Kosai, Joseph, 1934-1938.

Joseph H. Kosai (1934-2008) was a Tacoma-born, Japanese American educator and civil rights activist, who, as a child was forcibly evacuated from that city in 1942 as a result of Executive Order 9066, ultimately spending most of the war years in the Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho. Kosai was born on May 7, 1934 at St. Joseph Hospital to Gizo and Waki Kosai. His father was working in a sawmill at the time the United States entered World War II, and also operated a hotel in downtown Tacoma with his wife; the family would lose this business as a result of their internment. After being released from Minidoka, Joseph and his family settled in Ontario, Oregon. Kosai attended the University of Washington, served in the Army from 1956-1958, and completed his undergraduate degree at Eastern Oregon University in 1959. He also received a Masters degree from from the University of Puget Sound (1965). Kosai became a counselor at Grey Junior High School in 1959 and later taught math at Stadium High School and Hunt Junior High School. In 1966, he went to work at Tacoma Community College, where he spent twenty-three years in several positions, including Director of Admissions and Registrar. After his 1989 retirement, Kosai was active with many community organizations in the Tacoma area and continued to be involved with the national redress movement, serving as president of the Puyallup Valley Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL).