Tsuyako Kitashima
Encyclopedia
Tsuyako "Sox" Kitashima was a Japanese-American activist noted for her role in seeking reparations for Japanese American internment
by the United States government during World War II, particularly as investigated by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
in the 1980s.
Kitashima was born in 1918 in Hayward, California
to parents who had emigrated from Yamaguchi Prefecture
, Japan and owned a strawberry farm. She had five siblings. At school, her classmates were unable to pronounce her name, calling her "Socko" instead; this in time was further shortened to "Sox". Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941, Kitashima and her family were among those 120,000 Japanese Americans interned into relocation camps. They were kept in horse stalls at Tanforan, California, and later moved to a single room at Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. In August 1945, Kitashima married.
She later became a spokesperson for the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations, and fought for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
, by which the American government formally apologized and granted reparations to the wartime internees. In 1998, The Freedom Forum awarded her a Free Spirit Award, which came with US$
10,000. She has also been recognized by the National Women's History Project
as a National Women's History Month/Week honoree.
Kitashima died of a heart attack in a care home in San Francisco, California
on December 29, 2006, aged 87.
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
by the United States government during World War II, particularly as investigated by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians
The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians was a group of people appointed by the U.S. Congress to conduct an official governmental study of Executive Order 9066, related wartime orders and their impact on Japanese Americans in the West and Alaska Natives in the Pribilof...
in the 1980s.
Kitashima was born in 1918 in Hayward, California
Hayward, California
Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...
to parents who had emigrated from Yamaguchi Prefecture
Yamaguchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :...
, Japan and owned a strawberry farm. She had five siblings. At school, her classmates were unable to pronounce her name, calling her "Socko" instead; this in time was further shortened to "Sox". Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on December 7, 1941, Kitashima and her family were among those 120,000 Japanese Americans interned into relocation camps. They were kept in horse stalls at Tanforan, California, and later moved to a single room at Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. In August 1945, Kitashima married.
She later became a spokesperson for the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations, and fought for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
Civil Liberties Act of 1988
The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 is a United States federal law that granted reparations to Japanese-Americans who had been interned by the United States government during World War II. The act was sponsored by California's Democratic Congressman Norman Mineta, an internee as a child, and Wyoming's...
, by which the American government formally apologized and granted reparations to the wartime internees. In 1998, The Freedom Forum awarded her a Free Spirit Award, which came with US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
10,000. She has also been recognized by the National Women's History Project
National Women's History Project
The National Women's History Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving women's history. Based out of Santa Rosa, California since 1980, it was started by women's history activists Molly Murphy MacGregor, Mary Ruthsdotter, Maria Cuevas, Paula Hammett and Bette...
as a National Women's History Month/Week honoree.
Kitashima died of a heart attack in a care home in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on December 29, 2006, aged 87.
External links
- Tsuyako Kitashima at Discover Nikkei
- Tsuyako Kitashima at What if No One's Watching?