Michi Kobi

Michi Kobi, born Machiko Kobinata Okamoto on November 2, 1924, in Sacramento, California, was an American actress whose Broadway career spanned from 1954 to 1963. She died on March 1, 2016, in Manhattan, New York City.

Kobi's family history was rooted in Japanese immigration to the United States. Her father, Rikikazu Okamoto, arrived in America at age 17 in 1902 and established himself as a doctor. In 1923 he traveled to Japan, where he married Ito Kobinata before returning to Sacramento with his new wife. The family's life in California was disrupted by World War II: following President Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066, Kobi and her mother were relocated first to the Tanforan Assembly Center and subsequently to the Topaz War Relocation Center.

After the war, Kobi moved to New York City to pursue an acting career and remained there for the rest of her life. She studied acting at New York University. Beyond the stage, she supported herself through work as a model, secretary, and translator, including translation work for the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). She was vocal in her opposition to sanitized portrayals of conditions in the World War II internment camps and actively campaigned for a formal apology and reparations.

Her Broadway credits included The Teahouse of the August Moon and the original 1963–1964 Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, in which she played Nurse Nakamura. Her screen work included the films Tokyo After Dark (1959), in which she played Sumi Fukita; 12 to the Moon (1960), in which she played Dr. Hideko Murata; Hell to Eternity (1960), in which she played Sono; and Cry for Happy (1961), in which she played Hanakichi. Her television credits included The New Adventures of China Smith (1954) and a 2004 episode of Law & Order titled "Gaijin," in which she played Mrs. Ito. She also appeared in the 1991 film American Rickshaw as Old Madame Luna.

Kobi ultimately stepped away from acting, citing the scarcity of substantive roles available to Asian women. Hiroaki Sato, who knew Kobi for thirty years, wrote an article upon her death.