Guyo Tajiri

Guyo Tajiri (October 17, 1915 – 2007) was a Japanese American journalist. She was the first Asian-American woman accepted to the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She also worked to transform the Pacific Citizen as an editor, a major Japanese American publication. Early life and education Tajiri was born on October 17, 1915, and her birth name was Tsuguyo Marion Okagaki. She had eight siblings. Her father was Kichitaro Okagaki and he reported for the Japanese newspaper Shin Sekai, which translates to New World Sun. During her teenage years, she worked as an unpaid assistant for the English-language section of her father's newspaper – Shin Sekai. In 1932 she became the first Asian woman to be accepted and enrolled at the University of Missouri's prestigious School of Journalism. However, she would have to leave the University of Missouri after one semester. She went on to attend San Jose State University and later the University of California, Berkeley. She married Larry Tajiri in April 1937.