Kip Tokuda
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Kip Yoshino Tokuda (October 8, 1946 – July 13, 2013) was an American
social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
and politician.


Background

Tokuda was born in 1946 in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
. His parents George and Tamako (born Inouye) owned the Tokuda Pharmacy, which was located on Jackson Street at the time. He was raised in Seattle's Central District and on Beacon Hill neighborhoods. He initially attended Garfield High School, but transferred and graduated from Cleveland High School. Tokuda received both his bachelor's and master's degree from the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
(1969, B.A. in sociology, master's degree in social work in 1973). He was director of children's and human services programs. He served in the
Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...
1995-2003 as a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
. Tokuda was chairman of the House Children and Family Services Committee of the state House. He was also a member of the Appropriations Committee and the Juvenile Justice and Family Law Committee in the chamber. Tokuda founded the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington. On April 29, 2012, Tokuda was awarded the
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...
by Emperor
Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...
for promoting positive relations between Japan and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. His sister is television journalist Wendy Tokuda. His niece
Maggie Tokuda-Hall Maggie Tokuda-Hall (born 1984) is an American author of children's and young adult novels. While introducing Tokuda-Hall as an emcee for their annual Locus Awards, Locus (magazine), ''Locus'' said her "works have captivated readers and critics ...
wrote a children's book called ''
Love in the Library ''Love in the Library'' is a 2022 children's book written by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrated by Yas Imamura. It is a children’s historical fiction picture book intended for children aged six to nine years. The book takes places in Minid ...
'' about how his parents met while imprisoned inside a Japanese-American detention camp during the Second World War.


Death

Tokuda died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on July 13, 2013, at age 66 while fishing on
Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...
.


Legacy

In 2016, the Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education Program was established in the State of Washington through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to educate the public regarding the history and the lessons of the World War II exclusion, removal, and detention of persons of Japanese ancestry.


See also

*
History of the Japanese in Seattle There is a population of Japanese Americans and Japanese expatriates in Greater Seattle, whose origins date back to the second half of the 19th century. Prior to World War II, Seattle's Japanese community had grown to become the second largest Ja ...


References

1946 births 2013 deaths Politicians from Seattle Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class American politicians of Japanese descent Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni American social workers University of Washington School of Social Work alumni Asian American state legislators in Washington 20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature {{Washington-WARepresentative-stub