He lost his eyesight but never his vision.
March 22, 1903: James “Jimmie” Sakamoto, a boxer, newspaper publisher, and JACL founder, was born in Seattle.
Jimmie Sakamoto emphasized “American” in Japanese American.
He was born in Seattle to Issei parents, Osamu and Tsuchi Sakamoto, who had immigrated from Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1894.
At Franklin High School, he became a standout athlete. Weighing just over 120 pounds, he played a “scrappy” halfback on a football team that defeated its cross-town rival for the first time in school history.
In 1920, at just 17 years old, Sakamoto testified before the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. He told lawmakers he “wanted to be American more than Japanese.” His testimony was received favorably.
Photo by Francis Stewart
Osamu and Tsuchi Sakamoto. Jimmie Sakamoto’s parents, who immigrated from Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1894.
Courtesy of The Seattle Times
17 year old Jimmie Sakamoto and Dorothea Okajima at a hearing July 27, 1920. He said he wanted to be American more than Japanese.
Courtesy of the Sakamoto Family
Jimmie Sakamoto became the first Japanese American to fight at Madison Square Garden. He used aliases to take on more fights. The damage cost him his eyesight.
The Cost of Fighting
After graduating, Sakamoto moved to New York, where he worked as editor of the English-language section of the Japanese American News. He held the position for three years.
To supplement his income, he turned to boxing.
Sakamoto became the first Japanese American to fight at Madison Square Garden. He fought under multiple aliases to bypass restrictions on the number of bouts a boxer could take.
The cost was permanent. The repeated blows caused irreversible damage to his retinas. By 1927, his eyesight had begun to fail. Soon after, he was completely blind.
Building a Voice
Sakamoto returned to Seattle and rebuilt his life.
In 1928, he and his wife Misao founded the Japanese American Courier, the first Japanese American newspaper published entirely in English. He dictated and typed the stories. Misao handled layout, printing, and business operations.
In its first issue, Sakamoto made his mission clear. The paper would help “encourage the synthesis of the two cultures” and close “the mythical gap between the East and the West.”
By 1940, the Courier reached over 4,000 readers.
The inaugural issue of the Japanese American Courier (January 1, 1928). A publication shaped by the rising Nisei generation — American-born and full of optimism.
Courtesy of Densho / Aoki Collection
Group in front of the Japanese American Courier office. In 1928, Sakamoto founded the first Japanese American newspaper published entirely in English.
Pacific Citizen Vol.089 #74 Dec 21, 1979
Pioneer JACL members, 1930. Seated front row, center is Jimmie Sakamoto, a key figure in the early Japanese American civil rights movement.
Courtesy of Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA
The first JACL National Convention convened in Seattle, Washington, on August 29, 1930. It marked the beginning of the oldest Asian American civil rights organization in the U.S.
Leading a Movement
Sakamoto helped establish the Japanese American Citizens League in Seattle in 1930. From 1936 to 1938, he served as its national president.
At the same time, he edited the Pacific Citizen, the national JACL newspaper, while continuing to run the Courier.
He also founded the Courier League, an Asian American sports organization in the Pacific Northwest.
Sakamoto believed deeply in what he called the “Citizens Movement” — a push to demonstrate the value of Nisei as Americans. He wrote:
“In this way discrimination will start crumbling and harmony can be attained.”
War and Disillusionment
After Pearl Harbor, Sakamoto became a key leader in Seattle’s Japanese American community. He led the JACL’s Emergency Defense Council, working with government officials, translating military orders, and organizing relief efforts.
Then came removal. Sakamoto was sent to the Puyallup Assembly Center, ironically called “Camp Harmony.” There, the JACL was allowed to help administer parts of the camp.
Many inmates saw this as collaboration. They called JACL leaders “inu,” or dogs. Sakamoto became a target of that anger. It was a period of disillusionment.
When he was later transferred to Minidoka, he stepped away from camp politics entirely.
Courtesy of The Seattle Times
Camp Harmony, Puyallup, Washington, 1942. A fairground turned detention center, where families were sent within days of removal.
Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration
Minidoka Relocation Center, Hunt, Idaho, 1942. A remote camp in the desert, where incarceration became daily life.
Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration
The Sakamoto family at Minidoka, Idaho, December 11, 1943. One of thousands of Japanese American families incarcerated during World War II.
Photo by Elmer Ogawa / UW Special Collections
James Sakamoto at the St. Vincent de Paul Store, May 24, 1954. Rebuilding a life after incarceration.
Courtesy of Seattle JACL
James “Jimmie” Sakamoto. He never stopped believing in a Japanese American future.
A Quiet Life After War
After the war, Sakamoto did not return to public leadership. He declined to restart the Courier. He stepped away from the JACL.
For a time, he and his family lived on government assistance. Eventually, he found work at the St. Vincent de Paul Salvage Bureau. Under his leadership, it grew into a successful operation.
On December 3, 1955, Sakamoto was struck by a car while walking to work. He died later that day.
The Pacific Citizen dedicated its Silver Jubilee issue to him. His friend Bob Okasaki remembered him as: “A dedicated fighter for the rights of the underdog, the under-privileged, the unchampioned.”
The ex-boxer became blind. But he continued to fight for his vision.