Grace Aikawa, 96, sits and looks around at her empty room at her new care facility in Castro Valley, California, on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, after moving out of J-Sei Home, the residential care facility where she had lived for about nine months.
(Juliana Yamada/KQED)
[This is the first story of a two-part project that explores the influence and importance of culture in end-of-life care. Part two will be published Monday.]
J-Sei Home was a 14-bed residential care facility for the elderly geared toward Japanese Americans in Hayward, California.
The residents ate Japanese meals, walked through the Japanese garden, watched Japanese TV programs, celebrated Japanese holidays and spoke Japanese with the staff. Residents were embraced by the tight-knit community of caregivers and staff, whether they lived there for seven years or nine months.
In October 2024, J-Sei Home announced that it was closing because of financial instability. Families had five months to find new facilities for their loved ones. By the end of January, J-Sei Home was empty.
Photographer Juliana Yamada spent 13 months documenting the lives of the facility’s residents and staff.
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Grace Aikawa, 96
Grace Aikawa poses for a portrait in the garden at J-Sei Home in Hayward, California, last October. That month, the board announced they were closing the facility due to financial instability. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
Grace Aikawa was born in 1928 in San José, California, but grew up more than 100 miles north in the town of Loomis, a commercial and cultural center for Japanese families.
When Executive Order 9066 was signed during World War II, Aikawa and her family were forcibly relocated, and she spent her high school years at the Granada War Relocation Center, commonly known as Camp Amache, in eastern Colorado. Aikawa and her husband raised four children in the Oakland hills, where she lived until moving to J-Sei Home in March 2024.
Administrator Ron Salvador shows new resident Grace Aikawa the view from her room as she moves into J-Sei Home in Hayward, California, on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
Aikawa quickly made friends at J-Sei Home and settled into her activities and habits. She and her next-door neighbor Emiko Roaden, 93, took walks in the yard together after each meal, feeding the stray cats kibble and scraps of meat or fish. Aikawa spent days working on puzzles or crocheting in front of the TV.
She spent most evenings with fellow resident Sawako Issacs, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune while the rest of the house got ready for bed. Aikawa’s daughter, Kim Aikawa-Olin, said her mom loved living in the community and was fortunate to move into the same new facility as Roaden — once again as next-door neighbors.
(Left) Caregivers Nida Maagma, left, and Imelda Merritt, center, cry as resident Aikawa, right, moves out of J-Sei Home in December 2024. Aikawa lived at J-Sei Home for only about nine months. (Right) Aikawa’s family helps move her into her new care facility in the Castro Valley. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)From left to right: Karen Aikawa-Simkover, Kim Aikawa-Olin and Mark Aikawa prepare to move the final boxes of their mother’s belongings out of J-Sei Home. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)Aikawa holds hands with her friend and neighbor Sawako Issacs, 91, as they watch TV together for the last time before Aikawa moved out of J-Sei Home. The two watched TV together nightly, often being the last two residents awake. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
Kazue Granich, 101
Caregiver Amparo Chow helps Kazue Granich, 101, eat lunch at J-Sei Home on Friday, March 15, 2024. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
Kazue Granich was J-Sei Home’s oldest resident and, possibly, the shortest at just shy of 5 feet tall. She lived there for over seven years.
Born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii, Granich obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii before earning a master’s degree at Columbia University. She and her husband, Michael, had three children and moved to the Bay Area in the early 1950s.
Caregiver Rose Velasco, left, and son Charles Granich, right, help Kazue Granich to the car as she moves out of J-Sei Home in December 2024. Granich lived at J-Sei Home for seven years but had to find a new home when the facility announced its closure. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
Granich was a special education teacher for the majority of her career and loved teaching and learning new arts and crafts. She was an avid swimmer at the Berkeley YMCA.
While at J-Sei Home, Granich was normally in her designated recliner in the living room, watching the other residents or resting. In the past few years, she has become less conversational. However, she would become instantly animated during visits with her children.
Kazi Okamoto, 9, and Momo Okamoto, 8, play with a recliner chair next to Granich in the living room at J-Sei Home. The Okamotos’ mother, Hiroko, is one of the caregivers at J-Sei Home. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
While Granich isn’t a woman of many words, she was J-Sei Home’s loudest karaoke singer. Once or twice a week, caregiver Fumi Tsuchiya would lead the residents in karaoke through the J-Sei songbook. Granich would belt the lyrics to “You are My Sunshine” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
(Left) Caregiver Fumi Tsuchiya sings karaoke with Granich at J-Sei Home last year. Granich preferred singing karaoke to conversations most days. (Right) Granich is helped into the car by caregiver Hiroko Okamoto, left, and her son Charles, right, as she moves out of J-Sei Home. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)Sandy Granich, right, sits with her mother, Kazue Granich, at RN Loving Care Home in El Cerrito, California, in January 2025. Her mother has been less engaged and talkative since leaving J-Sei Home. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
Emiko Roaden, 93
(Clockwise from top left) Emiko Roaden’s old photos are displayed in her room. Roaden holds a photo of her younger self, wearing a dress she made. Roaden was a skilled seamstress, making many clothes for herself throughout her life. Photos from Roaden’s past are on display on a wooden shelf. A wedding day photograph of Roaden and her late husband Don circa 1963. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
Emiko Roaden was the fashionista of J-Sei Home. Originally from Hakata, a ward in Fukuoka, Japan, Roaden moved to the United States in 1938.
In 1963, she married her husband, Don, and they bought a house in San Leandro, where they lived for more than 50 years. Roaden was a skilled seamstress and homemaker, keeping a meticulous home and garden, according to Craig Wenger, her best friend’s son.
She moved to J-Sei Home in 2023 after Don passed away. Her closet was filled with sweaters she had knitted and crocheted and a jewelry collection that spanned decades, much of which her husband had carved and polished. Photos from her life decorated her room.
She was always proud to show photos of her husband and her younger self, including photographs showcasing her handmade clothing. Roaden loved taking walks in the yard at J-Sei Home and was thrilled to gain a walking partner when Grace Aikawa moved in. She and Aikawa became close.
When J-Sei Home announced its closure, the two were lucky enough to move into a new care facility together in Castro Valley.
Ruth Fukuchi, 90
Resident Ruth Fukuchi, 90, poses for a portrait at J-Sei Home in October 2024. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
Ruth Fukuchi was 8 when her family was incarcerated at the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona during World War II. Fukuchi earned a degree in microbiology from UC Berkeley, becoming a successful microbiologist in Berkeley and Richmond.
She and her husband, Tak, raised two children, Cathy Fukuchi-Wong and Matt Fukuchi. Fukuchi developed vascular dementia in her later years and eventually needed more care than her family could offer.
(Left) Cathy Fukuchi-Wong speaks to her mother, Ruth Fukuchi, during a visit at J Sei Home in May 2024. Fukuchi-Wong drove from Marin almost every day to visit her mother because she said she knew she wasn’t “getting more days with her, but less.” (Right) Fukuchi flips through a book of tulips at J-Sei Home. While other residents watch TV, Fukuchi often reads newspapers, magazines and books. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
J-Sei Home was an obvious choice for Fukuchi’s children, as their family has been involved with the organization for generations. Fukuchi moved to J-Sei Home in 2021 and remained there until her death on Dec. 29, 2024.
The caregivers and staff compassionately helped Fukuchi with her basic needs. Fukuchi-Wong said the care meant everything to their family. “I don’t think you can get this sort of family feeling anywhere else.”
J-Sei Home caregiver Fumi Tsuchiya helps Ruth Fukuchi out of her wheelchair before bed on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. Fukuchi relied completely on the J-Sei staff for daily tasks. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)(Left) Sonata Hospice licensed vocational nurse Danilo Valle changes a dressing on Fukuchi’s leg at J-Sei Home. (Right) Tsuchiya helps Fukuchi brush her teeth after dinner. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)Fukuchi-Wong offers her mom tea as she lies in bed at J-Sei Home on Christmas Day 2024. In Fukuchi’s final days, she only wanted to eat Japanese arare, rice crackers, beef donburi or rice bowls, and drink green tea. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)Mourners lined up to offer flowers and pay their respects to Fukuchi and her family at Sycamore Congregational Church in El Cerrito in January. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)A “Dear Grammy” sash decorates a wreath of flowers at the memorial service. Fukuchi is survived by three grandchildren: Lauren, Rex and Vanessa. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)
