He has been a vocal advocate of the rights of immigrants, in part through his work on the 2012 Broadway show Allegiance about the internment experience. Takei has won several awards and accolades for his work on human rights and Japan–United States relations, including his work with the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California. Takei was born Hosato Takei on April 20, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, to Japanese-American parents Fumiko Emily Nakamura (born in Sacramento, California) and Takekuma Norman Takei (born in Yamanashi Prefecture), who worked in real estate. His father named him George after King George VI of the United Kingdom, whose coronation took place in 1937, shortly after Takei's birth. In 1942, the Takei family was forced to live in the converted horse stables of Santa Anita Park before being sent to the Rohwer War Relocation Center for internment in Rohwer, Arkansas. The internment camp was in swamplands and surrounded by barbed wire fences.
The family was later transferred to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California for internment. Takei had several relatives living in Japan during World War II.
