Background
Taka was born in 1925 in Seattle, but raised in Los Angeles, California as a Nisei. Her parents had immigrated from Japan.
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Miiko Taka
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Career
In 1942, she was interned with her family at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona. Editorial After director Joshua Logan"s first choice for the role of Hana-ogi, Audrey Hepburn, turned him down, he looked to cast an unknown actress. Taka, who at the time was working as a clerk at a travel agency in Los Angeles, was discovered by a talent scout at a local Nisei festival.
Although she had no previous acting experience, Variety gave her a positive review in their review of the film.
Warner Brothers gave her a term contract as a result of her performance in Sayonara. After Sayonara, she worked in films with James Garner, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, and Toshirō Mifune (whom she also worked alongside of in the 1980 television miniseries, Shõgun).
She also served as an interpreter for Mifune as well as Akira Kurosawa when they visited Hollywood.
