Kiyoshi Sawano, 87; on Little Tokyo Community Center’s Design Team
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Kiyoshi Sawano, 87, who was a member of the architectural team that designed the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo, died Oct. 14 of gastric cancer at his home in Orange, his wife, Yasuko Judy Sawano, announced.
A native of Shizuoka, Japan, Sawano graduated from Waseda University in 1943 and served as an instructor in the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Oct. 30, 2005 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday October 30, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 32 words Type of Material: Correction
Sawano obituary -- The obituary of architect Kiyoshi Sawano in Friday’s California section said he served in the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. He was in the Japanese Imperial Navy.
After working as a designer in Japan, he immigrated to the United States in 1955, working first as a busboy at a restaurant while also doing drafting work.
In 1968, he founded Kiyoshi Sawano and Associates in Los Angeles and, in 1981, Sawano & Associates in Garden Grove and Newport Beach.
Sawano and fellow architects Kazumi Adachi and Hideo Matsunaga designed the six-story Japanese American center, which opened in 1980.
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