Mrs. Akiko Hayashi Biography

Mrs. Akiko Sukuratani Hayashi was born of Japanese parentage on June 19, 1930 in Liaoyang City, Manchuria, China. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1970. Mrs. Hayashi earned a B. A. in English from Doshisha Women’s College in Kyoto, Japan, in 1953, was a special student at the Culver-Stockton College, Canton, Missouri, in 1960-61, and completed the required courses for a M.A. in East Asian Languages and Literature at Indiana University in 1975. She was an Instructor of Japanese at the Indiana Japanese Language School in Indianapolis from 1981 to 1983, Principal of the school from 1983 to 1990, an advisor to Japanese students for the Sanno College (Tokyo) programs of Secretarial Science through the International Office at Ball State University from 1990 to 1993, and Director of the Indiana International Institute at the Japanese Language School in Indianapolis from 1990 to 1993. From 1968 through 1993, Mrs. Hayashi actively sponsored, directed or co-directed, and participated in elementary, junior, and senior high school and university Japanese culture programs and seminars. During the same period, she served as advisor, assistant, and consultant for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Industry on projects to invite Japanese business and industry to Indiana cities in collaboration with the Lieutenant Governor’s office. In addition, she advised and assisted with U. S. – Japan Society-sponsored projects in Indianapolis. In 1987, she received the Sagamore of the Wabash Award from Indiana Governor Robert Orr. From 1993 to 2001, Mrs. Hayashi lived with her husband in Japan.