Geraldine Shu
Geraldine Shu is the daughter of Drs. Evan and Ruby Inouye Shu (the first Nikkei woman doctor in Seattle). She worked in immunology research labs for 38 years, primarily for the University of Washington in Seattle. Since 2016, she has been a voluntary proofreader for the North American Post, Seattle's Japanese community newspaper.
Updated February 2022
Stories from This Author
Our Japanese American New Year’s Celebration
Dec. 31, 2023 • Geraldine Shu
Oshogatsu (New Year’s) was when our family learned the most about Japanese culture. The week before New Year’s Day, we often helped make mochi at Japanese Baptist Church (Seattle). We smoothed the mashed lumps of hot, sticky rice into little round cakes with sweet rice flour and polished the tops with the palms of our hands. Sometime before the end of the year, we were supposed to clean the whole house (ohsoji), which rarely happened, and pay all of our …
No Christmas Like an Inouye Family Christmas
Dec. 13, 2022 • Geraldine Shu
Christmas in the 1950s-60s was a time of great anticipation for the Inouye Family. Even though the family gathered for every single holiday of the year from New Year’s to Christmas, Christmas was by far, the MOST exciting. Shortly after Thanksgiving, the kids were asked to make lists with a $5 per item price limit. Sometimes, $10 items were allowed, if it was something that we really, really wanted; two families could chip in together to buy it. However, this …
A Return to Minidoka
Feb. 15, 2022 • Geraldine Shu
Many of us had never been there before. Those of us who had, had not returned since being incarcerated in 1942. So, when our Nisei parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents finally consented to go, many of us hopped aboard for the 2009 Minidoka Pilgrimage led by Gloria Shigeno and Keith Yamaguchi. Thirty-two of the descendants of Tsuyoshi and Yayoi Inouye joined a total of 127 pilgrims, representing 10 different states as well as Japan. The story of our family is …
