Issue:
December 2024 | Obituary
Gwen Robinson
Almost the opposite of a fashionista, with little regard for the latest trends, Mary had her own inimitable style, in recent years distinguished by her trademark beret, a snazzy scarf, long skirt and boots. She often evoked a cool 1970s style.
Rather than expensive designer items (sometimes presented by friends but usually politely disregarded in her wardrobe) she gleefully searched for bargains, sometimes boasting that she had found this skirt for just ¥1,000, or that hat for a few hundred yen in a discount store, and would occasionally present such items to girlfriends.
Her guiding fashion principle, she once said, was "don't buy anything that needs ironing".
In recent years, family responsibilities curtailed her earlier life of travel, although it never impeded her extensive networking and constantly growing circle of friends and admirers. She had vowed several times in recent years to arrange a short visit to old friends in Bangkok, although it became clear she knew it would not happen.
Even so, she enthusiastically accepted invites for the occasional “staycay" - when she would sneak off for a brief overnight at a nearby hotel, notably the JR-East Mets station hotel in Yokohama, or – a relatively recent highlight – her excursion to Izu peninsula to give a talk about her Marilyn Monroe project. With no trace of wistfulness she would enthuse during these rare jaunts: "You know I do still love a night in a hotel."
Gwen Robinson is Editor-at-Large for the Nikkei Asian Review and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
Robert Whiting
I have known Mary Corbett for decades, ever since I first joined the FCCJ in 1982. She and I served several terms together on the Club Board of Directors. She, my wife Machiko and I spent many pleasant evenings together over wine in the Main Bar.
What I remember about Mary was her energy – positive energy that she radiated non-stop. She was always in a good mood, always saying hello to someone she knew. It seemed like she was best friends with everyone in the club.
She was full of ideas, from renovating wine tasting to adding items to the Club menu during her many stints on the Food & Beverage Committee.
In the years before she unexpectedly passed away she had been working on a pet project, a book about Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio on their honeymoon in Japan. She asked me to edit the first chapter, which was pretty good (it turns out Joe was jealous that Marilyn got more attention in Japan than he did). I will try to see what I can do to get whatever she had finished published somehow.
RIP MARY. It was great to know you.
Robert Whiting is a best-selling author and journalist who has written several successful books on sport and contemporary Japanese culture, including You Gotta Have Wa (1989), The Meaning of Ichiro (2004), Tokyo Junkie (2021) and Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies: The Outsiders Who Shaped Modern Japan (2024).
