memory of our father alive, and we think this is an appropriate way of doing it,” he said.

Tsutakawa added that he is pleased Wing Luke is providing a space where emerging artists can show their work.

“We’re all emerging artists at one point, even my father,” Tsutakawa pointed out.

Carol N. Vu can be reached at carol@nwasianweekly.com.

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