Toru Sakahara

A loving father and respected leader in the Northwest Japanese American community, attorney Toru Sakahara passed away peacefully among close family members Saturday April 26th in Seattle, WA, at age 91.

Born September 19, 1916 in Tacoma, WA, Toru was the eldest of six children of Tojiro Sakahara, a prominent Fife area farmer originally from Osaka, Japan, and his wife Kazue Hattori of Kumamoto. After receiving his BA from the University of Washington in 1940, Toru became one of the first Japanese American students to win admission to the UW School of Law, where he studied until receiving notice of relocation in March of 1942. Toru and his college sweetheart Kiyo married quickly to avoid placement in separate internment camps, and were transferred together to the relocation facility at Minidoka, Idaho.

With the intercession of a UW Dean, the Sakaharas were soon released, and Toru completed his law degree at the University of Utah in 1944.

He was admitted to the Utah State Bar the same year, and the Washington Bar in 1946. In 1953, Sakahara was accredited to practice before the US Ninth Circuit Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals, and in 1965 founded Sakahara and MacArthur, a groundbreaking minority-and-female owned law firm.

A lifelong civil rights advocate, Sakahara was instrumental in the

1966 repeal of the Alien Land Law, which since 1921 had prohibited land ownership in Washington State by immigrants of Asian descent. In 1968, in the midst of nationwide urban unrest, Toru convened an unprecedented meeting between International District leaders and members of the Black Panther Party, where his incisive plea for racial justice helped defuse tensions in Seattle's Central Area.

Sakahara's leadership in civic organizations included presidencies of the Japanese American Citizens League, Seattle Japanese Community Service, Jackson St. Community Council and the Seattle Citizens Housing Board, where he served as a member until 1978. Toru was past President of the Seattle First Hill Lions Club, and was active in a wide network of community associations including the Seattle Japanese Language School, Japan-America Society, and the forthcoming Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington. Toru's longstanding service on behalf of the community was honored by the Emperor of Japan, who awarded him the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class, in March of 1984.

A devoted husband and father, Toru is survived by his wife Kiyo, son David and daughter Julie, all of Seattle; daughter April, of Bellingham; brother Hiroshi, of Houston, TX; grandchildren Michael Sakahara of Reston, VA, Brett Sakahara of Houston, TX, Melissa Sakahara of Seattle, and Brennen Smith of Bellingham; and great-grandchildren Tiffany and Joshua Sakahara of Houston, TX.

Toru's hard work, considered judgment, and conciliatory style made him a natural leader in his community, his city and throughout his native Northwest. His good humor and deep sense of fairness made him beloved of his extended family and a wide circle of friends. We are privileged to have known and loved him, and his example will remain a model of a life lived well, and to the fullest. A memorial service will be held at 2pm on Friday, May 16th at Blaine Memorial Church in Seattle. Remembrances may be made in care of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington.