In July 1956, the renowned Bay Area poet, writer and playwright Hiroshi Kashiwagi’s play “Kisa Gotami,” was performed by the Berkeley YBA Choir at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple — and featured a UC Berkeley student named George Takei.Kashiwagi’s play was a retelling of the Buddhist Jataka tale, “The Parable of the Mustard Seed.” It was requested by Jane Imamura, who provided the music.The cast included Mary Tagumi, Janet Shohara, Richard Arakawa, Takako Shinoda, Thomas Okamura — and Takei. “The mo

In July 1956, the renowned Bay Area poet, writer and playwright Hiroshi Kashiwagi’s play “Kisa Gotami,” was performed by the Berkeley YBA Choir at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple — and featured a UC Berkeley student named George Takei.Kashiwagi’s play was a retelling of the Buddhist Jataka tale, “The Parable of the Mustard Seed.” It was requested by Jane Imamura, who provided the music.The cast included Mary Tagumi, Janet Shohara, Richard Arakawa, Takako Shinoda, Thomas Okamura — and Takei. “The mo