Marin Kitagawa was born in 1895 with a Japanese father and British mother. The household was lively and she got encouraged to speak up about things that mattered to her. That background seemed to spark an interest in fashion and art from both places but I am not totally sure how much one influenced the other over time.

She came across as outgoing and sociable and rarely held back when something needed saying. People noticed how she could lift the mood pretty easily even when things felt heavy. At the same time her cheerfulness sometimes made others think she was not that serious yet she had this steady drive to look out for people who needed help.

When the war started she decided to step in and by 1916 at twenty one she was volunteering as a nurse on the Britannic which had been turned into a hospital ship. The uniform was a navy dress under a white apron and veil with the red cross symbol. She helped care for soldiers coming back from the Mediterranean fighting and it must have been quite different from what she knew before.

She got along well with the other nurses and crew members and spent time talking to patients to keep their minds off things. Stories and jokes seemed to come naturally for her. Still the injuries and exhaustion wore on her more than she let on at first. There were moments of doubt but she kept going anyway.

The sixth trip in November took the ship across the Aegean toward Lemnos. She went about her usual work with the same energy as always. For her it was turning into a real test of keeping some hope going even when everything around felt uncertain.