This story follows Kenny and Akemi Ina, a retired husband and wife duo who devote much of their free time to the Bay Area's Japanese American community. The Ina's participate in the historic San Francisco Nisei Fishing Club, which Kenny has been a part of for decades.
Published in The San Francisco Chronicle
Kenny and Akemi Ina fish from the dock at San Pablo Reservoir for the Nisei Fishing Club’s May open derby in El Sobrante, Calif. on Friday, May 19, 2023.
Kenny Ina (left) and Akemi Ina (right) hold photos of themselves as children with their mothers at their home in Concord, Calif. on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Both Kenny and Akemi were born in Topaz Incarceration Camp during WWII, where their families and other Japanese Americans were held.
Kenny (left) and Akemi Ina (right) take a walk in their neighborhood in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
Vintage San Francisco Nisei Fishing Club jackets hang on a chair in Kenny and Akemi Ina’s home in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Kenny Ina has been a part of the club on and off since 1963.
Kenny Ina (center) hangs out with friends Doris Sasaki (left), Dennis Sato, and Vivian Noda (right) at a potluck in Novato, Calif. on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Ina and the other potluck attendees all participated in San Francisco Japantown’s YMCA Basketball as kindergarteners, and have planned reunions for the group for over 30 years.
Akemi (left), Kenny (center) and Kenny’s daughter Kristine (right) spend Father’s Day together in Japantown San Francisco on Sunday, June 18, 2023.
Members of the San Francisco Nisei Fishing Club pose for a photo on the Nautilus after completing their Halibut Derby at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco on Saturday, July 1, 2023.
Kenny and his son Kelly Ina (right) fish from the Nautilus in the San Francisco Bay for the San Francisco Nisei Fishing Club’s Halibut Derby on Saturday, July 1, 2023. Ina has been participating in club derbies for decades and has always involved his children and grandchildren.
Kenny Ina smiles at his wife Akemi while fishing from the dock at San Pablo Reservoir for the Nisei Fishing Club’s May open derby in El Sobrante, Calif. on Friday, May 19, 2023.
Kenny, Akemi, and Kelly Ina fish at San Pablo Reservoir in El Sobrante, Calif. on Friday, May 19, 2023.