Misao Furuta

Misao Furuta was a truly extraordinary and enigmatic person. A refined and stylish woman who was quiet and demure but also courageous, strong and fiercely independent. She was formal and traditional in her ways but also very modern and progressive in her views. Like her husband, Soichi Furuta, she was an artist through and through. The passion they shared for art and music and all things beautiful kept them inseparable for 53 years.

Misao’s talent as an Ikebana (Japanese Floral Design) artist and Master instructor kept her professionally active for over 35 years providing stunning arrangements for foreign dignitaries and US Secretaries of State at the prestigious UN Plaza Hotel in NYC while teaching countless students the design principles behind her much beloved artform. Her students often joked about how one of the required skills for becoming a master designer was the ability to drive like a NASCAR pro through the streets of NYC which she did fearlessly to get supplies and deliver arrangements.

Misao has won numerous awards and was bestowed the rank of Riji which is the highest teachers' certificate in the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. She was proud to have displayed her artwork in many shows and exhibits over the years. Misao was also skilled in the art of Chanoyu (Japanese Tea Ceremony) and once even served tea to Emperor Hirohito of Japan during one of his visits to the Nelson Rockefeller estate in NY. An honor which she often recounted in great detail even after her memory started to decline.

In addition to being a teacher and ambassador of Japanese culture in the greater New York area, Misao was also an exceptional cook, caregiver, friend and mother who was always loving, kind and gracious in her ways.

Misao suffered from Alzheimer's disease for nearly a decade and passed away in the early hours of Jan 2, 2021 due to complications from hip replacement surgery and advanced dementia.

She was 87 years old and goes on to meet her deceased husband, Soichi Furuta, and her beloved mother, Kei Yokota, and leaves behind her son, Yoshiya Furuta, her grandson, Makoto Furuta, a brother, Tadashi Yokota, and two sisters: Hideko and Motoko.