Mitsuye Endo facts for kids

Mitsuye Maureen Endo Tsutsumi (born May 10, 1920 – died April 14, 2006) was an American woman of Japanese heritage. During World War II, she was forced to live in an internment camp. Mitsuye Endo bravely challenged this unfair treatment. She filed a special legal request called a writ of habeas corpus. This led to a major decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled that the government could not keep a loyal American citizen locked up.

Mitsuye Endo's Early Life

Mitsuye Endo was born in Sacramento, California, on May 10, 1920. Her parents, Jinshiro and Shima Endo, were immigrants from Japan. Mitsuye was the second of their four children. Her father worked in a grocery store selling fish. Her mother was a homemaker.

Mitsuye grew up in a home where English was spoken. Her family followed the Methodist faith. Her older brother, Kunio, joined the U.S. Army. By 1940, her family lived in a large Japantown in Sacramento. This neighborhood was home to many Japanese-American families and businesses.

After finishing Sacramento High School in 1938, Mitsuye went to secretarial school. She then got a job as a typist for the California State's Department of Motor Vehicles. This was one of the few jobs Japanese Americans could get back then because of widespread discrimination.

Forced Relocation and Internment

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. This event caused great fear and prejudice in the U.S. Soon after, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. This order forced Japanese Americans living on the West Coast to leave their homes. They were sent to U.S. concentration camps, also called internment camps.

Because of this order, Mitsuye lost her job. She and her entire family were sent away. Their first stop was the Tule Lake War Relocation Center. This camp was about 300 miles north of Sacramento. Later, Mitsuye was moved to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. There, she met Kenneth Tsutsumi, who would become her husband.

Fighting for Justice: The Ex parte Endo Case

Mitsuye Endo's most famous act was her legal challenge against the U.S. government. This case is known as Ex parte Endo.

Challenging Unfair Detention

After Japanese Americans were sent to camps, a lawyer named James C. Purcell decided to fight for them. He wanted to challenge the government's actions and close the camps. Purcell looked for the perfect person to represent the lawsuit. He chose Mitsuye Endo.

Mitsuye was a good choice because she was a Methodist and had never left the United States. She had graduated from a public school in Sacramento. She had no ties to Japan, and her brother was serving in the U.S. Army. Most importantly, Mitsuye was willing to stay in the camp throughout the entire court case. This was a very brave decision.

On July 13, 1942, Purcell filed a writ of habeas corpus for Mitsuye. This is a legal request that asks a court to decide if a person is being held legally. Purcell argued that the government could not lock up people without a trial or charges just because of their nationality.

Mitsuye's Courageous Choice

The first court, the U.S. District Court in Northern California, denied Mitsuye's request. The War Relocation Authority then offered to release her and her family. But there was a condition: they could never return to the West Coast or their old home. Mitsuye said no. She knew that accepting the offer would mean giving up her fight for justice.

Mitsuye's refusal meant she stayed in the camp for two more years. She later wrote about her decision:

The fact that I wanted to prove that we of Japanese ancestry were not guilty of any crime that we were loyal American citizens kept me from abandoning the suit.

Her case continued to be appealed. On April 22, 1944, it reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court's Decision

In October 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court made a very important decision. They ruled that people of Japanese descent could not be held in camps without proof that they were disloyal. The court said that keeping loyal Japanese Americans in these camps was wrong. They called it "unconstitutional resort to racism."

On December 18, 1944, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Ex parte Mitsuye Endo. They stated clearly that the government could not detain citizens who were loyal to the United States.

The day before this ruling, President Roosevelt heard that the court would rule against his order. He then issued an order allowing Japanese Americans to return to the West Coast.

Life After the Camps

After their release, Mitsuye and Kenneth Tsutsumi moved to Chicago, Illinois. They got married on November 22, 1946. Mitsuye's parents and two sisters also moved to Chicago. They found a community of other Japanese Americans there. They settled down and raised three children.

Mitsuye worked as a secretary for the Mayor Edward J. Kelly's Committee on Race Relations. She and her family rarely talked about their time in the camps. They tried to fit in and move forward. Mitsuye's own daughter didn't learn about her mother's important lawsuit until she was in her twenties.

Later in her life, Mitsuye was interviewed for a documentary. She said that her time in the camp and the court case "seemed like a dream" to her. She was amazed that her case went all the way to the Supreme Court. "I never believed it, that I would be the one," she said.

Mitsuye Endo passed away from cancer on April 14, 2006, at the age of 85.

Remembering Mitsuye Endo

Mitsuye Endo's bravery has been recognized. In May 2015, Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii suggested that she receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is one of the highest civilian awards in the United States. Several U.S. Representatives also supported this idea. In 2015, the California Senate also passed a resolution asking for her to receive this honor.