Takuji Yamashita facts for kids

Takuji Yamashita (山下 宅治, Yamashita Takuji, 1874–1959) was a brave civil rights activist from Japan. He moved to the United States and faced many unfair rules and laws because he was Asian. Despite these challenges, he fought hard against three big problems: not being allowed to become a U.S. citizen, not being allowed to work in certain jobs, and not being allowed to own land. His actions helped pave the way for future changes.

Who Was Takuji Yamashita?

Takuji Yamashita was born in 1874 in Yawatahama, Ehime, a city on the Shikoku island of Japan. In the 1890s, he moved to the United States. He was very smart and had an amazing memory, which helped him a lot in school. He finished Tacoma High School in just two years! After high school, he went to the University of Washington law school. He was part of the second group of students to graduate from that law school in 1902. He even passed the state bar exam, which lawyers need to pass, with excellent results.

Why Couldn't He Be a Lawyer?

Even though Takuji Yamashita passed his law exam with high marks, the Washington State Supreme Court had doubts. They wondered if someone born in Japan could become a U.S. citizen. At that time, only citizens could practice law. Yamashita decided to fight this decision himself. He wrote a 28-page document to the court, which experts later said was very professional and clever.

However, the Supreme Court decided that he could not be an American citizen. Because of this, they said he could not work as a lawyer. This unfair decision was finally changed almost 100 years later, on March 1, 2001, long after Yamashita had passed away.

Fighting for Land Rights

In 1922, Takuji Yamashita faced another legal challenge. He appealed a law called the alien land law. This law stopped people of Asian descent from owning property. The lawyer for Washington state argued that Japanese people could not fit in unless their "marked physical characteristics" were gone. He even said that Black people, Native Americans, and Chinese people had already shown they could not become part of American society.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard Yamashita's case, which was called Takuji Yamashita v. Hinkle. Sadly, the court upheld the unfair law. This meant that the ban on Asians owning land in Washington stayed in place until 1966.

Later Life and Challenges

After his legal battles, Takuji Yamashita managed restaurants and hotels in cities like Seattle and Bremerton. He also ran a business selling oysters in Silverdale.

During World War II, a very difficult time for Japanese Americans began. The government issued Executive Order 9066, which forced many Japanese Americans, including Yamashita and his wife, into special camps. This was called Japanese American internment. They lost almost everything they owned. Yamashita and his family were held in camps like Tule Lake, Manzanar, and Minidoka.

After the war, they returned to Seattle. In 1957, after his daughter Martha passed away, Yamashita and his wife moved back to Japan. Takuji Yamashita died less than two years later in 1959. His life showed incredible courage in the face of unfairness.