Day 173: Dr. Kazue Togasaki, San Francisco, California
📌APIA Every Day (173) - Dr. Kazue Togasaki, born in 1897 to Japanese immigrant parents in San Francisco, was one of the first two Japanese American women to earn a medical degree in the U.S. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires, she witnessed her mother convert their church into a makeshift hospital. This experience inspired Togasaki and several of her siblings to pursue careers in medicine.
Togasaki earned a degree in Zoology from Stanford University but struggled to find work in San Francisco due to racial discrimination. She faced similar treatment when she was younger, being forced to switch schools due to racial segregation. Despite excelling in a nursing program, she was not hired. Undeterred, she attended medical school at the Women’s College of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1933 [See Day 80 Post on Anandi Gopal Joshi who also graduated]. Upon returning to San Francisco, she established a medical practice and became a key healthcare provider for the Japanese American community. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 led to the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans, including Togasaki, who was sent to multiple American concentration camps. There, she set up medical facilities and provided essential care, including delivering over 50 babies in her first month at the Tanforan Assembly Center.
After her release in 1943, Togasaki returned to her home in San Francisco, which had been ransacked during her forced imprisonment. She rebuilt her medical practice and continued to serve the community for over 40 years. In 1970, she was recognized as one of the "Most Distinguished Women" by the San Francisco Examiner. Dr. Kazue Togasaki passed away in 1992 at the age of 95, leaving a lasting impact on the healthcare landscape for Japanese Americans in San Francisco.
LEARN MORE:
National Park Service: Dr. Kazue Togasaki
Association for Women in Science: Dr. Kazue Togasaki
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