After surviving the bombing of Tokyo and the great fire raid of 1945, Yoko's family endured some desperate times when the former upper-crust clan feared for their lives and had to beg for food. The family left Tokyo and moved to Scarsdale, New York, where Yoko enrolled as a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Manhattan in 1953. After immersing herself in the art world of Manhattan, Yoko met and married composer Toshi Ichiyanagi in 1956 (via Stanford.edu). Alongside Toshi, Yoko created something called "instructional art," which utilized others as part of a new creation. She began with something called "Painting to Be Stepped On," where she lay an empty canvas on the ground and allowed others to step all over it. She and Toshi worked with La Monte Young to create what they called "loft events" that created a buzz (via Stanford.edu).
Yoko and Toshi's marriage would end in 1962. Yoko attempted suicide, and her family committed her to a mental institution (via NNDB). While in the hospital, Yoko would meet another man who would change her life in more ways than one.
