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Prime Times Weekly publication of the Mail Tribune , Medford, Oregon CENTERED THROUGH sushi Preparing the Japanese delicacy has been the path to inner peace for Harvey Takikawa of Grants Pass Photos by Steve Johnson Harvey Takikawa talks about his life at the Musashi Japanese Restaurant in Grants Pass. Takikawa's eventful life includes a boyhood in Fresno, Calif., years in a World War II internment camp, and a long career in education, but he says he's found a new harmony preparing sushi. He finishes up a large to-go order By JOHN DARLING GRANTS PASS -- It's not often you see a Ph.D. with a stellar career in education rolling sushi in a small Southern Oregon town and talking about how he's finally found true happiness. "The Japanese have a word for it -- gaman -- which means moving toward one's goal with patient determination, knowing success will come," says Harvey Takikawa, putting the finishing touches on a lovely "flower sushi" at Musashi Japanese Restaurant. Through many far-flung paths, gaman has guided Takikawa's life from his boyhood farm near Fresno, Calif., through a World War II internment camp to the heights of education in California -- teaching public school and college, getting his doctorate degree and becoming a school district superintendent. Still, the goal seemed to elude him. Disillusioned with the stress and politics of the educational system, "Dr. T," as he was known, took early retirement and came to the Rogue Valley. Last spring, fate seemed to hand him what he wanted in the form of sushi-making. He executes his trade in traditional hatchimaki headband and hopi shirt, standing behind his sushi bar, often engaging diners in conversations about food, health and the philosophy of life. "People say there's nothing to making sushi -- you just roll things up," Takikawa says. "But it's an art form. When I make sushi, I'm fulfilling my lifelong objectives of helping others with their health, philosophy and well-being." Takikawa rounds out his sushi work by serving on the board of directors of Southern Oregon Adolescent Treatment Center, steering wayward teens away from crime and sometimes auctioning his chef services to benefit the center. Sushi, Takikawa explains, is more than a food. It contains all necessary vitamins and trace minerals. It satisfies without much fat and cholesterol and shores up the immune system. It lends itself to an aesthetic presentation, often inspiring diners to say it's too beautiful to eat, he said. One diner, Charles Wolf of Grants Pass, said the Japanese diet is key to treating his cancer. "It helps my appetite, keeps my weight on and restores my body. It's also a wonderful social experience being here. You get transported by the art, conversation and cuisine to a more cosmopolitan experience." Takikawa delights in the presentation of sushi, incorporating seafoods, eggs and vegetables into a colorful visual display. His real art, however, is his life. After the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he and his family were herded off their family's 60-acre grape farm and interned at a Gila, Ariz., camp. His education fell behind and, when his family was released in 1945, Takikawa was classified as "slow." "My father taught me about gaman. He showed me that if someone is determined to succeed, he can do it," Takikawa says. "Being in the camp didn't get me down. It was a springboard. I vowed to catch up and get ahead. I learned to look at life as a continual learning process, that all experiences should be integrated into a holistic view and that I can always share all the fortunate things I've gotten and help people." His father offered him the family farm, but Takikawa instead took a degree in business administration and became a social worker. "I wanted to help down-and-out people become contributing members of society," he says. Instead he was disappointed to find most had a welfare mentality and wanted to stay on the system. Takikawa switched to teaching at elementary and high school levels, then got a master's at San Jose State University and a doctorate from Utah's Brigham Young University, both degrees in school administration. He taught at Chapman College in Orange, Calif., and San Jose State University. Later, he became school superintendent in Granada, near Yreka, Calif. Education at the administrative level was a sobering experience. "Frankly, I got very disenchanted, not just with the stresses of hiring, firing and budgets, but with the politics," Takikawa says. "Educators were struggling to make policies and programs and having to fight for what is right against lay board people who don't know or support the interests of the kids." Takikawa again reinvented himself, moving to a farm near Williams with an eye to growing flowers. Then sushi called. His friend Rich Garrett invited him to make sushi and engaged an accomplished sushi chef from Osaka, Japan, to train him and help set up Musashi Restaurant. His mother's sushi lessons of childhood came back to him. Life suddenly got perfect. "I love it here. It's so natural. Southern Oregon is a fantastic area. In California, it was dog-eat-dog, push-push stress. You always had to assert yourself and step over people to get your way. Here, people are more genuine and want to be your friend and support you. "I've been a lucky guy," Takikawa says. "Sushi is the cream on the pudding." Prime Times front page Mail Tribune front page Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA