Chieko Utsumi

Utsumi was born in 1903. Her father was a professor at Meiji University, and the school's basketball coach.^[1] She graduated from Woman's Christian College of Japan, and attended Wellesley College as a special student beginning in 1928, sponsored by the YWCA.^[2][3][4] She was still at Wellesley in 1930 to assist at Japanese-themed parties given at Wellesley College^[5] and the Cosmopolitan Club,^[6] and in spring 1931, when the Prince Takamatsu visited the school, and she presented a bouquet to Princess Takamatsu.^[7][8] She was awarded a certificate in hygiene and special education from Wellesley in June 1931.^[9]

After returning to Japan in the 1930s, Utsumi taught physical education and was director of the Physical Education and Recreation department at Tokyo Women's Christian University.^[10] She served on committees of the Ministry of Education during the 1940s and 1950s.^[11][12]

In 1950 and 1951, Utsumi and Olympic swim coach Torahiko Miyahata toured and studied women's physical education programs in the United States, including stops in Cleveland, Detroit,^[13] St. Louis,^[14] Iowa City,^[15] and at Stanford University.^[16] In 1951, she published a Japanese translation of the rules of women's basketball, as established by the National Section on Women's Athletics (NSWA), in hopes of popularizing the sport.^[17] She was recognized for her contributions to women's physical education in 1976, with a Fourth Class of the Order of the Precious Crown from the emperor of Japan.^[2]