Good morning everyone. This morning we are honoring the 50th memorial service for the late Rev. Yoshiaki Fukuda, the founder of the San Francisco Konko Church and an important force in the establishment of the Konko religion in North America. This morning, each family received a booklet and a DVD to commemorate Rev. Fukuda’s life. The booklet and DVD will give you some insight into how revered he was by the believers of the Konko religion and the Japanese community.

In the early 1930’s the Bay Area and most of California was a very hostile environment for people of Asian decent, The Issei’s and Nisei’s worked diligently to establish themselves. Many were successful farmers, fisherman, small business owners and in domestic work. It was under the guidance and influence of Rev. Fukuda that they were able to endure and be successful. Initially they had very little confidence because they were in a new country and were unable to speak the language or understand the culture. Rev. Fukuda counseled many of the Issei’s living in Japantown and when someone had a problem, he would go to bat for this person, even going to City Hall to solve a problem.

Rev. Fukuda was a dynamic and compassionate person. He was always eager to meet people and to help them in any way possible. No problem was unsolvable, he would pray and most of the time, the situation was resolved in some manner or other. Whenever someone came to Konko Church to seek refuge, he would listen and try to help them. He would put them up for the night and feed them for as long as it took this individual or family to get settled. It was not unusual having different people staying one or more evenings at church and to see 15 or more people around the dinner table in the kitchen.

When someone was ill, he would find a way to visit this person in their home or at the hospital. He would place his hand on the individual and pray. Whether the illness was curable or not wasn’t the issue to the patient, it was the visit from Rev. Fukuda and his prayer that made the person feel good and at ease with himself or herself.

To Rev. Fukuda, no job was beneath him. You would see him in his overalls on a ladder fixing a burnt out light bulb, a hammer in his hand to do minor carpentry work or fix a leaky toilet. As a form of self discipline, he got up at 3 A.M. every morning, took a cold bath, swept the sidewalk from one end to the other end and then prayed to Kami Sama. When Rev Fukuda prayed, he sat on his legs during the whole prayer.

Fukuda Sensei also had the foresight to invest in real estate and under his leadership the original building at 1909 Bush Street was purchased and established as the Konko Church of San Francisco in 1931. As the number of believers increased, the adjacent building was purchased to expand the church. On Omatsuri Sundays, the church would easily have more than 250 believers attending the service.

Fukuda Sensei was very interested in children. He encouraged the development of Sunday School. He also was instrumental in the formation of Troop 58, which had one of the greatest number of Eagle Scouts, the highest rank in the Boys Scout Troop.

There was a basketball hoop set up in the back yard where many of the children played. There were lights so that they could play when it got dark. In this way there was a place for the neighborhood children to play and not wander aimlessly in the streets.

Rev. Fukuda fought hard for human rights and the dignity of the individual. While he was incarcerated, he faced many obstacles and dangers because he was always fighting for human rights. In fact after his release from Crystal City, he wrote to the President of the USA to request redress and to simplify legal procedures for restoring citizenship to those who renounced during time of duress. He also took the responsibility to help relocate several Peruvian Japanese families who were incarcerated in Crystal City but were unable to return to their homeland, Peru.

I first met Rev. Fukuda around 1936. My Father had heard about Fukuda Sensei so one day we drove from Palo Alto to the San Francisco Church. The church at the original 1909 Bush Street was a Victorian building and there was a window right behind the okekkai, right where Rev. Fukuda was sitting. As we entered the church, I heard a booming voice say welcome, come in. As he stood up to greet us, he blocked most of the window so the room got dark, it was at this point that I debated whether I should enter or run. But when he smiled and greeted us warmly and shook our hands, I felt very comfortable and relaxed. This was the beginning of many meetings to come and a wonderful learning experience for me.

Fukuda Sensei had a great influence on my life. After being incarcerated for four years in concentration camps, I was angry and bitter. However, through the advice of my Mother and Fukuda Sensei I overcame this bitterness. Fukuda Sensei said it was alright to get angry but get over it and learn from it. He said that when you are angry, your mind is clouded and confused and therefore you will not be able to make sensible decisions. So get over being angry, clear your mind and think logically. I have lived by this advice since then and today I am at peace with myself, I feel good about myself.

When I was a student at UC Berkeley, I used to take the F-train and the bus to church once or twice a month. Fukuda Sensei would always welcome me and ask how I was doing at school. Sometimes he would quote a teaching to me and ask me if I understood what was being said. We would discuss this for 15 to 20 minutes and it was quite educational to me. Besides my Parents and Sister, Rev. Yoshiaki Fukuda was largely responsible for my spiritual development as well as teaching me to be a compassionate human being. After praying at the altar, Fukuda Sensei would invite me to stay and have dinner with the family. Dinners were always relaxing and enjoyable.

During my first semester at U.C.B., I was having a difficult time studying and went to church to pray. When I talked to Rev. Fukuda, he listened patiently and then said let’s pray. Before he went to the altar, he said, “I am not going to pray that you get good grades, but that you will be able to take the exams.” As we were praying, I was confused. Why did he say that? I was a little annoyed. After praying he said stay for dinner. I enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the Fukuda children and several other people. I was troubled going back to the dorm but when I got to my room, I decided to study a little more. All of a sudden I realized that the way I was studying was all wrong. What I was doing was just reading and sight recognizing certain words, not learning the basic concepts. I started to write everything on a piece of paper and began to learn and understand what I was reading. This is what he meant when he said I will pray that you will be able to take the exams. What he was saying to me was that preparation and understanding is important and this philosophy also applies to our daily lives.

My last meeting with Rev. Fukuda was in Nov., l957 when he attended the Omatsuri in Los Angeles. Fukuda Sensei flew into Los Angeles and I picked him up at the airport. On the way to the Los Angeles Church, he asked how my graduate studies were going and gave me a pep talk encouraging me to work hard and study hard. After the Omatsuri on Sunday, I drove Fukuda Sensei back to the airport but this time we didn’t talk very much because he seemed tired and dozed on the way to the airport. At the airport in the waiting room, I mentioned to Sensei that he looked tired. He replied that he was a little tired and that he had been attending all the Gotaisais of the churches in North America. When it came time to board the plane, we shook hands and Rev. Fukuda walked toward the gate and when he got there, he turned to me and said, “If you ever need me, just say my name and I will be there”. A couple of weeks later I learned Rev. Fukuda had a heart attack and about a week later passed away on Dec. 6, 1957 at the young age of 59

We lost a great compassionate leader of the Konko religion that day but his spirit carries on. .

I have called Sensei several times in my life and have been blessed. I am very thankful and fortunate to have known Fukuda Sensei.

In April of 1989, I underwent major stomach surgery. After many tests the physician thought I had some form of cancer. About 15 minutes before I was to be wheeled into the operating room, my surgeon came to me and said, “Hideo, I am not going to play hero”. I asked what he meant by that remark? He replied that after cutting me open, he would exam my organs and see if I could enjoy the quality of life. If the answer was yes, he would perform the surgery but if the answer was no, he was not going to do the surgery but sew me back up. I asked how long each procedure would take and he said about one hour if they sew me back up but around five to six hours if surgery was performed. I closed my eyes and said Fukuda Sensei I need your help. I am afraid and need to be calm before I go into surgery. As I prayed, I began to calm down and when they wheeled me into the operating room at one P.M. I was calm and at ease. When the two operating nurses greeted me and said, “Don’t worry Dr. Y, we will take very good care of you.” They were my former students. I closed my eyes and said thank you Sensei, thank you very much. The next thing I remember was a nurse saying, “Mr. Yonenaka, wake up, you are in the recovery room”. I was drowsy but asked the nurse the time. When she said 6:30 P.M. Wow five and a half hours, so he performed the surgery, I made it. Thank you Fukuda Sensei, thank you for the okage (blessing). As I was taken to my room, my wife Shanna was there and she had a worried look on her face so I said I’m fine don’t worry but I didn’t know what the surgeon had told her. About one o’clock the next afternoon, the surgeon came into the room and said, “Hideo, someone up there must like you because during the surgery your pancreas looked soft so I took a biopsy and sent it to the lab to see if you had pancreatic cancer. The test came back clean, you don’t have pancreatic cancer, your surgery was a success, you are one in a million. Someone sure looks after you”. I immediately closed my eyes and said Fukuda Sensei thank you very much, I repeated this over and over for a while. I was very blessed and very grateful for the blessing of life.

Before closing, I would like to thank the Fukuda children, Nob, Sab, Hiroshi, Koichi and the late Mich and Makiko. Thank you for enabling us to share your Father. I know how difficult it was but I bet your Father is very pleased with each of you in how you have been successful and proud of your achievements and wonderful families. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.