Marie Kazuko Masunaga

Marie Kazuko Masunaga was born Marie Kazuko Sakata in Seattle WA on July 3, 1932. She was born the youngest of five siblings. She is preceded in death by her siblings, Clara Chieko Stewart, Josephine Nobuko Arao, and James Hideo Sakata. She is survived by her sister, Agnes Yuriko Sakata (92) her husband, Yeizo Masunaga (89), her daughter, Alisa Masunaga (52), her son, Vernon Masunaga (49) and her four grandchildren, Rika Wong (23), Miyuki Wong (21), Sarah (19), and Kyle (17). When she was an infant she was taken back to Japan. Growing up during war time was difficult. Marie spoke of a time when her sister, Agnes, had been given Hershey chocolates by the American soldiers on the way home from work but lost them somewhere along the way. It was a rainy evening but she really wanted those chocolate bars. She and her nephew, Seiichi, decided to go find the chocolates. They were jumping puddles along the way when Marie tripped and fell. Her hands landed directly onto the chocolate bars. She remembers feeling a strong presence above her. It was from that day that she knew angels existed. She always had a strong faith in God. She wasn't able to attend church on a regular basis, but she prayed every day. She used to tell her children that church was not necessarily the building but that it existed in your heart. She would tell her children that there was no religion that was better than another, but that people chose to believe in different ways. She never complained about anything in her life. She always found a way to make "lemonade out of lemons". Marie was raised on a farm in Kumamoto prefecture. When she was a child, she had a tendency to bring home stray animals. At one point she had a dog, cat, pig, chicken and a crow. All of which were best friends. As an adult she moved to Tokyo and worked for Abe Shokai. At that time NHK (largest Japanese Radio/TV broadcasting company) had auditions to join the national Japanese choir that would perform at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She made the choir, but because of the sudden change to move to America she was unable to realize that opportunity. She came back to Seattle in1962 at the age of 29. Through a friendship between her father and her husband's father they were introduced to each other. She married Yeizo Masunaga on May 26, 1962. They lived on Beacon Hill in Seattle. She worked as a waitress at her in-laws Japanese restaurant (Main Shokudo) in the International District. She also worked as a seamstress with her sister, Josephine at Demetre Sweater Co. She had two children. A daughter, Alisa Masunaga (53) and a son, Vernon Masunaga (49). She made most of all their clothing by hand when they were young children. While raising her children she would get up early every morning to make bento for the family. Her husband enjoyed fishing almost every weekend so she decided to make them family events. She would prepare enough bento to feed the family for days. At the river, Marie and her children would roast hot dogs, and being Japanese, fried tofu and a pot of noodles. Marie felt strongly about keeping Japanese traditions. She spoke Japanese at home to her children. She made sure they attended Japanese school on Saturdays. She dressed her children in Yukatas (Japanese summer kimonos) and participated in the traditional Obon (Japanese summer festival-to remember our ancestors) every summer. She taught her daughter at a young age how to make the perfect miso soup and rice balls because she that would important when she got married. She sang Japanese songs every night to her children before they went to sleep. She taught them how to do origami (Japanese paper folding). She helped her daughter make the traditional 1,000 cranes for her wedding. She took her children to the Japanese movie theater every month to watch Japanese movies. She was so excited when Japanese TV programs could be seen via VHS tapes. Every New Year's she would prepare traditional foods for the celebration. Her dream was to become a nurse, but English was difficult for her so she did not pursue it. Instead she decided to combine her love for music and helping others and became a volunteer at Nikkei Concerns. She lead Japanese sing-a-longs with her sister, Clara at Keiro Nursing home and Kokorokai. After 35 plus years of volunteering she "retired" in 2015. She also sang with a women's chorus group called Nijono (Rainbow) Chorus. This group has performed all over Seattle. She shared her love of music with her children and grandchildren. Both her children and 2 of her grandchildren played a number of different instruments and sang in the school choir. Marie was so proud of her grandchildren. She carried her brag book of photos everywhere she went. She was an active member of Kumamoto Kenjinkai and Kisaragikai. She volunteered at several Japanese churches in the area with different Japanese events. She hosted a number of guests from Japan. She worked for the City of Seattle for 18 years, before retiring in 1997. She lived with her husband, Yeizo on Beacon Hill and spent the last 15 years at Kawabe House. She was an active resident there. She took care of the flower arrangements in the building. She was a member of the Cha-No-Kai (tea club). She sang at every resident event, birthdays, anniversaries, any and all celebrations. She always kept herself busy. When she wasn't busy with volunteering, flower arranging, tea club, Bingo, and performing, she practiced her singing every day. Marie Kazuko Masunaga was a devoted wife, loving mother and grandmother. There are not enough words to describe how wonderful Marie Kazuko Masunaga was. Everyone loved and adored her.