Guyo Tajiri (1915–2007) joined with her husband Larry Tajiri as editor and staffer of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) newspaper Pacific Citizen during World War II and the early postwar years, and kept the community informed of events through her advice columns, book reviews and reporting.
The 1950-52 California court case Haruye Masaoka v. California (39 Cal 2nd 883) was the final victory in a series of postwar legal cases by Japanese Americans in California courts that led to the demise of the state’s established Alien Land Act.
Southern California Nisei writer of short stories Hisaye Yamamoto (1921–2011) was among the first Japanese American writers to win national renown after World War II.
A leading Nisei activist in the 1940s, Ina Sugihara (1919–2004) was a frequent contributor to the press, both Japanese American and outside, and built coalitions for civil rights across racial lines.
Award-winning poet, dancer, activist and educator Janice Mirikitani (1942–2021) was internationally known and respected for her life-long commitment to addressing the horrors of war and for advocating against institutional racism and the enslavement of women and the poor.
Textile artist Chio Tominaga (1883-1986) was originally from Kumamoto, Japan, and immigrated to the United States in 1912 as a picture bride.
Loretta Chiye Mori was a poet and journalist who contributed regular columns and articles to numerous Southern California Japanese American publications.
Lieutenant governor of Hawai’i, 1979–83.
Artist and musician
Internationally acclaimed master weaver and fiber artist