both of her parents came from wealthy families. her father, who was a descendant of a former emperor of japan, had been a concert pianist before giving up music to become a banker. ono was tutored privately, then sent to exclusive private schools, studying classical music and art, and also learning english. she visited the united states before world war ii with her family. her father was on a business trip to the u.s. when the war began, and was with many other japanese in the country. he was not able to communicate with his family for many years. ono's mother took her, her brother and sister away from tokyo, and they stayed in a rural area.