Oral History Interview with Chiyoe Manji Kobayashi

Kibei female, born February 29, 1920 in Marysville, California to a farm family. She attended local public schools until 1936 when, at age sixteen, she was sent to Japan to complete her education. It was customary in the 1930s to send sons and eldest daughters to Japan to learn Japanese culture. In 1940 she married Iwao Kobayashi, an officer in Japan�s Imperial Navy; three children were born to them. The Kobayashi�s led an upper class life style as the navy was the elite unit within military service. This all ended with the war; they lost everything. Chiyoe�s family owned land but it was confiscated as tenants were farming the land instead of the family. The land was given to the tenants. After leaving the navy, Mr. Kobayashi worked as an engineer and Chiyoe as a secretary to the Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces. In 1953, the family visited the United States. For Chiyoe it was the first return since 1936. The family returned to the U.S. permanently in 1957. Mr. Kobayashi worked as a gardener. Chiyoe sorted peaches and cleaned houses. They moved to Sacramento in 1989 to be near their children.