[5] She has also been credited with helping to discover Mississippi John Hurt, a country blues musician, during the same era.
[5] Toshi's role as producer and director was portrayed by Japanese actor Eriko Hatsune in the 2024 film A Complete Unknown, directed by James Mangold.
[5] She recruited up-and-coming musical artists to perform at the festival through its planning committee, including Tracy Chapman, before they achieved popularity elsewhere.
[5] She served on numerous civic, environmental and artistic organizations, including the New York State Council on the Arts.
[2][5] Her mother, Virginia Harper Berry, was an American originally from Washington, D.C., while her father, Takashi Ohta, was a Japanese exile from Shikoku.
[1][2] Toshi, along with their children, went with Pete to his hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in Washington during the 1950s.
Toshi was preceded in death by her first child Peter Jr., who passed away as a baby; she was survived by her other three children: Tinya, Daniel, and Mika; six grandchildren, including singer Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, Cassie, Kitama, Moraya, Penny, and Isabelle; and one great-grandson.