Inako Y

Johnson

Inako Yokoo Johnson was born in Moji City, Japan, on May
4, 1932. She was adopted at an early age by Takashio and
Matunoske Ishitobe, the latter a resturaunteur. Through her
adoption she gained sister, Tomie Ishitobe, 20 years her senior,
who passed in 1979. She dearly loved her sister, who
participated in her upbringing and support. All of her early years
were spent on Kyushu Island in Fukuoka Prefecture. Her school
years were from 1938 to1945, during the second World War. By
the time the war ended, her parents were both ill and could not
care for themselves. So, Inako quit school and started working at
13 or 14 as a domestic worker, cleaning houses and doing
laundry.
Her work eventually led her to working at Ashiya AFB on
Kyushu Island, where she was introduced by a friend to Roland K.
Johnson (1922-2015) whom she married in a Japanese wedding
ceremony. Hope Emiko (1953), Kenneth Hidenori (1956), and
Faith Chiemi (1957) were all born in Japan.
Despite being married to an American, Inako's immigration
did not go smoothly. Authorities in the military and in the U. S.
government did not approve of the relationship, and attempted to
break up the family by transferring Roland back to the United
Inako Yokoo Johnson 5/4/1932 to 3/27/2023

States and then trying to transfer him to several other locations in
the Pacific. In protest, he threatened renouncing his citizenship
and was eventually returned to Japan where he rejoined his
family, intending to return to the US with them. Again, people
within the US government, who did not believe mixed race
marriages were viable, tried to block the transfer of the family to
the US. They accused Inako of planning to get into the US with
the intention of abandoning the family once she was admitted. At
the time, it was an obstacle faced by many GI's trying to bring
their brides into the United States. It took a letter-writing
campaign by Roland's father, Roy Johnson of Morgan Hill, who
wrote to then Congressman Charles Gubser, to petition the US for
permission to bring the family to the US. The Congressman
sponsored a bill in the House of Representatives to allow Inako
and Hope Emiko entrance into the US, provided certain conditions
were met. (Kenneth and Faith, having been born on Tachikawa
AFB were already US citizens, and therefore free to enter). The
family entered the US in 1958.
Inako lived in various locations in the United States; Marie
Akie was born in Pennsylvania and Bobbi Jo Michie was born in
Montana. In 1965 Roland was given his orders to Vietnam and
he moved the family to California to be close to his parents. In
Morgan Hill, Inako flourished. She enrolled all the children in
Morgan Hill's Learn to Swim program as a surprise to her
husband. After Roland's retirement from the Air Force in 1966,
Inako enrolled in Morgan Hill Adult School to work on her English
and took many other classes to learn the skills she thought she
should know. She took cake decorating, Chinese cooking, and
flower arranging. She also enrolled in dancing classes in San
Jose. She became very accomplished in Japanese calligraphy.
She earned her citizenship and passed her driving exam in the
late sixties. She helped the family out by providing daycare for
friends (she loved babies), and working in the area's flower-
growing industry. She and Roland became fixtures in the

community, and Inako loved visiting with her friends in Morgan
Hill. In later years, she enjoyed trips to casinos to gamble.
Inako was always busy making things and doing things. The
Johnson kids all have Japanese dolls Inako made in Japan.
Those dolls have her hair. Throughout her life Inako kept herself
busy crocheting blankets of all sizes, up to queen-sized. Every
new grandchild received a crocheted blanket. Inako crocheted
dolls, and sewed pillows to give to her children's teachers at
year's ends. In the 1980's and into the 1990's she jumped on the
karaoke craze and attended weekly karaoke nights with Roland in
Marina and other venues.
After the deaths of Roland's parents, Inako and Roland lived
on Oak Glen Ave. for a time, then moved to Watsonville in 1999,
where Inako joined the Japanese Buddhist Church and
contributed to the Watsonville community, making new friends
there, too. Eventually, Roland and Inako moved to an assisted
care community in Gilroy. Roland, her husband of 62 years,
passed in 2015. Stung by the accusation that she would abandon
her family, Inako would often tell people how long she and Roland
were married.
Inako passed at 1:25 a.m. on March 27, 2023. She leaves
behind all her children: Hope Emiko (Clay), Kenneth Hidenori
Johnson, Faith Chiemi Johnson, Marie Akie (Day), Bobbi Jo
Michie (Palmer), seven grandchildren, and six great-
grandchildren. A service in her honor will be held at the
Watsonville Buddhist Temple on April 7 at 11:00 a.m.