Sachi Sakaguchi grew up in Osaka as Japan was rebuilding after World War II. In 1971 she came to the United States as a Pan Am flight attendant and circled the world monthly on the airline’s prestigious international Route One. In the 1980s she married, became Sachi Braden, and lived the life of a well-off, stay-at-home wife and mother. When the marriage ended, she got her Realtor and broker licences and went into real estate. After marrying attorney Brad Coates in 1993, she started her own company — Sachi Hawaii: Pacific Century Properties LLC — in 2003.
In September, Braden, 68, published her first book, “Being Japanese in America,” a bilingual “cross-cultural primer” on American society as seen by “a successful transplant.”
Why did you decide to write a book?
I’ve been in the United States 46 years and now I’m taking time to look back at my experiences. And my husband was writing a book and he said, “I can teach you how to do it.” Now, when I reread it, I think “I wish I had this book when I was fresh off the boat.”
What do you want people to learn from your book?
As a woman in America, you really need to step up and voice your opinion, and to voice your opinion you have to have an opinion. Women becoming stronger and more financially independent is something I want to preach through this book too. Money means something, and money says something about who you are. Even though you have a “sugar daddy,” or you have a rich husband, I think it’s really important to control finances of your own.
Do you have a personal saying for success?
“I would like to do this” or “This is what I want to do.” Saying that helps you take charge.
What are some of the most memorable properties you’ve represented in Hawaii?
There was a house on Hawaii Loa ridge that was built by Japanese craftsmen who were brought here to build it using traditional Japanese techniques. And I sold a penthouse to a Japanese company that had an authentic tea house built in Japan, disassembled and sent here, and assembled in the penthouse.
What would you like to be doing five years from now?
I’d like to concentrate on staying in good physical shape and although I like to have “lots of balls in the air,” I’d like to be able to concentrate on a few things. That probably could elongate my life.
