Archives West Finding Aid

Sachiko Sumioka was born June 1, 1921 in King County, Washington. After graduating from High School Sachiko worked as a house maid for various families around Seattle and participated in a drama group with the local Buddhist Temple. She frequently assisted another drama group comprised of Japanese men where she met her husband, Kanichi Iwami. She married Kanichi Iwami on March 29, 1942 in Seattle in order to remain together when relocated first to the Puyallup Assembly Center and then to Minidoka relocation camp in Idaho a few months later. As a Japanese-American she remained in the camp from September 2, 1942 to September 29, 1945. In the sumemr of 1943 she was hired as a secretary for Stafford Elementary School, one of the Minidoka elementary schools. After the war Sachiko Iwami worked at the Seattle Buddhist Nursery, then as a secretary for the Seattle Public School, Bailey Gatzert, subsequently operated a catering business, and remained a secretary in the Seattle Public Schools until 1986. She was a mother of five children, Sonoye, Yoshiye, Dennis, Arthur and Wendy, and died in 2004.