Seven Dynamic Decades

As the Club’s Women’s Group celebrates its 70th anniversary, members reflect on how the community has shaped their lives in Tokyo.

Trailing spouse. Accompanying partner. Expat wife. These were once the standard definitions of women uprooted from their homes and left to forge meaning from their new lives abroad. If the passive overtones of these terms seem an imprecise match for the women of today, don’t blame the shift on political correctness.

Rather, as Women’s Group President Heidi Regent explains, it’s a testament to the long history of wives, mothers and daughters who sought to define themselves beyond family ties and days of shopping and leisure.

“That stereotype has fallen away,” says Regent, 51. “We’ve all come with a sense of purpose, of not just holding a cocktail in our hand, but doing something worthwhile while we’re here.”

Since its founding in 1949, the Women’s Group has been the nexus of women (and more than a few men) animated by the desire to lead meaningful lives. While its origins lie in a more conservative era of ladies who lunch, longtime member Yuriko Hirayama has witnessed members embrace ambitions of social responsibility and personal and professional development through the group’s classes, speaker events, tours and charitable fundraising efforts. 

“The members are so eager to accept new ideas,” says Hirayama, 78, who taught her first Japanese culture class with the group more than 30 years ago. 

More than 700 members strong, the Women’s Group has grown beyond simple characterizations. For those new to Japan, it is both landing and launching pad. It offers deeper connections to the Club’s community for longtime members and opportunities to expand those networks beyond the Club’s four walls. 

“At the end of the day, Tokyo has become our adopted home,” Regent explains. “We all want to leave a permanent mark while we’re here.”

In its 70th year, the Women’s Group remains as much a canvas of its members’ hopes and ambitions as it has ever been. 

Satoko Kiyohara
Joined the Women’s Group: 2012

Why did you join the group?
When I was studying in Virginia in the ’80s, my American roommate would invite me back to her home during school breaks. Her mother was always busy with ladies’ associations and social organizations. I never saw a world for women like that before in Japan and wanted to be like her someday. I joined the Club in 2012 and I knew there would be an active group for women here.

What is your strongest Women’s Group memory?
In my first year, I joined the International Bazaar committee. I had to recruit and manage volunteers, but there was no organized list at the time. I had to look up each Women’s Group member manually. I commuted to the Women’s Group office almost every day and worked from 9am to 5pm. On the day of the International Bazaar, the volunteers started coming up to me and thanking me for the work I’d done. I felt so much closer to the group than I had before.

How has the group changed you?
I had stopped working years before to care for my family, but after my children started their own lives, it was nice to find a new mission through the Women’s Group. It’s thrilling to see how our small roles build into an organized event. It’s such a pleasure to share that joy with other Women’s Group volunteers. It made me realize I still had a part to play in the world.

Alaine Lee
Joined the Women’s Group: 2004

Why did you join the group?
I went to Tokyo: Here & Now [orientation workshop] soon after I joined the Club. At that time, it was three days long and we had more than 200 newcomers. That was my first introduction to the Women’s Group. My kids went to Sacred Heart [international school], so joining the group felt like a great chance for me to compare notes with moms from other schools. 

What is your strongest Women’s Group memory?
I briefly moved away from Japan but came back in September 2010. [The following] March was the earthquake. I thought I needed to make the best of a very difficult time, to explore outside of Tokyo and learn to embrace living in Japan again. I started going on every Women’s Group tour I could. I enjoyed those so much that I ended up joining the tours committee and now I’ve been doing that for six years. We’ve also had wonderful speakers over the years. We had a luncheon some years ago with a survivor of Hiroshima. You don’t forget something like that.

How has the group changed you?
I’ve grown in my leadership skills. Most of us have been on a lot of committees and I’ve had a lot of opportunities to work as a volunteer. Also, the world doesn’t feel so big when you know people from Japan and New Zealand and South Africa. That’s a special feeling to have.

Mary Katayama
Joined the Women’s Group: 1983

Why did you join the group?
When I was a child, my mother was an active member of the Women’s Group. She was always busy taking painting lessons and going on short trips here and there. After I had my own children, I got my own membership and joined the Women’s Group right away.

What is your strongest Women’s Group memory?
I’ve taken lots of classes offered by the Women’s Group. I remember the sumi-e sessions, the silk screen painting lessons and the Reiki and cooking classes. This was over some 10 or 15 years. I think I’ve taken most of the classes the Women’s Group has offered. 

How has the group changed you?
The Women’s Group’s enrichment classes introduced me to things I wouldn’t have done otherwise. Though I speak Japanese fluently, I don’t have a traditional Japanese education. When I started calligraphy at the Women’s Group classes, I was 27 years old, but I’m still taking calligraphy classes with two ladies whom I started with here.

Toshiko Hobo
Joined the Women’s Group: 1974

Why did you join the group?
I moved back to Tokyo from the United States with my husband in 1974. We joined the Club and I was invited to a monthly luncheon held by the Women’s Group. As a board member explained the group’s activities, it reminded me of the faculty club I was part of at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since then, it has been 45 years of incredible memories.

What is your strongest Women’s Group memory?
In 2005, 14 ladies of the Women’s Group visited India. I was the only Japanese member. First, we stayed in New Delhi for three days for sightseeing. On the fourth day, we boarded the gorgeous Palace on Wheels [luxury tourist train] for a one-week tour around the countryside. Every morning, we woke up in a new city for more sightseeing. We ended back in New Delhi for lunch at the home of a former Women’s Group member. I still have the carpet I bought on that trip in my living room. 

How has the group changed you?
The group has had a marvelous effect on my life. I’ve attended so many programs, tours, parties and meetings. Sometimes, I was a volunteer and sometimes a student. Without the Women’s Group, I’m sure my life would have been very boring.

Preeti Kothari
Joined the Women’s Group: 1998

Why did you join the group?
I grew up as a diplomat’s daughter traveling across the world. As a new arrival to Tokyo, I was naturally attracted to the Women’s Group and wanted to gain from the experiences of all the international members. 

What is your strongest Women’s Group memory?
My relationship with my ikebana teacher, Noriko Matsudaira, definitely stands out. I never thought I was an artistic person before coming to Japan, and I was very skeptical about how long I would continue when I walked into my first ikebana class. At some point during that term, Matsudaira-sensei was organizing an ikebana exhibition at the Club. I was a brand-new student and she asked me to have a small piece on display. It inspired me to carry on, and Matsudaira-sensei is one of the main reasons why I’m now a qualified ikebana teacher myself. Something I was just going to try out has become a lifelong passion. 

How has the group changed you?
The group’s classes put me on a journey of personal discovery and development. Not only did I benefit, but I also met so many people from different walks of life that I can now look up friends in cities around the world. It’s a joy to realize that we all first met in classes or volunteering with the Women’s Group.

Words: Owen Ziegler

Pure Platinum: Celebrating 70 Years of the Women’s Group
May 14 | 6–9pm