Kazue Togasaki

Dorktales Podcast: Episode 53

Hidden Heroes of History

Kazue Togasaki

A story of duty, dedication, and deliveries! Dr. Kazue Togasaki was one of the first Japanese American women to become a doctor in the US. Inspired by her experience in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, she overcame gender and racial barriers to start her own medical practice. But it was living in a Japanese internment camp during World War II where she showed her moxie – setting up make-shift facilities to provide vital health care to her community and delivering over 10,000 babies during the course of her career. 

Did You Know?

Dr. Kazue Togasaki was one of the first Japanese American women to become a doctor in the United States.

Born in 1897 in San Francisco, Dr. Togasaki was one of eight children, and her parents owned and operated a successful shop in the city. She was described by her family as “strong-willed” because she was determined and brave.

When she was 9 years old, the massive 1906 earthquake happened, causing shock waves from Southern Oregon to Los Angeles. It lasted less than a minute but it destroyed many of San Francisco’s buildings and it ignited several fires that burned for three days. Many people were injured, so she helped her mother turn their community’s church into a makeshift hospital.

She and her mother helped take care of the wounded and young Kazue went to hospitals with other Japanese American women to act as their translator. These experiences inspired her and many in her family to go into medicine.

When she grew up, Dr. Togasaki received a degree in Zoology from Stanford University, but struggled to find work due to prejudice against Japanese Americans.

Dr. Togasaki was accepted into a nursing program at a Children’s Hospital after her time at Stanford, and finished at the top of her class. Even with this accomplishment, she still was not hired.

She decided to leave San Francisco and go to medical school in Philadelphia at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. This was the second medical institution in the world established to train female doctors.

After receiving her degree in 1933, Dr. Togasaki moved back to San Francisco where she started a practice, bought a home, and began to live her life as a doctor.

When World War II was declared, Dr. Togasaki, like all Japanese Americans, was forcibly placed into a Japanese American internment camp. These were places where individuals’ rights were restricted and they were not allowed to leave. It was an unjust and unfair response to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Dr. Togasaki was first relocated to an assembly center, which were holding areas where people waited to be placed into more permanent camps. The assembly centers did not have livable conditions, so she set up medical facilities so that her community could receive basic medical care, vaccinations, and support while giving birth. During her first month at the center, she delivered over 50 babies.

Throughout the war, Dr. Togasaki was moved to several different centers and continued to lead and provide vital health care until she was released in 1943. She returned to San Francisco and continued to serve her community for forty years. Over the course of her career, she delivered over 10,000 babies!

She opened her home to patients that needed extra support, and she treated people even if they were unable to pay for her services. She was recognized as one of the “Most Distinguished Women of 1970” by the San Francisco Examiner for her good work in the community.

Dr. Kazue Togasaki was a true pioneer in the field of medicine and a role model for her sense of duty, compassion, and service to others.