Kazuo “Kaz” Kajimura, who turned a tiny East Bay Japanese restaurant into the most important jazz venue in Northern California, has died following a lengthy battle with dementia.

He was 82.

News of his death was made public on the website of Yoshi’s, the popular jazz and sushi spot in Oakland that flourished under Kajimura’s watchful eye for more than half a century.

“With heavy hearts, we are sharing that the great San Francisco Bay Area has lost one of its legends,” a post reads on the Yoshi’s website. “On June 15, Kazuo ‘Kaz’ Kajimura joined his mother Yoshi Kajimura & father Noriyuki Kajimura in heaven.”

Kajimura will be remembered for his tireless work ethic — famously working 10- to 16-hour days — as he strived to lift Yoshi’s from its humble beginnings as a 27-seat Japanese restaurant in Berkeley to an internationally recognized jazz venue that hosted the genre’s greatest talents over the past 50-plus years.

It was a labor of love.

“Yoshi’s is like no other place on Earth!” Kajimura is quoted as saying. “It is amazing and beyond gratifying to see how we host so many talented artists, bringing all communities and everyone together with music, helping so many businesses with noble fundraisers, and exposing the new generation to real music!”

To Kajimura, the dream was to create a venue that fans loved to visit and where artists loved to play. The oft-packed dining area and music room is proof that this philosophy paid off handsomely.

Musicians would look forward to the Yoshi’s stop on their tour itinerary, knowing they would get a great performance setting, appreciative fans and, perhaps best of all, plenty of great sushi.

“It’s the best club that I’ve played,” legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson once said of Yoshi’s.

Artists, as well as music and Japanese food fans, can rest assured, “The club and restaurant will remain open,” says Marc Zuazua, marketing director of Yoshi’s. “We are looking forward to honoring (Kajimura’s) legacy and preparing for the next 50 years!”

The club will honor its co-founder and former co-owner July 14 with a free ticketed tribute show titled “Kaz Kajimura — Blues, Jazz, Soul & Love — Celebration of Life.” Admission is free, but tickets are required.

(The show is currently listed as sold out. Go to yoshis.com for more information.)

Having earned a bachelor’s degree at the prestigious Waseda University in Japan — and later a master’s degree in China — Kajimura moved to the Bay Area to earn a master’s degree in journalism at UC Berkeley. (Later, he earned an MBA from Stanford.)

In 1972, Kajimura and two partners — cook/painter Hugh “Hiro” Hori and artist Yoshie Akiba — opened a small restaurant in Berkeley.

They decided to call the restaurant “Yoshi’s” after Akiba.

In 1979, the restaurant had outgrown its 27-seat capacity, so the team moved it to a bigger space on Claremont Avenue in Oakland. That’s when the Yoshi’s legacy really took flight as live jazz music entered into the mix.

As the Yoshi’s name continued to grow in stature and acclaim, the club once again outgrew its digs. In 1997, Yoshi’s moved once again from the 130-person capacity Claremont spot to its current home in Jack London Square in Oakland.

From that state-of-the-art location — which combines a 310-seat club with 250-seat restaurant and 60-seat bar and lounge area — Yoshi’s would host some of the biggest names in jazz, including Oscar Peterson, Brad Mehldau, Chick Correa, Wynton Marsalis, Pharoah Sanders, Poncho Sanchez, Charles Lloyd and Diana Krall.

In 2007, Yoshi’s expanded across the Bay Bridge to open a second location on Fillmore Street in San Francisco — an area with a rich history in jazz, music and African American culture.

This San Francisco venue hosted plenty of highlights during its run, but the opening of the nearby SFJAZZ Center in 2013 — which quickly became the new epicenter for jazz music in the Bay Area — impacted the ability of Yoshi’s San Francisco to draw big-name jazz artists and sizable crowds.

The venue ended up being sold — and renamed — in 2014.

Still facing stiff competition for jazz crowds and artists from SFJAZZ Center, Yoshi’s Oakland has greatly broadened its musical mix in recent years, focusing more strongly on R&B and soul, while still continuing to book jazz performances.

Hal Campos — a longtime employee who Kajimura fondly referred to as “his only son” — was eventually appointed GM of Yoshi’s and has been tagged as Kajimura’s successor.

Kajimura is survived by his wife, Dadre; three sisters, Masako, Keiko, Akiko and Toshi; as well as nephews and nieces.