Chieko Takehisa

Biography

Chieko Takehisa (March 6, 1912 – September 14, 2006) was a Japanese actress from Akita Prefecture. At 15, she dropped out of high school to join the movie industry. She then starred in many films and plays from the 1930s to the 1940s, becoming popular as an actress in "moga" (modern girl) roles. In 1935, Takehisa met American journalist Clarke Kawakami at a Christmas party. They soon fell in love, but America's Japanese exclusion laws created great difficulty in securing a visa for Takehisa. In 1941, she finally arrived in the United States on a student visa, marrying Kawakami in August of that year. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Takehisa returned to Japan, resuming her film career, and the two lost contact. In 1945, Kawakami learned that Takehisa had survived the war. Hoping to find her, he returned to Japan and joined General Douglas MacArthur's staff in charge of the U.S. occupation. There, he was reunited with Takehisa, who was astonished to see him. The couple would have three children in the following years, and Takehisa effectively retired from the film industry by the late 1940s. Takehisa moved to Hawaii in 1950 with her family, where she lived for the rest of her life.