Haruko Oda was born on August 13, 1920 in the countryside of North Korea. After she married our father, they moved to Japan to live a better life. They weren't able to speak any Japanese at that time and experienced tremendous difficulty in finding housing acceptable to both themselves as well as the landlord, so they lived with an acquaintance until they saved enough money and built up their credit. Because of this, she decided to someday become a landlord. Together, they tirelessly worked very hard and saved money. On or about 1960, they purchased their first house in Kitasenzoku, Ohta-ku, Tokyo. Thereafter, within a few years, they purchased another house next door and finally became landlords themselves. Our mother was also an entrepreneur, she started her own garment factory around 1962 and hired several women to help her business thrive while our father was busy with his small manufacturing company. Around 1965, she started a Korean restaurant facing a major street. It was an instant success and within two years, she opened a Japanese Restaurant next to the Korean restaurant. Though business was booming, they decided to sell their properties to a gas station and moved to Todoroki, Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo. They built a brand new house plus a 10 unit apartment building adjacent to our home. After struggling so much and overcoming many difficulties, they were finally able to live comfortably from their rental income where most would settle there for a lifetime. However, they decided to move to Los Angeles again in 1972 to build a better life, this time, for their children and sold the property and moved permanently to Los Angeles in 1973.

The Oda family children will never forget the sacrifices our parents made for us and will forever be grateful for their love and support. May you Rest In Peace, Oba-chan.