Wada wanted to become a painter, and even though there were few women studying painting in university, her liberal family supported her dream.
She took the entrance exam and entered the Department of Western Painting in Kyoto City University of Arts.
However, instead of studying abroad on scholarship, she married Tsutomu Wada at age 20, six months after their first encounter.
[1] Despite having initially gone to school to become a painter, her relationship with her husband led to designing the stage effects and costumes for plays he was involved with.
[6] Her work for the 2015 production of The Peony Pavilion was described by The Washington Post as "some of the loveliest ballet creations in memory" with the newspaper further noting that: "Skirt hems flickered like flames as the dancers moved, and the leading ballerina’s sheer overdress floated around her like an afterglow.