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Asahi Gakuen

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Coordinates: 34°02′52″N 118°14′39″W / 34.0477774°N 118.2441152°W / 34.0477774; -118.2441152
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34°02′52″N 118°14′39″W / 34.0477774°N 118.2441152°W / 34.0477774; -118.2441152

Asahi Gakuen
あさひ学園
Address
Map
HQ: 19191 S. Vermont Ave., #660 Torrance, CA (postal address) 90502

Santa Monica Campus: Daniel Webster MS, 11330 W. Graham Place, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Torrance Campus: South Torrance HS, 4801 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, CA 90505

San Gabriel Campus: South El Monte HS, 1001 N. Durfee Ave., South El Monte, CA 91733

Orange Campus: La Quinta High School, 10372 McFadden Ave., Westminster, California

United States
Information
TypeSupplementary Japanese school
GradesPreK-12
Websiteasahigakuen.com

Asahi Gakuen,[a] or the Los Angeles Japanese School,[b] is a part-time Japanese school in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[1][2] The school was founded by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education in Los Angeles. In 1988, the school had 2,500 students.[3] The school teaches the Japanese language, science, social sciences, and mathematics.[3] As of 1987 the school teaches all four aspects in each school day.[1] The Japan Business Association of Southern California,[c][4][5] previously known as The Japan Traders' Club of Los Angeles,[d] as of 1997 financially supports the school.[3]

History

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Asahi Gakuen was founded in 1969. At the time it had one campus and 68 students. By 1986 there were 2,400 students on four campuses.[6]

Prior to 1978 the school took some San Diego residents; that year the Minato School opened in that city.[7]

Locations

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Daniel Webster Middle School, the Westside class location

The school's main office is in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, with a Torrance address.[8] Previously it was in Room 308 on the third floor of the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC)[e] building,[9] located in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.[10]

Classes are held at the Orange Campus at La Quinta High School in Westminster, the San Gabriel campus at South El Monte High School in South El Monte, the Santa Monica Campus at Daniel Webster Middle School in Sawtelle, and the Torrance campus at South Torrance High School in Torrance.[8]

As of 2018 three campuses (Santa Monica, Orange, and Torrance) have high school classes.[11] Previously all high school classes were held at the Santa Monica campus.[12] As of 1986 students took buses from as far away as Orange County to go to the high school campus.[6]

In 1986-1987 the school had students in four campuses,[1][6] including one in Pasadena, one in Garden Grove, one at Daniel Webster Middle,[6] and one at South Torrance High.[1] In 1997, Asahi Gakuen had five branch schools in Los Angeles County and Orange County.[3]

The Torrance campus opened in 1980 with 400 students. In 1987, the Torrance campus had 773 students.[1]

The Orange campus was previously at Santiago High School in Garden Grove,[13] and at Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove.[14]

Asahi Gakuen is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
HQ
HQ
Santa Monica
Santa Monica
Torrance
Torrance
San Gabriel
San Gabriel
Orange
Orange
class=notpageimage|
Campuses

Operations

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The school year uses the Japanese schedule from April until March, with classes held from 9:00 AM until 3:30 PM during Saturdays.[3]

The school uses tuition to pay for the textbooks it orders from Japan. As of 1986, each student in grades 1-9 has tuition of $49.50 ($137.59 when accounting for inflation) each month, while each high school student has tuition of $67.50 ($187.62 when accounting for inflation) monthly.[15] In 1987 the school had a registration fee of up to $150 ($402.28 when accounting for inflation) and an annual tuition of fewer than $600 ($1609.14 accounting for inflation).[1]

All campuses, as of 1986, have libraries. Fatsuko [sic] Fujita, the West Los Angeles campus librarian, stated that her campus permitted loaning of 5,000 of its books.[15]

Curriculum

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In 1986 Kimiko Lin, the assistant principal of the West Los Angeles campus, stated that the school puts its emphasis on classwork instead of homework to avoid overburdening students who have other commitments; therefore, the school sometimes gives homework.[15] However, in recent years, the homework level has increased significantly given a week's curriculum in Japan is covered in one day of class on Saturday and through homework and self study.

Employees

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As of 1987, Asahi Gakuen had 47 faculty members.[1] The school's administrators are visiting employees from Japan,[3] credentialed by The Ministry of Education of Japan (Monbusho).[1] The ministry recommends which employees come to teach at Asahi Gakuen.[3]

Student body

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In 1986 Hiroshi Matsuoka, the Japan Business Association of Southern California executive director, stated that 85% of the about 3,500 Japanese nationals working for Japanese companies in the Los Angeles metropolitan area sent children to Asahi Gakuen.[6]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ (あさひ学園 "School of the Rising Sun")
  2. ^ (ロス・アンジェルス補習授業校 Rosu Anjerusu Hoshū Jugyō Kō)
  3. ^ (JBA, 南カリフォルニア日系企業協会 Minami Kariforunia Nikkei Kigyō Kyōkai)
  4. ^ (日本貿易懇話会 Nihon Bōeki Konwa-kai)
  5. ^ 日米文化会館 Nichibei Bunka Kaikan)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Rainey, James. "Children of Japanese Executives Flock to Special Classrooms." Los Angeles Times. December 31, 1987. Retrieved on March 6, 2014.
  2. ^ "北米の補習授業校一覧（平成25年4月15日現在）" (Archive). Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Retrieved on March 30, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Moritomo, p. 138.
  4. ^ "JBA's History 1960" (Archive). Japan Business Association of Southern California. Retrieved on April 12, 2014. "1961 Inaugurated as Japan Traders Club of Los Angeles with the support of 48 companies"
  5. ^ "JBA's History 1970 Archived 2014-03-06 at the Wayback Machine" (Archive). Japan Business Association of Southern California. Retrieved on April 12, 2014. "1978 Changed name to Japan Business Association of Southern California"
  6. ^ a b c d e Puig, Claudia. "'School of the Rising Sun' : Surroundings Are American but Classes, Traditions Are Strictly Japanese." Los Angeles Times. November 13, 1986. p. 1. Retrieved on March 30, 2014.
  7. ^ Imamura, Rio (2016-06-01). "Minato Gakuen Now". Discover Nikkei. Japanese American National Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  8. ^ a b "Home". Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved 2024-07-15. 学園事務局 19191 S. Vermont Ave., #660 Torrance, CA 90502 - Compare the administrative office location to the Map of Harbor Gateway from the City of Los Angeles. Despite the Torrance address, the administrative office is not in the City of Torrance.
  9. ^ "あさひ学園　事務局." Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved on March 30, 2014. "ASAHI GAKUEN (日米文化会館 JACCC内 3階 308室） 244　S. San Pedro St., #308, Los Angeles, CA 90012 "
  10. ^ "Hirokazu Kosaka: Artistic Director, Japanese American Cultural and Community Center Archived 2013-04-03 at the Wayback Machine." KCET. Retrieved on March 30, 2014. "But the Artistic Director of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) in Little Tokyo isn't one to follow tradition."
  11. ^ "学園概要." Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved on March 3, 2018. "高等部（サンタモニカ校、トーランス校、オレンジ校）"
  12. ^ "サンタモニカ校･高等部." Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved on March 30, 2014. "DANIEL WEBSTER MIDDLE SCHOOL 11330 W. Graham Place, Los Angeles, CA 90064 "
  13. ^ "オレンジ校." Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved on March 30, 2014. "SANTIAGO HIGH SCHOOL 12342 Trask　Ave., Garden Grove, CA.92843 "
  14. ^ "Orange". Asahi Gakuen. Archived from the original on 2001-12-16. Retrieved 2024-07-16. BOLSA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL 9401 Westminster Ave., CA 92644
  15. ^ a b c Puig, Claudia. "'School of the Rising Sun' : Surroundings Are American but Classes, Traditions Are Strictly Japanese." Los Angeles Times. November 13, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved on March 30, 2014.

Further reading

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  • Moritomo, Toyotomi. Japanese Americans and Cultural Continuity: Maintaining Language and Heritage. Taylor & Francis, 1997. ISBN 0815317670, 9780815317678.
  • 後藤 英彦. "ロサンゼルス"東大熱"ここまで--エリート校「あさひ学園」 (海外子弟教育の問題点をさぐる-4-北米編-下-)." 世界週報 55(24), 54-56, 1974-06-18. 時事通信社. See profile at CiNii.
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