Fujima Kansuma

Sumako Hamaguchi (9 May 1918 – 22 February 2023), known by her stage name was a Japanese-American kabuki dancer. She taught more than 2,000 dancers, 50 of whom have been granted professional standing by kabuki grandmasters.

Early life Sumako Hamaguchi was born in San Francisco on May 9, 1918, and was the older of two sisters. When she was three years old, her family moved to Los Angeles.

In 1934, she participated in the very first Nisei Week Japanese Festival. That same year she traveled to Japan to study under kabuki star . Over the course of four years she learned acting, dancing, kimono dress and etiquette, shamisen and tokiwazu music. In Japan she was mocked as "the girl from America" by her peers. In 1938 she received her stage name from Fujima Kanjuro VI, grandmaster of the Fujima School.

During World War II, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, Kansuma and her family were first sent to the Santa Anita Assembly Center and then to Rohwer War Relocation Center. Upon her arrival at Rohwer, she was permitted to teach and perform in different War Relocation Authority camps. Under armed guard, Kasuma received special permission to travel to Los Angeles to retrieve more costumes and music.

Postwar After World War II, Kansuma returned to Little Tokyo and re-established her dance studio. She worked with Walt Disney, who liked to infuse an "international flavor" in his shows, on such projects as "Family Night". Through more than 70 years of dancing, Kansuma taught nearly 2,000 students, among them her daughter, Miyako Tachibana, who achieved kabuki master status.

Kansuma danced in the Rose Parade and the 1984 Olympics and performed for Emperor Akihito. In 1985, she was awarded with the Order of the Precious Crown, 5th Class. National Endowment for the Arts deemed her a National Heritage Fellow for the Arts in 1987. In 2004, Kansuma was given the Japanese American National Museum’s Cultural Ambassador Award.

In 2018, Kansuma celebrated her centennial with a performance at the Aratani Theatre. She died on February 22, 2023, from congestive heart failure.