Mari Yoriko Sabusawa

Mari Yoriko Sabusawa (July 10, 1920 – September 25, 1994) was a translator, activist, and philanthropist. She was the third wife of novelist James A. Michener, whom she married on October 23, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois.

Early life A second-generation Japanese American, Sabusawa was born to Harry and Riki Sabusawa and raised in Las Animas, Colorado. Her family moved to Long Beach, California in 1936. Sabusawa graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1938, and then began studying at Long Beach Junior College. Shortly thereafter, she was allowed to leave for Antioch College in Ohio where she received a degree in political science and international relations. This experience would influence Michener's novel, The Bridge at Andau, 1957.

Sabusawa spoke out in support of American-Japanese marriages in the 1950s. She urged her husband not to run for Congress as a Democrat in 1962, but nevertheless supported him when he did.