The date of the birthday of Masako Katsura was 7 March 1913. Her nickname was Katsy. However, she was famous as the First Lady of Billiards. She was a Japanese carom billiards player. In the 1950s, she was at the peak of her career. However, she established a new sports society for women.
She performed her magic by participating in the male domain of competitive billiards. She also achieved many titles among the top players. She is the oldest female official player of billiards in Japan. She learned the skill and magic of pool from her brother-in-law. Then soon, she practiced with the instruction of the Japanese title holder, Kinrey Matsuyama. In Japan, she finished in second position three times in the country’s national three-cushion billiards championship. During the performance, she scored 10,000 points in the game of straight rail. She gained a lot of attention from society. She died on 20 December 1995.
How Masako Katsura wins her reputation by playing billiards
She immediately proved her skills in the billiard profession based on all this training. She participated in the championships and defeated top Japanese billiards players from neighboring regions.
She began performing billiards for the first time when she was young. Only a few months later, she achieved the women’s championship straight rail tournament for Japan. She was just 15 on that occasion. This was a challenging achievement. The youngest siblings of Masako Katsura also join her in the sport. Both won the same competition.
She was a skilled woman of billiards during a period when women did not play the game. As often in competitive environments, she made her achievements remarkable. Japanese society also disapproved of her performing the sport in public. This attitude continued until modern times.
The attitude of Masako Katsura also raised her achievements to a higher level. It was a direct result of this situation. She achieved superstar status in her state.
People started referring to her as the First Lady of Billiards during this time. She became popular by that title for her entire life. In the 1930s, she used it for her official identity.
Masako Katsura in United States
The billiards profession of Masako Katsura ended as a consequence of World War II. Then she continued her performance for the soldiers of the Japanese armed forces. The war was going on. After the wartime, she changed her attention. She started to perform billiard skills for the American soldiers after the war.
Her ultimate success on a global stage is attributed to her USA tour. One American soldier sent a letter about Masako Katsura to her daddy. Her daddy was also a billiard player. The name of the solider was Welker Cochran. He expressed his opinion by saying, “That girl is greater than you !”. Katsura was happy to go to the USA with Cochran.
In the USA, she won the international male billiards championships. Then she won the nationwide female’s pool competition and took first place in the billiard society.
Katsura went to the state of California in the year 1951. But she observed that billiard clubs in America were only for males. She performed in this male-dominated environment.
Masako Katsura confessed, “Since I arrived here, I’ve observed only male billiards players in the USA.” She said that some billiard clubs should be dedicated to females in the USA.
She gets a break for some Years to play billiard
She came back to Japan in 1958 and participated in 30 events. After that, she published two books that educated Japanese readers on practicing pool. She sold these books only in Japan.
Competition with Harold Worst
The billiards community was driven into a craze when news channels announced that Katsura would perform in an international tournament versus Harold Worst at the Randolph Recreations place in Chicago. The contest continued for one week and got a value of up to 1,200 scores.
After that, the exhibition was transferred to Philadelphia. Masako and Harold Worst participated in six rounds to 50 scores (3 cushions) in Philadelphia.
Masako Katsura Cause of Death
Masako Katsura Cause of death was natural aging phenomena. Her age was at around 82 years. She has remained ill for almost 5 years. But she died on 20 December 1995. People do not believe any sickness or condition contributed to her death. Instead, people thought it was only her destiny to leave this world. People recognized her as a warm-hearted lady. She improved billiard sports and changed the thoughts of society. People will always remember her countless achievements and awards long after her death. I pray that she finds everlasting peace.
You can also read about Amanda Aldridge.
Masako Katsura Agency
The Imperial Household Agency Website is associated with her. But it does not belong to Masako or this carom billiard player. This is not true. It belongs to the interests and vision of the Royal Family.
Net worth
She has approximately USD 6 Million based on her internet sources of income (Wikipedia, Google, and Yahoo searches). This net worth increased when Google Doodle celebrated World Women’s Day with the image of Masako Katsura in 2021. World Women’s Day is on 8 march every year.
Her Memories and legacy
Masako Katsura is famous as one of the strongest billiards players in the history of the billiard.
She also got the player of the Generation title. This title was presented by the United States Billiard Media Association in 2003. In 1966, the society of the USA also welcomed her into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.
Google also celebrated the legacy of Masako Katsura with a Google Doodle image. This image appeared on Google SERP on World Women’s Day in March 2021.
Final thoughts
The legacy of Masako Katsura is going on today. She will remain remembered as the first lady of billiard forever. The woman all around the world can learn and get inspiration from her.
You can also read about Edmond Dédé.
