Happy 96th, Miiko Taka

The Japanese American National Museum posted this photo on July 24 to celebrate the 96^th birthday of Miiko Taka. The Nisei actress was born in Seattle in 1925 and raised in Los Angeles. She and her family were incarcerated at Gila River concentration camp in Arizona during WWII. Taka’s film career began when she was scouted at Nisei Week. At the time, she had no acting experience and was working as a clerk at a travel agency. She was ultimately cast opposite Marlon Brando in the 1957 film “Sayonara,” in a role that had originally been offered to Audrey Hepburn. The performance launched her career into stardom. She has acted in many other films and TV shows, including “Hell to Eternity,” “Cry for Happy,” “Walk Don’t Run,” “Paper Tiger” and the 1980 miniseries “Shogun,” and also worked as an interpreter for Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa when they visited Hollywood.