Community activist.
Born at Vancouver, British Columbia on 20 July 1919, the eldest of seven daughters born to Hatsune Sakamoto (?-1975) and Heikichi Sakamoto (?-1957). She attended Strathcona School and the Vancouver Japanese Language School until her early teens. She left school to help her family by working in a local sewing factory.
On 31 March 1941, she married Hisashi “Mat” Matuso (1913-1986) at the Hompa Buddhist Temple in Vancouver. Soon after the birth of their first daughter, they were forcibly moved to Manitoba due to the evacuation of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. Media articles about her experience were published in MacLean's magazine, Winnipeg Free Press, and Nikkei Voice. After several moves, the family was settled in North Kildonan where two additional children were welcomed. Her expertise in sewing led to supervisory jobs at local factories including Viceroy Clothing and Westcott Jeans. After 52 years in the sewing industry, she retired in 1985.
In 1987, she was recruited as the volunteer manager at the newly formed Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. She organized many fundraising activities, including culinary events, translated documents, interpreted for Japanese visitors, and joined an official city delegation to Setagaya, Japan on the invitation of Mayor Glen Murray. She retired a second time in 2009 but sewed grocery bags for family, friends, and residents of her retirement home.
She died at Winnipeg on 18 March 2014. She was selected posthumously as a Manitoba Women Trailblazer (2021).
Marriage registration [Kanaye Sakamoto, Hisashi Matsuo], British Columbia Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Hisashi Matsuo], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 April 1986, page 28.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 22 March 2014.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 October 2025
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