Mari Yoriko Sabusawa facts for kids
Mari Yoriko Sabusawa (born July 10, 1920 – died September 25, 1994) was an amazing woman who worked as a translator, an activist, and someone who gave a lot of money to good causes (a philanthropist). She was the third wife of the famous writer James A. Michener. They got married on October 23, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois.
Growing Up
Mari Sabusawa was a second-generation Japanese American, which means her parents were from Japan, but she was born in America. She was born to Harry and Riki Sabusawa and grew up in Las Animas, Colorado. In 1936, her family moved to Long Beach, California. Mari finished high school at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1938. After that, she started college at Long Beach Junior College.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, the United States government issued something called Executive Order 9066. This order forced many Japanese Americans, including Mari and her family, to leave their homes. They were first sent to the Santa Anita Assembly Center in California. Then, they were moved to an internment camp called the Granada War Relocation Center (also known as Camp Amache) in Colorado.
Luckily, Mari was soon allowed to leave the camp to go to Antioch College in Ohio. There, she studied political science and international relations. As part of her college program, she worked for the U.S. intelligence service in Washington D.C., where she translated Japanese messages. After college, she went to graduate school at the University of Chicago.
In 1948, Mari Sabusawa made history by becoming the first female president of the Chicago chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). This group works to protect the rights of Japanese Americans. In the early 1950s, she was very involved in community work, especially focusing on civil rights. Mari was working as an editor for the American Library Association's Bulletin in Chicago in 1954 when she met her future husband, James A. Michener.
Making a Difference
Mari Sabusawa and James Michener both cared deeply about helping others. They were involved in helping people during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 against the Soviet Union. Many Hungarians were killed, and many more had to leave their homes. Mari and James opened their home in Vienna to be a safe place for these refugees. They helped many Hungarians escape and find new homes in the United States. This experience greatly influenced Michener's novel, The Bridge at Andau, which he wrote in 1957.
Mari also spoke out in the 1950s to support marriages between American and Japanese people. When her husband, James, thought about running for Congress as a Democrat in 1962, Mari encouraged him not to. However, she still fully supported him when he decided to run. Mari was a big help to James in his writing. She encouraged him and helped with research for some of his famous novels, like The Bridge at Andau, Hawaii, and The Source. James Michener also wrote Centennial in 1974, which later became a TV miniseries. Part of the show was filmed near Mari's hometown, at Bent's Fort in Colorado.
Together, Mari and James Michener were very generous. They gave a lot of money to charity, especially to support art and higher education. Mari herself created the Mari Sabusawa Michener Endowment. This special fund helps pay for all the educational programs at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Later Life and Legacy
Mari Sabusawa passed away in Austin, Texas, on September 25, 1994. She left a very generous gift of $5 million to the University of Texas at Austin. This money helped build what is now the Blanton Museum of Art. She and James had also given hundreds of paintings to the university during their lives.
