The UCLA Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies is saddened to share the passing of Hisako Terasaki, artist and wife of Dr. Paul I. Terasaki. Along with her husband, Hisako was an ardent supporter of both the Center and of U.S.-Japan relations throughout Los Angeles, and she will be dearly missed by all of us.

Hisako grew up in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles with her sister Tokiko and parents Shuichi and Chizu Sumioka. The Sumioka family was incarcerated at the Poston concentration camp during World War II, an experience that would later influence her and her husband's philanthropy in supporting Japanese Americans in the Los Angeles community. She earned her BA in Education at Los Angeles City College in 1954, and married Paul I. Terasaki, a pioneer in human organ transplant technology that same year.

For more information about Hisako's legacy, as well as her and her family's contributions, please refer to the coverage provided by the Japanese American National Museum and Rafu Shimpo.

Mrs. Hisako Terasaki's loss will be felt deeply throughout both UCLA and Los Angeles. We are honored to carry her name, and we hope to celebrate her extraordinary contributions to the Japanese American and U.S.-Japan relations communities for many years to come.

Sincerely,

Hitoshi Abe
Director
UCLA Paul I. and Hisako Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies