As part of Sounders FC’s celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we are proud to participate in Our Stories are Your Stories(OSAYS). OSAYS is a grassroots storytelling campaign that highlights AAPI voices. Hosted by Wing Luke Museum, the campaign aims to drive understanding, empathy and connection.
Our Stories are Your Stories: Peter Tomozawa
We sat down with Sounders FC President of Business Operations, Peter Tomozawa, to learn about his AAPI heritage and family story. Tomozawa is the only Asian-American President of Business Operations in North American professional sports.
Tell us about your AAPI heritage and what makes you most proud about your family.
PT: I am a first generation Japanese American. My parents were born and raised in Japan. I was born in London, England. My younger brother was born in Pisa, Italy and we moved to the U.S. when I was six years old. My father was a physics professor, graduated from the University of Tokyo, worked at Cambridge, University of London, University of Pisa, Princeton, Stanford and finally we settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he became a full professor and to this day at the age of 91 goes to work six days a week and publishes research. We came to this country with nothing other than my father and mother’s desire to be in a country that symbolized equality of opportunity and freedom to think without constraints. I am most proud of my father’s incredibly brave decision to leave a certain and comfortable pathway in Japan at the University of Tokyo to strike out on his own to challenge and improve himself, and my mother’s subsequent drive to finish college at the age of 42 and become a cytologist despite never really mastering the English language.
We talk a lot about honoring our ancestors as we share stories – what is a particular story from your family that you hope is passed down through the generations, and why?
PT: My grandfather on my father’s side was a tenant farmer in Japan during the Great Depression. At one point, there was a discussion to move from Japan to Brazil as cheap land was being offered to farmers. Ultimately the decision was to stay in Japan given the risk and number of children (nine). This greatly influenced my father, and I believe shaped his own decision to do the opposite by giving up a pathway with certainty post the completion of his physics degree at the University of Tokyo, moving to England despite seemingly insurmountable language and societal barriers for both my father and mother. This lack of fear of the unknown and drive to continuously improve oneself is core to the culture and mindset of how my wife and I have lived our own lives and tried to raise our five children. They are grown up now and all of them live or have lived and worked abroad. My daughter lives and works in Argentina uses the motto “sin miedo,” which means “without fear”.
Is there a particular artifact that is important to you and your family? Share with us!
PT: Family crests in Japan are very common. Every family has one. The Tomozawa crest has five sections with five lotus flower petals and five spokes at the center. Five is a very important number to my family, as we have five children and my wife and I tend to collect things in groups of five.
What is your favorite restaurant in the C-ID and/or in other parts of the region – tell us about favorite dish and some memories of eating there.
PT: My favorite Japanese restaurant in C-ID is Tsukushinbo. Super hard to find but really good ramen. My favorite sushi restaurant in Seattle is Shiro’s on Second Avenue. We always go to Shiro’s whenever any one of my children come to Seattle. The Omakase (chef’s choice) is outstanding. Favorite Dim Sum is Din Tai Fung in the University District, Bellevue and Southcenter. There is a Din Tai Fung stand at Lumen Field and I pretty much buy the spicy wontons there nearly every game.
Our Stories are Your Stories: Sounders FC
Sounders FC is proud to contribute a video to OSAYS on the club’s behalf, to be preserved in the Wing Luke Museum oral history archives. Special thanks to the following members of the Sounders FC family for sharing their stories!
- Chalise Baysa // Sounders FC Fan; Former Member, Philippines National Team
- Laura Clise // Sounders FC Fan; CEO of Intentionalist
- Matt Look // Sounders FC Season Ticket Member
- Maya Mendoza-Exstrom // SVP of Legal and External Affairs, Sounders FC
