Chiyoko Sakamoto (1912–1994) was California's first Japanese American female lawyer. Sakamoto was born on June 30, 1912 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to Hisamatsu and Kume Sakamoto. In 1938, she was admitted to practice law shortly after graduating from the

American University Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of no ...

. Sakamoto worked as a secretary during the four years of her legal studies. She became a legal assistant for a Japanese-American community leader after searching in vain for a law firm position. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, Sakamoto was imprisoned in the Granada Internment Camp. Upon being released in 1947, she struggled yet again with finding employment. Through her struggles, she met Harvard-educated African-American attorney Hugh E. Macbeth, Sr., who was a staunch defender of Japanese-Americans. He hired Sakamoto as an associate at his Los Angeles-based law firm. Sakamoto's coworkers included Eva M. Mack, a lawyer who worked with Macbeth, Sr. on the California Supreme Court case ''Davis vs. Carter'' that pertained to a housing discrimination suit filed by jazz musician

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

. At the time, Sakamoto was unique in working for a non-Nisei law firm. She eventually opened her own law firm in

Little Tokyo, Los Angeles Little Tokyo ( ja, リトル・トーキョー) also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, is an ethnically Japanese American district in downtown Los Angeles and the heart of the largest Japanese-American population in North America. It is t ...

and was one of the founders of the Japanese-American Bar Association and the California Women's Bar. Sakamoto's husband, Tohru Takahashi, was a farmer in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, and they owned various farms in California (she even managed some of them while simultaneously taking on cases). Sakamoto died in 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakamoto, Chiyoko 1912 births 1994 deaths Japanese-American internees California lawyers American jurists of Japanese descent Washington College of Law alumni 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers

See also

References