As a young opera star, Shimozumi encountered frequent incredulity at her unaccented English from those who assumed she a Japanese national. During World War II she was sent to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center solely because of her Japanese ancestry.
Journalist and activist who documented the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during WWII
Sue Kunitomi Embrey understood the need to recognize and protect places that are powerful parts of our national memory and used her civic voice to advocate for those places.
Japanese classical poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods
Japanese biologist and cytologist (scientist who studies cells) Kono Yasui became the first Japanese woman to receive a doctoral degree in science in 1927.
Pioneering Japanese manga artist best known for creating the popular comic strip “Sazae-san” in 1946. Her work achieved national circulation in 1949 and ran daily until her retirement in 1974.
Japanese poet, activist-writer, feminist, anarchist, ethnologist, and historian
Japanese novelist known for her prolific career during the Taishō and Shōwa periods
Creator of Sailor Moon
Prominent Japanese feminist activist devoted to socialist and feminist causes.