Tamaki Matsuoka began her career as an elementary school teacher in Osaka, Japan. As she taught her students about Japan’s past, she became aware of the many gaps in her and their knowledge; this led her to become an advocate for remembrance and recognition of the real history of Japan’s World War Two aggression, notably the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. For close to three decades she has recorded testimonies of both survivors and perpetrators, all part of her efforts to make sure japanese students learn the same history as students in other parts of the world.
Mr. Masters first introduced Crestwood students to her in 2014, and in the 2017 he participated in the Alpha Education Peace Tour, where he was able to hear her speak in Nanjing, along side survivor Ai Yi-ying, whose testimony also appears here. In November 2017 Tamaki visited Crestwood, where she spoke to the History 11 and 12 classes.
