Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Thomas T. Kobayashi Interview
Narrator: Thomas T. Kobayashi
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: April 30, 2009
Densho ID: denshovh-kthomas-01

<Begin Segment 13>

TI: So let's talk about December 7, 1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Where were you, what were you doing?

TK: I think at that time I was at Seattle City Light working in the... in fact, I remember I was working in the accounting department. And I recall two men going into my supervisor's office, and they kept looking over at me. And I don't know, it was behind glass walls there. They must have been talking about me, and there were three other Japanese Americans working at Seattle City Light. We were the first ones hired by Seattle City Light.

TI: So let's talk about that. So you were working at the Asiatic Overseas.

TK: Yes.

TI: And then you, how did you move from there to Seattle City Light?

TK: Well, the, with the war coming on, we had to close the office at Asiatic Overseas. At that time, you had to get permits to ship anything overseas. Well, no more permits were forthcoming, so they were shut out. It was on the forty-second story of the Smith Tower. I can vaguely -- not vaguely, but I remember.

TI: So that was, for people, the Smith Tower, especially that high, that was...

TK: Forty-second floor.

TI: ...the first skyscraper. I mean, that was...

TK: It was. We were the highest building in the city then.

TI: And you got to take the elevator all the way up to the forty-second floor?

TK: Yes.

TI: That must have been special back then.

TK: Oh, it was. [Laughs] Then up above that was the Chinese restaurant.

TI: Because how many stories is the Smith Tower?

TK: I'm not sure how high that is.

TI: You were pretty much at the very top, I think.

TK: Forty-second story was pretty near the top, yes. That's where the, it levels off and then the tower goes up.

TI: Right. And so did you have a pretty good view from up...

TK: Oh, we had a nice view. Nice view of the Puget Sound.

TI: Well, I'm guessing that there are probably people who just wanted to go up there and see what it looked like.

TK: Oh, yes, oh, yeah.

TI: And then you would bring them up and show them.

TK: Oh, yeah. It was nice.

TI: But it sounds like, okay, so the permits weren't forthcoming, so you couldn't...

TK: Well, no more business with Japan.

TI: So at that time, you applied to work at Seattle City Light.

TK: Then I went to, well, I went to Civil Service, Seattle Civil Service, and they had openings. And one of the openings was at Seattle City Light, so that's how I got into Seattle City Light.

TI: And so what did you have to do to get hired by Seattle City Light?

TK: Well, you see, you had to take civil service tests. And the first three were chosen, they could choose any three. I was lucky to be one of the three, I think, to be sent to Seattle City Light. And it was a nice place to work because the supervisor was a Swedish guy, I think his name was Swenson or something like that. It was a good place to work, good people.

TI: But then after you were working there just for a while, the war started, and then you said these men came in and it looked like they were talking about you and the other Japanese.

TK: Yeah. They told me that I had to go.

TI: So this was before people were removed. You essentially, you were fired? Or when you say you had to go...

TK: I guess... I don't know if it was fired, but that would be the word, I think. Due to war circumstances.

TI: And was it because they viewed you as a, do you think, a security risk, and that's why?

TK: Security, I'm sure, yeah. See, there was three other Japanese. Ruth Kazama was one of them, and myself, and then there was another Japanese American working for Seattle City Light. And I think that was Don Kazama. But all three of us were let go -- no, it was a woman, I forget her name. We were all let go.

TI: And it was just Japanese Americans, not like... what about German Americans or Italian Americans?

TK: Not that I know of.

TI: And this was just, like days or weeks after December 7th?

TK: Well, I don't know. It must have just... weeks.

TI: I'm going to jump here a little bit, but in the '80s, I think Cherry Kinoshita worked on... I talked to her, and she said they worked to get redress payments for...

TK: That's right.

TI: ...for, I think you and the others who were...

TK: Yeah, that's right. I appreciate what she did for us. $20,000.

TI: Well, that was for the federal, right? I mean, for the city...

TK: The city gave us some monies, too.

TI: Right, but not $20,000, I think it was a lesser amount.

TK: I don't remember what it was then, but maybe $15,000, something like that. But Cherry Kinoshita was instrumental in all that.

TI: And so she got the city to do the payments and to apologize.

TK: She got the mayor or somebody to... yeah.

TI: And so you were one of those individuals. I was one of the three, yes. It's funny, I read about these things, I talk about people, but I didn't know who actually were one of them. So you're one of those men that...

TK: There was, Ruth Kazama was one of them, and there was another lady that I don't remember her name. I remember Mayor Rice, when we got the monetary payment, I forget what he said, but I think he said, "Good job," or something. He knew what our situation was. Good guy, he was.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.