Kida, Emi, 1919-2002

Emi Kida was born on October 13, 1919 in Ogaki City in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan. She studied the traditional women's arts of embroidery, ikebana (flower arranging), and cooking at the Doshisha Women's College. In 1955, she was introduced to Isaku Kida by their mutual friend, Asae Konokawa. They married in Tokyo in the spring of 1958, and Emi immigrated to the United States later that year.

In New York, Emi managed the newspaper's finances and distribution, and set the type for each issue by hand. The Kidas purchased a Japanese word processor in 1980, which freed up a substantial amount of Emi's time and allowed her to report on cultural events for the newspaper. The Kidas lived on a strict budget and relied heavily on donations and advertisements to keep the newspaper in circulation. Emi worked at the newspaper until it ceased publication in 1993. She remained very involved in Japanese American community activities, in particular with the Japanese American Association of New York, the Japanese American United Church, and the Japanese American Social Services. She died in 2002.