Shizu Kunishige

Shiz lived life to the fullest. She enjoyed volunteering anywhere help was needed. She and her husband were members of the United Methodist Fellowship Church and loved to sing in the choir. She enjoyed traveling far and near, especially Canada, Japan, etc, but best of all, she enjoyed having guests from far and near on her small farm where she loved to entertain. Life was not the same after the death of her daughter and husband, but she was perseverant and got on with life.

Shizu was born on May 29, 1927 in Merced, CA, to Sakuji and Toshi Hashimoto. She was the last born of five children, three died prior to her birth and grew up with her brother, Hideo who was weak from a hole in his heart. Her parents were sharecroppers and worked for a large garlic farm owned by the Hirasaki Family in Gilroy. She has fond memories growing up with the Hirasaki children, and the families who lived in the housing on the farm.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, her mother moved the family in a Ford Model A to Sanger, CA, where East of the 99 was to be the “free zone”. The family soon after had to move to an undisclosed location along with other people of Japanese ancestry to Gila River Relocation camp when she was 14 years old. Shiz would reflect on these times with “shikataganai” (it cannot be helped) and “gaman” (patience, perseverance, and self control) and that this was a rest for the Issei (her parents’ generation) who got some rest from having to work so hard in the fields. Shiz being very social, was active in many of the camp activities and made life long friends whom she’d keep connections with through elderhood. After high school graduation in camp, Shiz took the opportunity to go to Michigan and travelled with another girl on the train to attend secretarial school. She lived with a family to tend to the children. Her memory of these times was hearing the horn off the shores of the lake which made her feel sad and lonely. She wasn’t there long when she got word her brother, Hideo, passed away and went back to her family. Soon after, her family was released from Gila.

Her Kumamoto family ties brought them to Kingsburg then to Reedley, where there was more work opportunity and eventually bought a house on Manning Avenue, next to the Kunishige family. It was there and through the younger Kunishige siblings she met the love of her life, Kaz. She would jokingly say, “Love thy neighbor!” Shiz would tell how Kaz would tease her by putting his cigarette butt in the fold of her pant leg while they worked in the fields. She would say he was a “bad boy” until her good friend told her that in his quiet manner, he would have the older ladies work closer to the area they put the produce so they did not have to walk as far. It was this kind and gentle man she fell in love with.

Kaz and Shiz married on November 24,1951 at the Fresno Buddhist Church. They both worked as farm laborers and made their first home where other young Japanese families lived near the bridge over the Kings River. Shiz found a parcel of land for sale in the newspaper and the couple purchased the raw land where they built their forever home from scratch. Everything they needed to live on that land and farm they did piece by piece, when they had the cash to add more.

A blessed addition to their family was their daughter, Joy, whom they adopted from Japan in 1960.. They worked hard and created a good life. Shiz and Kaz loved farming together, through hard and prosperous times. They were a good team in all aspects of their lives. The home they built together became Shiz’s sanctuary where she could host many family, friends and community gatherings, always filled with good, delicious foods as well as joy and laughter. She was hostess with the mostess to many gatherings until she passed. Everyone felt welcomed.

It was important to Kaz to raise Joy in the Christian faith and the family became members of United Methodist Church which she was supported by her parents to join the church as a family. Shiz spent the rest of her life as a Christian, and emphasized that she embraced every religion, embracing all her friends from all aspects of life and beliefs.

Shiz loved travelling, fishing with her hubby, and hosting many gatherings in her home.

Shiz’s community was very important in her life, volunteering her time for the many Japanese American organizations and her church then extending out to her beloved years at Streetlight. Shiz attended camp and class reunions, held leadership roles with the Kumamoto group, Japanese American Citizens League, Nikkei Jinkai, church and Reedley community events.

As she mentioned above, her greatest loss was the death of her husband and daughter. Her shikataganai and gaman values kept her going and lived a long, full life.

Shiz, “Auntie” to many, will be dearly missed. Her peaceful and loving spirit lives on.

The family requests neither koden nor flowers, though if you are called to do so, please make a donation to your favorite charity in the memory of Shiz.