Keito-ten 2

The store did not only attract the nisei, it also was a magnet for sansei and yonsei brides-to-be, searching out my mother’s expertise in designing and framing origami tsuru (cranes), a common symbol of good luck at JA weddings. My mom would always have the latest scoop on who was marrying whom, since the brides-to-be would usually mention to my mom how they knew me or my sister from our childhood in Gardena. One day, a strikingly beautiful young woman came in and my mother spent some time with her explaining the process, etc., all the while thinking to herself, “Gee, this girl is so pretty and looks so familiar ...” My mother flipped through her mental photo album of my childhood friends, but just could not place the beautiful young woman. When she ordered her tsuru, she gave her name, and my mother eventually figured it out. Her name was Tamlyn Tomita -- or, as she put it, "the girl from Karate Kid II."