Spark Masayuki Matsunaga ( ja, 松永正幸, October 8, 1916April 15, 1990) was an American politician and attorney who served as

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

from 1977 until his death in 1990. Matsunaga also represented Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the Hawaii territorial house of representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, Matsunaga introduced legislation that led to the creation of the

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other pea ...

and to reparations to Japanese-American World War II detainees.

Early life

Born Masayuki Matsunaga on October 8, 1916 the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

island of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest islan ...

, Spark Matsunaga was Japanese-American. His parents had emigrated to the United States from Japan. When he was eight, he was nicknamed Sparky after Spark Plug, a character in the comic strip

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'', originally ''Take Barney Google, F'rinstance'', is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck. Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a large international readership, appearin ...

. He received a bachelor's degree with honors in education from the

University of Hawai'i A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1941. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Matsunaga — despite being a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army — was placed in a detention camp in Wisconsin. He and other interned Japanese-Americans obtained permission from President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

to form the

100th Infantry Battalion The 100th Infantry Battalion ( ja, 第100歩兵大隊, ''Dai Hyaku Hohei Daitai'') is the only infantry unit in the United States Army Reserve. In World War II, the then-primarily Nisei battalion was composed largely of former members of the H ...

. Matsunaga was twice wounded in battle in Italy during World War II. He served with the renowned

442nd Regimental Combat Team The 442nd Infantry Regiment ( ja, 第442歩兵連隊) was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment is best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-gene ...

and was released from the Army as a Captain. Matsunaga graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

in 1951.

Political career

Matsunaga served as a prosecutor and was a member of the Hawaii territorial House of Representatives. After

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative ...

was elected to the Senate, Matsunaga succeeded him as the state's sole member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. After Hawaii was split into districts for the 1970 elections, Matsunaga was elected for , comprising Honolulu's inner ring, and held that seat until 1976. That year, with

Hiram Fong Hiram Leong Fong (born Yau Leong Fong; October 15, 1906 – August 18, 2004) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician from Hawaii. Born to a sugar plantation Cantonese immigrant worker, Fong became the first Chinese-American and firs ...

retiring, Matsunaga defeated Hawaii's other House representative,

Patsy Mink Patsy Matsu Mink (née Takemoto; December 6, 1927 – September 28, 2002) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Mink was a third-generation Japanese American, having been born and raised on the island of Maui. ...

, for the Democratic Party nomination for Senator. Matsunaga then defeated former Republican governor William Quinn in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

and went on to serve in the United States Senate from 1977 until his death in 1990. In 1984, following many years of effort from Matsunaga, Congress passed a bill creating the U.S. Institute for Peace. For 22 years, Matsunaga presented legislation in Congress for the creation of the position of

United States Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...

. In 1985, a bill was finally passed authorizing the position of Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Matsunaga was instrumental in the passage of a redress bill for people of Japanese descent who were detained in the United States during World War II. The $1.25 billion bill provided $20,000 to each detainee and also apologized to the detainees. Matsunaga was known for his sense of humor. One famous incident involved Matsunaga and then- Secretary of State

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these ...

at a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

reception for

Japanese Prime Minister The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

Zenko Suzuki The Kudara no Konikishi ( ja, 百済王) was a Japanese clan whose founder, Zenkō ( or ), was a son of King Uija, the last king of Baekje, in southwestern Korea. ''Kudara'' was an ''uji'', or clan name, and represented its country of origin, Bae ...

in 1981. Haig reportedly mistook Matsunaga for a member of the Japanese delegation and asked if he spoke English. Matsunaga replied, "Yes, Mr. Secretary, I do — and I had the honor of voting for your confirmation the other day."

Personal life and death

Matsunaga was married to the former Helene Hatsumi Tokunaga and had three daughters and two sons. Matsunaga went to

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospi ...

for treatment and died in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

on April 15, 1990 at the age of 73 from

prostate The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and phys ...

and

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thy ...

. His flag-draped casket lay in state in the rotunda of the

State Capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

in Honolulu.

Legacy

In 1997, Matsunaga's widow donated his papers to the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. There were approximately 1200 boxes of material including documents, photographs, videos, and memorabilia from his 28 years in Congress. Also in the papers are professional and personal materials from his pre-Congressional life; especially noteworthy are documents, letters, photographs, and memorabilia from his Army service in the 100th Infantry Battalion. A bronze statue honoring him is in the Spark M. Matsunaga International Children's Garden For Peace at the Storybook Theatre of Hawaii in his hometown of

Hanapepe Hanapepe or Hanapēpē is a historic, unincorporated community in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The name means "crushed bay" in Hawaiian, which may refer to landslides in the area. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Burea ...

, Kauai. Matsunaga's portrait currently appears on US Series I Bonds in the $10,000 denomination. There is also an elementary school in

Germantown, Maryland Germantown is an urbanized census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 91,249 as of 2020 U.S. Decennial Census, Germantown is the third most populous place in Maryland, after the city of Baltimore ...

and a hospital in Honolulu named after him.

References

External links