Kiyo Takahashi was the eldest child in her family, born in San Francisco in February 1913. She became the “designated driver” for her family and would chauffeur family members, friends, and visitors from out of town around the city. After one such visit by the captain and some crew members of the Japanese ship that had carried her and her mother to Japan and back on a business trip, the captain wrote in his thank-you note: “You are captain of the land ship.”
Kiyo was 29 years old when the Takahashis were forced to sell their store on Grant Avenue and incarcerated in Tanforan.
In Topaz, Kiyo worked as a medical records secretary at the Topaz Hospital. Because of her age and single status, Issei mothers constantly tried to set her up with their sons. Tired of being the target of unsolicited amorous intentions, Kiyo resettled in Chicago in 1944.
Kiyo was my aunt–the storyteller in our family. Read “Kiyo’s Story.”
The Topaz Stories team
Contact us if you have a Topaz Story to share.
Follow us on Instagram @topazstories
Media Coverage:
Watch Topaz survivors tell their stories (abc4 news, 4/22/2022)
Listen to the “In the Hive” podcast with interviews with Ann Dion, Jonathan Hirabayashi, and Topaz survivors Jeanie Kashima and Joseph Nishimura (KCPW, 4/28/2022)
Read How a Utah exhibit about Topaz Camp looks to find empathy in ‘an ugly stain on American history (ksl.com, 4/22/2022)
Read “Topaz Stories rise from the dust,” (Department of Culture & Community Engagement, 4/2022)
Listen to KQED Forum, Day of Remembrance interview with Ruth Sasaki, 2/15/2022
Listen to Max Chang and Ruth Sasaki interviewed (KRCL RadioActive, 2/9/2022
Read On Topaz Stories and ‘Authentic Voice’, the Discover Nikkei interview with Ruth Sasaki (10/14/2022)
Listen to Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration, the Topaz Stories podcast with Ruth Sasaki and Jonathan Hirabayashi (6/2/2021)