Daniel Hiroyuki Mizushima

Daniel Hiroyuki Mizushima was born on January 28, 1976, and passed away at home on January 22, 2026, just one week shy of his 50th birthday. He passed from heart complications related to some underlying health conditions.

Most people knew him as Daniel, but to family he was always “Hiro.” Growing up, he enjoyed art and music. He was a big Michael Jackson fan early on, and later got deeply into hip hop and rap. We spent countless hours in his bedroom making beat tracks on the computer and writing our own lyrics. One year, we even performed together on the outdoor stage at our church’s Summer Food Bazaar. I clearly remember him wearing a black short-sleeve button-up shirt with white polka dots and a white tie—while I wore the opposite: a white shirt with black polka dots and a black tie.

He graduated from C.K. McClatchy High School in 1994, and later attended Sacramento City College and Sacramento State University.

In 1998, I opened a Japanese restaurant and brought him in as the kitchen lead to run the back of the house. The work was long and exhausting, but he took pride in helping build the business. After about five years, he decided it was time to move on and focus on his own path.

He later found his way into security work, doing it on and off for the rest of his life. It wasn’t easy working graveyard shifts in some of the toughest parts of Sacramento, but he took on the challenge.

One of his proudest accomplishments was his military service. He served in the California Army National Guard starting in 2010 as a Satellite Operator & Maintainer until around 2018, and also served as an Honor Guard for Military Funerals from 2015 to 2019.

He loved playing poker, never lost his appreciation for hip hop and rap, and had a soft spot for cats. While working graveyard shifts as a guard, he often found stray cats in his patrol areas and brought many of them home to care for. He was a man of few words and even fewer friends—but he lived life on his own terms.

He passed without suffering and is now at peace. His funeral service will be held at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento, 2401 Riverside Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95818 on February 22, 2026 at 2:00pm.