Chikako Atsuta
Friday, August 20, 2004
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Chikako Atsuta, 39, died August 20 at Massachusetts General
Hospital after being involved in a traffic accident while she was biking to
work.
Ako, as most knew her, live in Gloucester from 1998 to 2001.
Though she was living in Somerville at the time of her accident, she kept
Gloucester close to her heart and often visited close friends in the city. |
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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, 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.
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 every day
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.
Goodbye Ako... you left too soon.
