2014 Books & Conversations: Masako Kimura Streling, 'I Thought the Sun Was God'NEW

Japanese American National Museum (JANM)
100 N Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012

BOOKS & CONVERSATIONS

I Thought the Sun Was God by Masako Kimura Streling

Masako Kimura Streling will be at JANM on Saturday, October 4 at 2pm to discuss her memoir "I Thought the Sun Was God" which details her painful childhood growing up in a poor Okinawan fishing village on the eve of WWII. Feeling that she was destined to make a difference, Streling embarked on a journey that took her across the Pacific Ocean and eventually led to spiritual redemption.

Free with museum admission ($9 general admission, $5 for seniors and students).�RSVP to [email protected] or 213.625.0414. Book will be available for sale at the program.

"Moving among these many worlds makes her story an intriguing, engrossing, and eye-opening tale, one that deserves a special place in any Women's Studies course or any class on modern Japan." -�Mark McLauglin, Foreword Clarion Reviews

About the Author

Masako was born in June of 1931, on the Yaeyama Islands, in the Okinawa prefecture of Japan, the eldest daughter of a large family who were descendants of the Satsuma Samurai Clan. Growing up during the war, she and her family faced many perils and hardships. She met her husband Carl on a military base in Okinawa in the spring of 1951; they were married in the fall of 1953; and in July of 1954, Masako came to the United States to begin a new life. At the Easter Vigil, of 1985, through the celebration of the Easter Sacraments, she became full member of the Catholic Church.

After a sixteen-year career with Japan Airlines, she embarked on a course of study that included a Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, major in Theology and a Master in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University Chicago. In 1993 she and Carl were commissioned by the Chicago Archdiocese and sent as Lay Missionaries by the Society of St. Columban to the priestless Kainan church in the Osaka Archdiocese of Japan, where they served for three years. Masako and Carl are today part of the St. Thomas More Parish in Oceanside, California.