Nakao, Michiko (Michi), 1934-1993

Michiko (Michi) Nakao was an editor and writer who greatly contributed to the Japanese community in New York. She was born in Hokkaido, Japan, in 1934. In Japan, Nakao worked for Iwanami Shoten, one of the most well-regarded publishers in the country. In 1956, Nakao received a scholarship to study in the United States, first at Villa Maria College in Buffalo, New York, and from 1960, at Columbia University. Unfortunately, Nakao had to leave the university due to an injury caused by a car accident. After her recovery, she worked for two Japanese companies in New York from 1965 to 1975.

In 1976, Nakao began to publish Japan/New York, a magazine for the Japanese community, and founded the publisher Vega Japan in 1983. Meanwhile, she continued to write and do research, publishing Onna hitori de kurasu New York (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1985) and New York no career women (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1987). She also worked on several books which were never published. One of these was, Fuyu no hoko, was about the Japanese Communist and labor leader Sen Katayama. Although it was not published as a monograph, the series of articles titled Fuyu no hoko is available in Japan/New York . The other, Umi wo koete, was about Japanese immigrants in the United States. She ceased publishing Japan/New York in 1990. Subsequently in 1991, Nakao was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died in Japan on March 29, 1993. Nakao made a large bequest to the Rutgers University Libraries, which is used for the purchase of Japanese-language materials.

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