March 7, 1930 – January 8, 2022
Kaneko Oshima Bishop, born on March 7, 1930, in Nagoya, Japan to Mr. and Mrs. Yoshimi Oshima, passed away of natural causes at her family home in San Diego, Calif. on January 8, 2022, aged 91 years.
Her father was an official in the Japanese government, and the family had a comfortable life until WWII, when they eventually moved to the country to escape bombing raids, which Mrs. Bishop witnessed firsthand.
She worked in as an administrator and translator at the U.S. Air Force base in Nagoya where she met her husband, Harry in 1955, while he was stationed there during the Korean War. They were married in 1956.
In 1958, they moved to the United States and settled in Topeka, Kansas. After his retirement from the Air Force, they moved to Southern California, where Harry had a job at Aerojet Corporation.
In 1970, Mrs. Bishop began studies in Japanese tea ceremony, and eventually earned her professional certificate. She taught this art at her home for over 20 years.
In the 1980s, Mrs. Bishop led efforts to finance and build the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego, which has become a cultural landmark. A few years later, she became president of the San Diego/ Yokohama Sister City Society, which she chaired for many years.
As a result of these civic efforts, in 2013 she was awarded the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun with Gold and Silver Rays, presented to her by Emperor Akihito in a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. She is survived by her husband, Harry; her daughter, Lisa; and son, Gregory, both of Los Angeles; and her sister, Ayako Kito, of Nagoya.
A private service will be held in February at the Fukui Mortuary in Los Angeles, with later interment at the Los Angeles National Cemetery.
www.fukuimortuary.com (213) 626-0441