Ryoko Rickie Kobayashi papers and photograph collection

Ryoko “Riyoko, Rickie, Rickey, Ricky” Kobayashi was born in Seattle, Washington on September 20, 1926. Her father, Katsuyoshi Kobayashi (b.1897-1996), owned a produce stall at Pike Market in Seattle and her mother, Fukuko Noguchi (b.1898-1988), was a homemaker. She has two brothers, Fred Kazuo Kobayashi and Yuji Kobayashi. While in Seattle, the family lived on the bottom floor of a two-flat building. A widower named Mr. Ikeda lived above them. The family referred to Mr. Ikeda as their “Dutch uncle” and considered him an honorary family member.

In 1937, Mr. Ikeda went to California in search of employment. After a short time, he invited Katsuyoshi to open a fruit and vegetable market with him in Santa Monica. The Kobayashi family moved to Los Angeles and Ryoko was enrolled in Bailey Gatzert School and Japanese School. Upon graduating from elementary school, she attended Berendo Junior High School and then Lincoln High School until her sophomore year. As a child, Ryoko suffered from epilepsy and it affected her academic performance. Due to a language barrier, her mother, Fukuko, did not inform the school of her daughter’s medical condition. Although Ryoko’s parents were Buddhist, they wanted to raise their children in a “western-style” and decided to send their children to a Baptist church.

In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Fukuko and Katsuyoshi lost their produce business and Fukuko burned all of the family’s Japanese literature and composition books. Shortly thereafter, the family was sent to the Santa Anita Assembly Center where they remained from April through September. While at the Center, Ryoko played on the girls’ volleyball team and worked as a waitress in a mess hall. In October, the family was sent to Jerome Relocation Center in Chicot and Drew Counties, Arkansas, where they lived for approximately two years. Ryoko finished her schooling while interned at Jerome. When Jerome closed, Ryoko and her family were sent to Rohwer Relocation Center in Desha County, Arkansas, where they remained until October of 1945.

When the family was released from Rohwer, they relocated to Chicago and her brother was drafted into the Military Intelligence Service. When Ryoko found steady work and her own her place, her parents decided to move back to Japan where they lived intermittently for the rest of their lives. Ryoko worked for the companies A.C. McClurg, Wexler, and then Louis Melinda for 25 years. She retired from the workforce in 1996. She was baptized in the Christ Congregational Church and then later decided to join the Roman Catholic Church. She currently resides in Chicago.

Source: Kobayashi, Ryoko