A00119 - Betsy Arakawa, Japanese American Classical Musician and Wife of Gene Hackman

 

Betsy Arakawa, a Classical Musician and the Wife of Gene Hackman, Dies at 65

As the spouse of a two-time Oscar winner, she avoided interviews and stayed off social media. But in private, she typed up Mr. Hackman’s novels and helped edit them.

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Betsy Arakawa met Gene Hackman in the 1980s when she was working part-time at a fitness center in Los Angeles and trying to make it as a classical musician. Credit...DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection, via Shutterstock

By Jonathan Wolfe

Published Feb. 27, 2025Updated Feb. 28, 2025, 4:38 a.m. ET

Betsy Arakawa, a classical musician and small-business owner who was married to Gene Hackman and helped edit his novels, was found dead with him at their home in Santa Fe, N.M., the local authorities said on Thursday. She was 65.

Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies of Ms. Arakawa and Mr. Hackman, 95, along with one of their dogs, on Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department. The cause of death was unclear and under investigation.

Mr. Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two during a 40-year acting career. In his later years, he became a published author, writing three historical novels, and he attributed his writing style, in part, to Ms. Arakawa.

“If in fact I have a style, it came from repeated edits, friends’ suggestions and my wife’s unwavering, specific read-throughs,” he told the “Writer’s Bone” podcast in 2014.

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Mr. Hackman would write his books with pen and paper, and Ms. Arakawa would type them up on a computer, making edits or sharing thoughts on characters with him, according to Barbara Lenihan, a friend of the couple for nearly 35 years.

“She was very involved with what he did,” Ms. Lenihan said. “She made it very possible for him to do it.”

Betsy Machiko Arakawa was born on Dec. 15, 1959, and grew up in Honolulu. She began playing the piano at a young age. At 11, as a sixth grader at Kahala Elementary School, she performed in front of thousands of students at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, now the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. She later performed with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, now the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra.

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Betsy Arakawa at her piano performance in Honolulu in 1971.Credit...Honolulu Star Bulletin

After moving to Los Angeles, she attended the University of Southern California from 1981 to 1983, graduating with a degree in social sciences and communication. During that time, she was a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Aztecs, a professional soccer team, and worked as a production assistant on the television game show “Card Sharks,” according to The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. She graduated with a master’s degree in liberal arts from St. John’s College in New Mexico in 1991.

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She met Mr. Hackman in the 1980s while she was working part-time at a fitness center in Los Angeles and trying to make it as a classical musician. Mr. Hackman had three children from a previous marriage, and in 1991 he and Ms. Arakawa married and settled in Santa Fe. Her survivors include her stepchildren, Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie, and a grandchild.

In 1989, when she was dating Mr. Hackman, she gave a concert to residents at the retirement home that was used as a German nursing home in his film “The Package.” After they married, she largely stopped performing in public.

Despite being married to a big-name actor, Ms. Arakawa kept her life private, avoiding interviews and staying off social media. She would appear at awards shows with Mr. Hackman, and was often on the set of his movies, but avoided the limelight.

“She had to do a lot of Hollywood things, but she was very private,” Ms. Lenihan said. “I think she could keep the parameters of their life together very well, and he appreciated that.”

In 2001, Ms. Arakawa, who had an eye for interior design, opened Pandora’s, a linens and home furnishings store in Santa Fe, with Ms. Lenihan. The longtime friends were running the store until Ms. Arakawa’s death.

A00118 - Dainin Katagiri, Japanese Zen Buddhist Who Founded Minnesota Zen Meditation Center

  Katagiri, Dainin

"The important point of spiritual practice is not to try to escape your life, but to face it -- exactly and completely."  (05/01/2022)

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Jikai Dainin Katagiri
Title	Roshi
Personal life
Born	January 19, 1928 Osaka, Japan
Died	March 1, 1990 (aged 62)
Nationality	Japan
Spouse	Tomoe Katagiri
Children	Yasuhiko Ejyo
Education	Komazawa University
Religious life
Religion	Buddhism
School	Sōtō
Senior posting
Teacher	Daicho Hayashi Eko Hashimoto
Based in	Minnesota Zen Meditation Center
Students

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Jikai Dainin Katagiri (片桐 大忍, Katagiri Dainin, January 19, 1928 – March 1, 1990), was a Sōtō Zen priest and teacher, and the founding abbot of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served from 1972 until his death from cancer in 1990. He is also the founder of Hokyoji Zen Practice Community in Eitzen, Minnesota. Before becoming first abbot of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, Katagiri had worked at the Zenshuji Soto Zen Mission in Los Angeles and had also been of great service to Shunryu Suzuki at the San Francisco Zen Center, particularly from 1969 until Suzuki's death in 1971. Katagiri was important in helping bring Zen Buddhism from Japan to the United States during its formative years. He is also the credited author of several books compiled from his talks.

Biography

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Hanging at the San Francisco Zen Center is this calligraphy piece by Katagiri Roshi which means "Deep Appreciation".

Zen studies

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Dainin Katagiri was born in Osaka, Japan on January 19, 1928. He was ordained a monk by and named a Dharma heir of Daicho Hayashi at Taizo-in in Fukui, and went on to study under Eko Hashimoto at Eiheiji for three years. After Eiheiji Katagiri enrolled at Komazawa University—the renowned Sōtō institution in Tokyo, Japan—majoring in Buddhist studies. In 1963 Katagiri was sent by the Soto Headquarters Office in Japan to Los Angeles, California to serve as a priest at the Zenshuji Soto Zen Mission. In 1965 he was sent to the Sokoji Soto Zen Mission in San Francisco, California to assist Shunryu Suzuki and later helped out the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC),^[1] which had shared the same building as Sokoji until 1969; Katagiri was of great help to Shunryu Suzuki, especially from 1969 onward.^[2] During his years in San Francisco, Katagiri sometimes toyed with the idea of opening up his own Zen community nearby. So, not long before Suzuki's death, he did open a zendo in his home in Monterey, California.^[2]

United States

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In 1972 Katagiri relocated to Minneapolis, MN. There he became abbot of a small group without a leader, which became known as the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (Ganshoji).^[3] There he also founded Hokyoji Zen Practice Community (Catching the Moon Zen Mountain Center), a country retreat temple in southeast Minnesota.^[4] A factor in deciding to go to Minnesota had been the fact that few, if any, Buddhist teachers were located there. Katagiri understood that the majority of teachers at this time were either in New York or California, with much of the country in-between in need of teachers.^[5] During the 1970s and 1980s Katagiri sent over many of his Western students to train at Zuio-ji in Japan, where Narasaki Ikko roshi was abbot.^[6] In 1984, in the wake of the Zentatsu Richard Baker controversy resulting in Baker's resignation as abbot of San Francisco Zen Center, Katagiri came at the request of SFZC and served as abbot there on an interim basis until 1985 (returning to Minnesota afterward). He remained there for the remainder of his life, succumbing finally to cancer on March 1, 1990;^[7] he left behind thirteen Dharma heirs.^[8]

Personal life

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Katagiri was married to Tomoe Katagiri in 1960, and they had two sons together (Yasuhiko and Ejyo). During his marriage, "he had engaged in sexual relationships with at least two women who were his students, and made unwelcome advances to some others."^[9]

Acclaim

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Soto priest and former student of Katagiri-Roshi, Zuiko Redding, has stated, "My basic memory of Katagiri is of how he paid total attention to what was in front of him. He took care of each thing as if it were the most important thing in the world, whether it was throwing away some trash or talking to another person. He really listened and tried to give the best answer he knew how to give. He also encouraged each of us to stand up in our own space, following our own wisdom rather than depending on him for answers or affirmation. I would sometimes tell him exactly what I thought about some idea he had, only to turn and see him smiling broadly at me, glad that I wasn’t buying into his agenda."^[10]

Dharma Heirs

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• Dōkai Georgesen^[11]
• Dosho Port^[12]
• Steve Hagen
• Teijo Munnich^[13]
• Joen Snyder O'Neal^[14]
• Nonin Chowaney
• Ven. Don Ramadon
• Yvonne Rand
• Norm Daitetsu Randolph^[15]
• Karen Sunna^[16]
• Shoken Winecoff^[7]
• Rosan Yoshida^[17]
• Emyo Nakayama

Bibliography

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• Katagiri, Dainin; Conniff, Yūkō; Hathaway, Willa (1988). Returning to Silence: Zen Practice In daily Life. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-87773-431-3. OCLC 16982186.
• Katagiri, Dainin; Hagen, Steve (1998). You Have to Say Something: Manifesting Zen Insight. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 1-57062-238-8. OCLC 38249757.
• Katagiri, Dainin (1999). Katagiri Roshi : Buddhist lay ordination lectures: a transcription of the lectures given January 6 to February 4, 1982 at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Katagiri Roshi Book Project. OCLC 56682716.
• Katagiri, Dainin; Martin, Andrea (2007). Each Moment is the Universe: Zen and the Way of Being Time. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-59030-408-2.
• Katagiri, Dainin; Martin, Andrea (2017). The Light That Shines through Infinity: Zen and the Energy of Life. Boulder: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-61180-466-9. OCLC 975110843.

See also

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• Minnesota Zen Meditation Center
• Buddhism in the United States
• Index of Buddhism-related articles
• Secular Buddhism
• Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States

References

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1. ^ Gach, Gary (1998). What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop. Parallax Press. p. 217. ISBN 0-938077-92-9.
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b Prebish, Charles S (1999). Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America. University of California Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-520-21697-0.
3. ^ Paprock, John-Brian; Paproack, Teresa Peneguy (2004). Sacred Sites of Minnesota. Big Earth Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 1-931599-26-2.
4. ^ Snelling, John (1991). The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice and History. Inner Traditions. p. 238. ISBN 0-89281-319-9. OCLC 23649530.
5. ^ Chadwick, David. "Interview with Tomoe Katagiri, widow of Dainin Katagiri-roshi". Crooked Cucumber. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
6. ^ Leighton, 28
7. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Ryumonji Zen Monastery - Teachers". Ryumonji.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
8. ^ Fields, Rick (2022). How the Swans Came to the Lake. Shambhala Publications. p. 421. ISBN 9781611804737.
9. ^ Minnesota Zen Centre, Ethics
10. ^ "Zuiko Redding Interview". Sweeping Zen. June 17, 2009. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
11. ^ "Leadership". hokyoji.tripod.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
12. ^ "SZBA, Ethics Violations".
13. ^ "Our Teacher « Great Tree Zen Temple". Greattreetemple.org. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
14. ^ "Compassionate Ocean Dharma Center: A Center for Mindful Living". Oceandharma.org. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
15. ^ "Teachers | Norm Randolph". Dharma Field. Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
16. ^ "Minnesota Zen Meditation Center". Mnzencenter.org. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
17. ^ "The Missouri Zen Center". The Missouri Zen Center. Retrieved 2012-10-13.

Further reading

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• Fields, Rick (1986). How the Swans Came to the Lake. Shambhala Publications distributed by Random House. ISBN 0-394-74419-5.
• Chadwick, David (1994). Thank You and Ok!: An American Zen Failure in Japan. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-14-019457-6. OCLC 29638449.
• Port, Dosho (2008). Keep Me In Your Heart A While: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri. Wisdom Publications. OCLC 664233541.
• Martin, Andrea. "Ceaseless Effort: The Life of Dainin Katagiri" (PDF). Minnesota Zen Meditation Center.

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Dainin Katagiri Roshi 
​

Dainin Katagiri Roshi (1928-1990) was a prominent Zen Buddhist teacher and priest, known for his influential role in bringing Soto Zen Buddhism to the United States. Born in Osaka, Japan, he was ordained as a monk in 1941 and later studied under several distinguished Zen masters, including Daicho Hayashi and Eihei Dogen's lineage.

In 1963, Katagiri Roshi moved to the United States, initially serving at the Soto Zen mission in Los Angeles. He later became a significant figure in the development of Zen practice in America, particularly in the Midwest. He was instrumental in founding the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, where he served as the primary teacher and abbot until his death.
​
Katagiri Roshi was known for his gentle and compassionate teaching style, emphasizing the importance of daily practice, mindfulness, and the interconnectedness of all beings. His teachings continue to inspire and guide many Zen practitioners through his writings and the communities he helped establish.

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Ten Teachings of Process Zen

inspired by the teachings of Dainin Katagiri Roshi 
​

1. The ultimate nature of existence is not beyond you, it is this life.
2. Sooner or later, we will all taste the energy of life; it is the cosmos in you and you in the cosmos.
3. Every moment in life is the place of enlightenment.
4. Every moment is connected to every other moment.
5. You are the process of living in the moment.
6. There is no gap between you and the process: just walk.
7. All you have to do is to be constantly present.
8. The truth of living is not a destination; it is just to live.
9. The best way to live is to walk in the way of compassion.
10. Compassion is awakening to the inter-becoming of all moments.

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