IN SEARCH OF YUKI….

During the 1983-84 school year, Marietta High Hosted an American Field Service student from Japan, Yuki Sento. Yuki’s real name was Fuki, but for obvious reasons, we knew her as Yuki. Yuki was exceptionally bright, graduating at the top of her class in 1984 (though she was not recognized since she had not completed a 4-yr. program at MHS). 

Yuki came from a very humble and traditional Japanese family, and the year in the States was an opportunity of a lifetime for her. She sang in chorus, ran cross country, swam on the swim team, and learned as much as she could about life here. Knowing very little English and NO Spanish, Yuki excelled in my my Spanish class and completed three years of study in one year and came close to bi-lingual proficiency in that time. In 40+ years of teaching, I never had a more gifted language learner.

Upon return to Japan, Yuki was selected to study in the elite Japanese Institute of Foreign Languages and finished with degrees in Spanish and English. She went on to teach, bring students to the US, and return to visit my family twice thereafter.  My parents and children welcomed her into our family wholeheartedly.  Over the years, we remained in close contact, and I looked forward to hearing about her latest translation efforts and news.

Unfortunately, prior her AFS year here and after return to Japan, Yuki’s life was not easy. She never told me much about her family, except that her mother had died when Yuki was very young. Her grandmother lived with the family to care for Yuki and her sister, and both her father and grandfather faulted her for her mother’s death and subsequently, favored the older sister, leaving Yuki to do house and garden work. I sensed her father was brutal to Yuki, and I’m still not sure how it was that she came across AFS and was permitted to participate in a year abroad.

As time passed, news from Yuki became really sad. She left one or two teaching positions and was at a loss as to what to do. She listened to English radio stations and did some translating on the side to keep her skills sharp. Her letters began to indicate that her mental health was in sharp decline, telling me she had fallen in love with her therapist and insisting they communicated telepathically. She said she had named her only possessions after people she remembered and loved. For example, she named her purse “Tanya” and spoke of it as if it were her child. 

Finally, about two years ago, I received my final letter from her. She said she was “going away”and I would never hear from her again. Wrapped very carefully in the letter, she included her tassel from her “84” MHS graduation and asked me to always remember her. 

I have no idea what happened to Yuki.  I’ve asked myself over and over if she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital or even if she took her own life. The last picture she sent to me remains on my refrigerator alongside photos of Samuel and Eliza. Her tassel hangs on the lamp by the chair where I sit and knit. Frequently, I open a random book I pick up and am surprised to find a letter she wrote and that I used as a bookmark. 

What motivates me to write this lengthy post is Yuki’s presence in my dreams for the last two nights. I need not post the details of them, but I hear her voice calling. So, I’m once again inspired to see if I can find out anything about her - if she is, indeed, alive.

I know I’m searching for a “needle in the haystack.” The most assistance I’ve been able to receive came from the Japanese consulate in Detroit, where a kind man listened to my story and has offered to send me the website and / or phone number of the police department in Susacki City, Yuki’s last place of residence (that I know of). 

Along with everyone else with whom I’ve shared this story, the gentleman in Detroit reminded me that the Japanese strictly adhere to privacy on all accounts, especially if the matters would include a transfer to a mental health facility or a suicide. He kindly cautioned me not to anticipate answers though he hoped I could learn something about Yuki.

If anyone who reads this has advice or knows of an avenue I can pursue to learn more about what has happened to Yuki, please send me a message. I’ll keep trying, but so far, I hold little hope of finding Yuki. 

I just want to know what happened to this truly sweet, innocent, amazingly gifted woman, and I’m not one to give up until I exhaust all available measures. I fear I’m close to that point now, sadly.