Mike M. Masaoka papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0656

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Mike M. Masaoka papers (1931-1991) provide information about the personal and professional activities of Mike Masaoka (1915-1991) and document the wide-ranging experiences of Japanese Americans since before the Second World War. The materials are divided into twelve sections. Within each section, documents are arranged chronologically. Undated documents, along with news clippings and miscellaneous pieces, conclude each section.

Section I contains material relating to Masaoka's personal life. These reflect his activities as a youth in Salt Lake City (scrapbooks, school papers, and yearbooks); his travels to Japan during the 1950s (an itinerary, and souvenirs); and awards and recognition given to him in the later part of his life. Included is a copy of his autobiography, They Call Me Moses Masaoka. There are also materials related to the Masaoka family, several transcripts of interviews of Masaoka, and business documents.

Correspondence to and from Mike Masaoka is arranged chronologically in Section II. Included is correspondence written by or addressed to Masaoka as an official of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). The correspondence, besides covering topics of a personal nature, is concerned with various issues important to Japanese Americans, including the topics of sections IV through XI. Correspondence found attached to another document remains with that document. Beginning in 1946, Masaoka maintained a handwritten record of daily activities, and these notebooks and note cards are located in Section III. These logs have been arranged chronologically, but are not indexed.

Section IV of the collection contains items concerned with the immigration activities and citizenship status of Japanese Americans. The materials discuss the early immigration of the Issei, battles over deportation, and renunciation of citizenship during the Second World War and later. Masaoka's jobbying activities in these areas made a significant impact on Congressional lawmaking during the 1950s, and this is reflected in documents produced by the U. S. Congress.

Items concerned with the Second World War evacuation of Japanese Americans from the west coast of the United States are gathered in Section V. Included are documents produced by the War Relocation Authority, the government agency created to handle the evacuation, and papers reflecting the activities of internees and government workers in the relocation centers. Any material, regardless of date, memorializing or discussing the War Relocation Authority, relocation center activities, and the impact of internment on Japanese Americans during the Second World War and afterwards, is located in Section V.

Section VI contains documents recording the activities of Japanese Americans in the United States armed forces, especially during the Second World War. Masaoka was one of these people, serving in Europe as part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and was later involved in veterans groups. Included are commemorative materials and documents reflecting the activities of veterans' organizations, memorial service memorabilia, and articles discussing the involvement of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in the Second World War.

Documents produced as a result of efforts to gain reparations for losses suffered by Japanese Americans as a result of relocation and internment during the Second World War are located in Section VII of the collection. Included are documents produced by the Japanese American Citizens League as a result of their efforts in lobbying for reparations. A significant portion of this section is devoted to documents stemming from the activities of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.

Section VIII contains records of, and documents published by, the Japanese American Citizens League, with which Masaoka was involved most of his life. These records are of a general, administrative nature. Documents which discuss the activities of the Japanese American Citizens League in specific areas, such as redress or immigration & naturalization, are filed in other sections of the collection.

Materials in Section IX consist of documents discussing and recording the experience of Americans of Japanese descent in areas outside of those covered in other sections of this collection. Topics include discrimination, demographics, culture, ethnicity, and general history. These subjects are reflected in articles, court documents, state election guides, exhibition brochures, and historical reports. The activities of political and cultural organizations are also represented. Section IX also contains documents reflecting the experiences of other religious, national, and racial minority groups in America.

The documents in Section X are concerned with Japanese trade, government, culture, and relations with the United States. Japan's diplomatic and economic relations with the United States are discussed in the form of articles and treaties. Many of the items in this section reflect on Masaoka's lobbying business, which actively pursued Japanese clients.

Section XI contains documents relating to Hawaiian statehood, while Section XII contains miscellaneous and oversize documents. Honors won by Masaoka in forensic competition, and medals relating to his military service, are also included here.

Addenda to the collection includes correspondence, veterans organization materials, Japanese American Citizens League papers, yearbooks, and scrapbooks.

Dates

1931-1991

Creator

Masaoka, Mike, 1915-1991 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Sketch

Mike Masaru Masaoka was born in Fresno, California, in 1915, the fourth of eight children of immigrant parents. A few years after his birth, his father moved the Masaoka family to Salt Lake City. It was there that he earned the nickname "Mike" while attending Salt Lake City schools. Later, he had his name legally changed. After graduating from West High School, he attended the University of Utah while working in his family's produce business and local restaurants. At both West and the University, he excelled in forensics. He was graduated from the University in 1937, after studying economics and political science.

Masaoka's first involvement with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) occurred in 1938, when he attended an annual gathering of the organization. He became interested in the group's goal of organizing second-generation Japanese Americans, or Nisei, in efforts to counteract increasing discrimination. Masaoka quickly became a leader in the JACL after organizing the Intermountain District Council in Utah and Idaho. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the JACL's role as the leading representative organization for the Nisei took on new significance when coping with the government's decision to evacuate and intern all West Coast noncitizens and Americans of Japanese ancestry. As the JACL National Secretary, Masaoka was sent to Washington, D.C. in an effort to mitigate the effects of forced removal and work towards the elimination of the internment camps. Before leaving for Washington, though, Masaoka wed Etsu Mineta.

In addition to exerting influence on the United States government concerning the situation of Japanese Americans, while in Washington Masaoka also worked towards the reinstatement of military service for Japanese Americans. His efforts resulted in the formation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Masaoka, along with his four brothers and many other Japanese American men, joined the 442nd, which served with honor in military campaigns in Italy and France.

After returning from military service, the JACL appointed Masaoka as its Washington Representative, a post at which he served full-time until 1952, and part-time until 1972. During his years as a lobbyist, Masaoka worked to reform immigration and naturalization laws, resulting in the repeal of the 1924 Japanese Exclusion Act and the abolishment of the National Origins Quota Immigration System. In addition, he lobbied for reparations for losses suffered by Japanese Americans who had been relocated to the internment camps, which assisted in passage of the Evacuation Claims Act of 1948. In the 1980s, he also played a role in the proceedings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, which investigated the topic of further redress. Throughout his years in Washington, Masaoka also supported passage of civil rights legislation, and was active in development of smooth Japan-U.S. diplomatic and economic relations. In addition to his lobbying efforts on behalf of the JACL, in 1953 Masaoka established his own consulting firm, Mike Masaoka Associates. His clients included both American and Japanese manufacturing firms, as well as a variety of trade associations.

Masaoka was involved in a variety of Nisei veterans associations, including the "Go For Broke" National Veterans Association. He was the first Nisei elected President of the Japan-America Society, a group with which he maintained a long association. In 1970, the Mike Masaoka Distinguished Public Service Award was established by the JACL as a way to recognize individuals who had made significant contributions to the well-being of the Japanese American community. He was the JACL "Nisei of the Biennium" in 1950, and the JACL has established the Mike M. Masaoka Fellowship Fund to develop leaders in public service at the national level. In 1968, Masaoka was awarded the Third Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan. In 1983, he was honored with the Second Class Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Emperor.

Masaoka's autobiography, They Call Me Moses Masaoka (written with Bill Hosokawa), was published by Morrow in 1987. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1991, after being plagued with heart problems during the previous decade. He was preceded in death by his two adopted children, and survived by his wife and one grandchild.

Extent

43 Linear Feet (88 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Mike M. Masaoka served as National Secretary (1941-1943) and Washington lobbyist (1945-1953) for the Japanese American Citizens' League. He was a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II and served as president of the Japan-America Society. He was active in issues of immigration reform and compensation for victims of wartime internment. The collection includes scrapbooks, yearbooks, correspondence, court and congressional documents, articles, oral history transcripts, and autobiography of Mike M. Masaoka which document his life as a Japanese American citizen. This collection documents the history and problems of Japanese American immigration, evacuation and internment during World War II, efforts to seek redress for damages, the Japanese American Citizens' League, minority issues of Japanese Americans, Japanese trade and culture, and Hawaiian statehood.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Boxes 1-81 were donated in 1992-1993 (40 linear feet).

Boxes 82-85 were donated in 1994 (1.5 linear feet).

Addendum boxes 1-3 were found in 1998 (1.5 linear feet).