Marina DiMaggio was born "Mariko" in Yokohama, Japan, to a Japanese mother and a German father in 1932. Miraculously, the family survived the firebombing of Kobe during World War II, only to be deported in 1947 to equally ravaged Hamburg, Germany. From these humble and harsh beginnings, Marina went on to become a well-known solo dancer in Europe in the 1950's. Here she met and married an American citizen and came to the U.S., settling in San Francisco. There, she forged a new identity as an American. With her husband, Joe, Marina founded and managed two acclaimed Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area, "Sasanami" and "Hama-Yu."In her retirement, Marina enjoys spending time with her family, browsing for Japanese antiques, and reading Japanese history.
