Chikako AtsutaChikako Atsuta loved Gloucester and shared her poems and an essay in Dogtown UnCommon. Chikako Atsuta, 39, died Aug. 20, at Massachusetts General Hospital after being involved in a traffic accident while she was biking to work. Ako, as most knew her, lived in Gloucester from 1998 to 2001. Though she was living in Somerville at the time of the accident, she kept Gloucester close to her heart and often visited close friends in the city. Born in Osaka, Japan, she graduated from college in Tokyo and began work there as a journalist for Jiji Press. In 1996, she moved to Wellfleet with her American husband. Her marriage ended soon after she arrived in the United States, but she stayed in the Boston area, eventually finding work at Open Book Systems in Rockport. At the time of her death, she was working at TWI in Brighton as a translator and Web designer for the official Tiger Woods Web site. She was an enthusiastic, curious and deeply artistic person who wrote poetry, studied photography and took art and acting classes. She took drawing classes and worked as a model at the Rockport Art Association. Some of her writings, including essays about Gloucester, are posted on the Web. Many of her poems were featured on the site www.redpaper.com, Ako's East Coast Blues, and others are at Dogtown Uncommon on the site www.capeannweb.com. Last month she took the stage at Artbeat 2004, a Somerville arts festival, to read her poetry. A tribute to her, and some of her work, can be found at www.ako.name. Her own personal web site, Talk To Ako, is being maintained by a friend. She had the ability to become fascinated by an idea or subject, and forever sought new experiences and friends. She loved the water, whether a hot bath or a swim at Good Harbor Beach, and loved to travel. Her favorite way to explore was by bicycle or on foot. She looked upon everyday life with a sense of gentle mischief and sly humor. She is survived by her parents, Toshihiro and Machiko Atsuta; her sister, Mami; and her brother-in-law, Joachim, all of Osaka, Japan. i think of ako every day.....it's hard to imagine that she has ...in fact....died. The word tragedy never rang truer. I had the opportunity to watch her change from a young japanese woman into an international, outward looking adult. In the process we lost contact....ironically, as i looked eastward, she was focused on the west. i remmember how in the early 90's, america's involvement w/ iraq....infuriated her...as well as many others. I shared her sense of outrage....tempered by the realization(having grown up during the vietnam era) that america would lumber where it chose....irespective of the logic or consequences. I guess i can trace the problems in our relationship to that time. Yet. in the most decidedly Japanese way she persevered with her conflicted appreciation of "america"......the irony of her demise....in america....at the intersection of a metaphoric road reads like some Zen koan....and to red it is to cry. george Posted by: george at April 6, 2006 11:00 AMWoefully, the explanation is in the main an idea that is so basic it would simply require a brief period of time to get into position, but is ofttimes omitted. Posted by: Debt Relief at February 25, 2009 12:24 AMPost a comment
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