As a young widow, Kushida had difficulty making a living. She dedicated her life to improving Japanese women’s lives, helping make them more equal in Japan’s male-oriented society.
She co-founded the Federation of Japanese Women’s Organizations, currently an umbrella of 19 associations with 900,000 members, and was the organization’s president since 1958. She also was a well-known peace activist and, in the 1940s, was the first secretary general the Women’s Democratic Club. Kushida died February 5 at age 101.