Thirty years ago, members of the Japanese American community in San Francisco wanted to augment the culturally sensitive services available to older Japanese Americans. The Japanese American Skilled Nursing Home Project Committee was formed for this purpose. The committee found that Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) preferred to remain in their homes for as long as possible and that there was a strong need for in-home services. In 1995, the committee joined with the Japanese American Religious Federation (JARF) to form the JARF Senior Housing Task Force. After extensive research, the task force changed its focus to assisted living. In 1996, JARF Senior Housing Task Force bid for the ability to develop a piece of land on the corner of Bush and Laguna Street in San Francisco’s Japantown.

Land was purchased and a separate corporate entity was created, the Japanese American Religious Federation Assisted Living, Inc. (JALFI), for the purpose of planning, construction, and management. The project was named “Kokoro”, a Japanese term that communicates the combined notions of heart, mind, and inner spirit. With dedication, determination, and heart, the Kokoro Assisted Living community was born.

Today, Kokoro Assisted Living Inc. (KALI), a nonprofit organization, provides governance through a Board of Directors. Kokoro is managed by Sequoia Living who is responsible for all operations. Kokoro’s mission is to provide a caring environment providing residential assisted living to our seniors enabling them to live independently within a Japanese cultural setting.  Of its 54 residential units, 37 are set aside for low to moderate income residents.  Kokoro is tax exempt under Internal Revenue code section 501(c)(3).

Located in Japantown, Kokoro is rich with sentimental and historical value with its main building a restoration of the former Sokoji Buddhist Temple. The temple served as a spiritual center and a social, meeting hall in the Japanese community. During World War II, members continued their financial support to make payments on the temple while detained in internment camps. The temple reopened to the community in 1948 and remained active at this site until moving to its new Temple a block away in 1984.

The temple has been restored for the Kokoro community and remains a special place for social gatherings and continues to foster an active spirit and communal energy. We look forward to community members joining our Kokoro residents and their families as we participate together in the vibrant heart of the Japantown community.

Our vision is to be the desired residential community of choice where seniors in our community can enjoy assisted residential living in a way that provides warmth, security, and the caring comfort infused with a sense of Japanese culture and family.

We welcome everyone to come visit Kokoro, a senior living experience, in the heart of Japantown.