Japanese American history
Encyclopedia
Japanese American history is the history of Japanese American
s or the history of ethnic Japanese
in the United States
. People from Japan began emigrating to the U.S. in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868 Meiji Restoration
. Japanese immigration to the Americas started with immigration to Hawaii
in the first year of the Meiji era in 1868.
Particularly after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese immigrants were sought by industrialists to replace the Chinese immigrants. In 1907, the "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the governments of Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S. The Immigration Act of 1924
banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese.
and Otokichi
are known to have reached the Americas by at least the early 19th century, the history of Japanese Americans begins in the mid nineteenth century.
banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese.
The ban on immigration produced unusually well-defined generational groups within the Japanese American community. Initially, there was an immigrant generation, the Issei
, and their U.S.-born children, the Nisei Japanese American
. The Issei were exclusively those who had immigrated before 1924. Because no new immigrants were permitted, all Japanese Americans born after 1924 were—by definition—born in the U.S. This generation, the Nisei, became a distinct cohort from the Issei generation in terms of age, citizenship, and English language ability, in addition to the usual generational differences. Institutional and interpersonal racism led many of the Nisei to marry other Nisei, resulting in a third distinct generation of Japanese Americans, the Sansei
. Significant Japanese immigration did not occur until the Immigration Act of 1965 ended 40 years of bans against immigration from Japan and other countries.
The Naturalization Act of 1790
restricted naturalized U.S. citizenship to "free white persons," which excluded the Issei from citizenship. As a result, the Issei were unable to vote, and faced additional restrictions such as the inability to own land under many state laws.
Like most of the American population, Japanese immigrants came to the U.S. in search of a better life. Some planned to stay and build families in the United States, while others wanted to save money from working stateside to better themselves in the country from which they had come. Before the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese residents experienced a moderate level of hardship that was fairly typical for any minority group at the time.
While the Issei (1st generation Japanese Americans) prospered in the early 20th century, most lost their farms during the internment. Although this was the case, Japanese Americans remain involved in these industries today, particularly in southern California
and to some extent, Arizona
by the areas' year-round agricultural economy, and descendants of Japanese pickers who adapted farming in Oregon and Washington state.
Japanese American detainees irrigated and cultivated lands near World War II internment camps, which were located in desolate spots such as Poston
, in the Arizona desert, and Tule Lake
, California, at a dry mountain lake bed. Due to their tenacious efforts, these farm lands remain productive today.
For the most part, the internees remained in the camps until the end of the war, when they left the camps to rebuild their lives. Several Japanese Americans began lawsuits against the U.S. government for wrongful internment, which culminated, decades later, in the 1980s, in official apologies and reparations of over $1.2 billion. Because many of the internees were no longer alive to receive those reparations, the money was paid to their heirs. To commemorate the life of Fred Korematsu
, a civil rights
activist, most known for the United States Supreme Court case, Korematsu v. United States
(1944), which challenged the order sending Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II, the "Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution" was observed for first time on January 30, 2011, by the state of California, and first such commemoration for an Asian American in the US.
Nebraska Nisei Ben Kuroki became a famous Japanese-American soldier of the war after he completed 30 missions as a gunner on B-24 Liberators with the 93rd Bombardment Group in Europe. When he returned to the US he was interviewed on radio and made numerous public appearances, including one at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club where he was given a ten-minute standing ovation after his speech. Kuroki's acceptance by the California businessmen was the turning point in attitudes toward Japanese on the West Coast. Kuroki volunteered to fly on a B-29 crew against his parent's homeland and was the only Nisei to fly missions over Japan. He was awarded a belated Distinguished Service Medal by President George W. Bush in August 2005.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Infantry Battalion is one of the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history. Composed of Japanese Americans, the 442nd/100th fought valiantly in the European Theater. The 522nd Nisei Field Artillery Battalion was one of the first units to liberate the prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau. Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye
is a veteran of the 442nd. Additionally the Military Intelligence Service
consisted of Japanese Americans who served in the Pacific Front.
On October 5, 2010, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion, as well as the 6,000 Japanese Americans who served in the Military Intelligence Service
during the war.
Redress may be defined as follows:
Reparation is defined as:
The campaign for redress against internment was launched by Japanese Americans in 1978. The Japanese American Citizens’ League (JACL) asked for three measures to be taken as redress: $25,000 to be awarded to each person who was detained, an apology from Congress acknowledging publicly that the U.S. government had been wrong, and the release of funds to set up an educational foundation for the children of Japanese American families. Under the 2001 budget of the United States, it was also decreed that the ten sites on which the detainee camps were set up are to be preserved as historical landmarks: “places like Manzanar
, Tule Lake, Heart Mountain, Topaz, Amache, Jerome, and Rohwer will forever stand as reminders that this nation failed in its most sacred duty to protect its citizens against prejudice, greed, and political expediency” (Tateishi and Yoshino 2000).
Monograph." Perspectives in American History 12 (1979): 387-516.
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
s or the history of ethnic Japanese
Ethnic Japanese
Ethnic Japanese may mean:* Japanese people, when referring to people of Japanese descent** May also be used as a term to refer to the Yamato people as opposed to the minority peoples of Japan: the Ainu, Ryukyuans, Burakumin and immigrant groups such as the Han Chinese and Koreans.* Japanese...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. People from Japan began emigrating to the U.S. in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868 Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
. Japanese immigration to the Americas started with immigration to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
in the first year of the Meiji era in 1868.
Particularly after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese immigrants were sought by industrialists to replace the Chinese immigrants. In 1907, the "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the governments of Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S. The Immigration Act of 1924
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act, and Asian Exclusion Act , was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already...
banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese.
Timeline
Although Japanese castaways such as Oguri JukichiOguri Jukichi
was one of the first Japanese citizens known to have reached present day California. He and his fourteen man crew, bound for Edo, were sailing off the Japanese coast in 1813 when their ship, the Tokujomaru, was disabled in a storm...
and Otokichi
Otokichi
was a Japanese castaway originally from the area of Onoura near Mihama, on the west coast of the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture.- Biography :...
are known to have reached the Americas by at least the early 19th century, the history of Japanese Americans begins in the mid nineteenth century.
- 1841, June 27 Captain Whitfield, commanding a New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
sailing vessel, rescues five shipwrecked Japanese sailors. Four disembark at Honolulu, however Manjiro Nakahama stays on board returning with Whitfield to FairhavenFairhaven-Places:Australia*Fairhaven, an area of French Island Canada:*Fairhaven, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CanadaNorway:* Fairhaven, SvalbardUnited Kingdom:* Fairhaven, Lancashire, a coastal suburb of Lytham St Annes, LancashireUnited States:...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. After attending school in New England and adopting the name John Manjiro, he later became an interpreter for Commodore Matthew PerryMatthew Perry (naval officer)Matthew Calbraith Perry was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy and served commanding a number of US naval ships. He served several wars, most notably in the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854...
.
- 1850. Seventeen survivors of a Japanese shipwreck are saved by the American freighter Auckland off the coast of California. In 1852, the group is sent to MacauMacauMacau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
to join Commodore Matthew C. Perry as a gesture to help open diplomatic relations with Japan. One of them, Joseph HecoJoseph HecoJoseph Heco was the first Japanese person to be naturalized as a United States citizen and the first to publish a Japanese language newspaper.-Early years:...
(Hikozo Hamada), goes on to become the first Japanese person to become a naturalizedNaturalizationNaturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
American citizen.
- 1855: On February 8, the first official intake of Japanese migrants to a U.S.-controlled entity occurs when 676 men, 159 women, and 108 children arrive in Honolulu on board the Pacific Mail passenger freighter City of TokioCity of TokioSS City of Tokio was an iron steamship built in 1874 by John Roach & Sons for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company...
. These immigrants, the first of many Japanese immigrants to Hawaii, have come to work as laborers on the island's sugar plantations via an assisted passage scheme organized by the Hawaiian government.
- 1861: The utopian minister Thomas Lake HarrisThomas Lake HarrisThomas Lake Harris was an American mystic, spiritualistic prophet and poet.-Early life:Harris was born at Fenny Stratford in Buckinghamshire, England. His parents were Calvinistic Baptists, and very poor. They settled at Utica, New York, when Harris was five years old...
of the Brotherhood of the New Life visits England, where he meets Nagasawa Kanaye, who becomes a convert. Nagasawa returns to the U.S. with Harris and follows him to Fountaingrove in Santa Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
. When Harris leaves the Californian communeCommune (intentional community)A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
, Nagasawa became the leader and remained there until his death in 1932.
- 1869: A group of Japanese people arrive at Gold Hills, California and build the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony. Okei becomes the first recorded Japanese woman to die and be buried in the United States.
- 1885: The first wave of Japanese immigrants arrives to provide labor in Hawaii sugarcane and pineapple plantations and California fruit and produce farms.
- 1893: The San Francisco Board of EducationSan Francisco Board of EducationThe San Francisco Board of Education is made of seven Commissioners, elected by voters across the city to serve 4-year terms. It is subject to local, state, and federal laws, and determines policy for all the public schools in the San Francisco Unified School District.- Founding :In October 1849,...
attempts to introduce segregation for Japanese American children, but withdraws the measure following protests by the Japanese government.
- 1900s: Japanese immigrants begin to lease land and sharecrop.
- 1902: Yone NoguchiYone NoguchiYone Noguchi, or Yonejirō Noguchi, born 野口 米次郎 / Noguchi Yonejirō , was an influential Japanese writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism in both English and Japanese. He was the father of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Noguchi was born in the town of Tsushima, near Nagoya...
publishes The American Diary of a Japanese Girl, the first Japanese American novel.
- 1906: The San Francisco Board of EducationSan Francisco Board of EducationThe San Francisco Board of Education is made of seven Commissioners, elected by voters across the city to serve 4-year terms. It is subject to local, state, and federal laws, and determines policy for all the public schools in the San Francisco Unified School District.- Founding :In October 1849,...
successfully implements segregation for Asian students in public schools.
- 1907: Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 between United States and Japan results in Japan ending the issuance passports for new laborers.
- 1908: Japanese "picture bridePicture brideThe term picture bride refers to the practice in the early 20th century of immigrant workers in Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States selecting brides from their native countries via a matchmaker, who paired bride and groom using only photographs and family recommendations of the possible...
s" enter the United States.
- 1913: The California Alien Land Law of 1913California Alien Land Law of 1913The California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited "aliens ineligible for citizenship" from owning land or property, but permitted three-year leases. It affected the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean immigrant farmers in California. It passed thirty-five to two in the Senate and seventy-two to...
bans Japanese from purchasing land; whites threatened by Japanese success in independent farming ventures.
- 1924: The federal Immigration Act of 1924Immigration Act of 1924The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act, and Asian Exclusion Act , was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already...
banned immigration from Japan.
- 1930s: Issei become economically stable for the first time in California and Hawaii.
- 1941: Attack on Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl HarborThe attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
: Japanese forces attack the United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
base at Pearl HarborPearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in Honolulu. Japanese community leaders are arrested and detained by federal authorities.
- 1942: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066Executive Order 9066United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
on February 19, beginning Japanese-American internment. Over the course of the war, approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived on the West Coast of the United StatesWest Coast of the United StatesWest Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
are uprooted from their homes and internedInternmentInternment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
.
- 1943: Japanese American soldiers from Hawaii join the 100th Infantry Battalion of the United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. The battalion fights in Europe.
- 1944: Ben KurokiBen KurokiBen Kuroki flew a total of 58 combat missions during World War II, and is the only Japanese-American in the United States Army Air Forces to serve in combat operations in the Pacific theater of World War II.-Biography:...
became the only Japanese-American in the U.S. Army Air Force to serve in combat operations in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II.
- 1944: U.S. Army 100th Battalion merges with the all-volunteer Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
- 1945: By war's end, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team is awarded 18,143 decorations, including 9,486 Purple Hearts, becoming the most decorated military unit in United States history.
- 1959: Daniel K. Inouye is elected to the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, becoming becomes the first Japanese American to serve in CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
- 1962: Minoru YamasakiMinoru Yamasakiwas a Japanese-American architect, best known for his design of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, buildings 1 and 2. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century...
is awarded the contract to design the World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, becoming the first Japanese American architect to design a supertall skyscraper in the United States.
- 1963: Daniel K. Inouye becomes the first Japanese American in the United States Senate.
- 1965: Patsy T. Mink becomes the first woman of color in Congress.
- 1971: Norman Y. Mineta is elected mayor of San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, becoming the first Asian American mayor of a major U.S. city.
- 1972: Robert A. NakamuraRobert A. NakamuraRobert Akira Nakamura is a pioneering filmmaker and teacher, sometimes referred to as "the Godfather of Asian American media." In 1970 he co-founded Visual Communications the oldest community-based Asian Pacific American media arts organization in the United States.-Personal:Nakamura was born in...
produces Manzanar, the first personal documentary about internment.
- 1974: George R. Ariyoshi becomes the first Japanese American governor in the State of Hawaii.
- 1976: S. I. HayakawaS. I. HayakawaSamuel Ichiye Hayakawa was a Canadian-born American academic and political figure of Japanese ancestry. He was an English professor, and served as president of San Francisco State University and then as United States Senator from California from 1977 to 1983...
of California and Spark MatsunagaSpark MatsunagaSpark Masayuki Matsunaga was a United States Senator from Hawaii. He was an American Democrat whose legislation in the United States Senate led to the creation of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.-Career:Matsunaga became a United States Army Reservist in 1941,...
of Hawaii become the second and third U.S. Senators of Japanese descent.
- 1978: Ellison S. Onizuka becomes the first Asian American astronaut. Onizuka was one of the seven astronauts to die in the Space Shuttle Challenger disasterSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterThe Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
in 1986.
- 1980: Congress creates the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of CiviliansCommission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of CiviliansThe Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians was a group of people appointed by the U.S. Congress to conduct an official governmental study of Executive Order 9066, related wartime orders and their impact on Japanese Americans in the West and Alaska Natives in the Pribilof...
to investigate internment during World War II.
- 1983: The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians reports that Japanese-American internment was not justified by military necessity and that internment was based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." The Commission recommends an official Government apology; redress payments of $20,000 to each of the survivors; and a public education fund to help ensure that this would not happen again.
- 1988: President Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
signs the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, apologizing for Japanese-American internment and providing reparations of $20,000 to each victim.
- 1994: Mazie K. Hirono is elected Lieutenant Governor of HawaiiLieutenant Governor of HawaiiThe Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, concurrently the Secretary of State of Hawaii, is the assistant chief executive of that U.S. state and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 2 though 6. He or she is elected by popular suffrage of...
, becoming the first Japanese immigrant elected state lieutenant governorLieutenant governor (United States)In the United States, 43 of the 50 states have a separate, full-time office of lieutenant governor. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when he or she is absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated...
of a state. Hirono later is elected in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- 1996: A. Wallace TashimaA. Wallace TashimaAtsushi Wallace Tashima is the third Asian American and first Japanese American in the history of the United States to be appointed to a United States Court of Appeals.-Early life:...
is nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
and becomes the first Japanese American to serve as a judge of a United States court of appealsUnited States court of appealsThe United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system...
.
- 1998: Chris TashimaChris TashimaChris Tashima is a Japanese American actor and director. He is co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions and Artistic Director of its Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He is the son of U.S. Circuit Judge A. Wallace Tashima...
becomes the first U.S.-born Japanese American actor to win an Academy Award for his role in the film Visas and VirtueVisas and VirtueVisas and Virtue is a 1997 narrative short film inspired by the true story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara, who is known as "The Japanese Schindler"...
.
- 1999: U.S. ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
General Eric ShinsekiEric ShinsekiEric Ken Shinseki is a retired United States Army four-star general who is currently serving as the 7th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. His final U.S. Army post was as the 34th Chief of Staff of the Army...
becomes the first Asian American to serve as chief of staff of a branch of the armed forcesUnited States armed forcesThe United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. Shinseki later serves as Secretary of Veterans AffairsUnited States Secretary of Veterans AffairsThe United States Secretary of Veterans' Affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans' benefits and related matters...
.
- 2000, Norman Y. Mineta becomes the first Asian American appointed to the United States CabinetUnited States CabinetThe Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
. He serves as Secretary of Commerce from 2000–2001 and Secretary of Transportation from 2001–2006.
- 2010: Daniel K. Inouye becomes the highest ranking Asian American politician in U.S. history when he succeeds Robert ByrdRobert ByrdRobert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
as President pro tempore of the United States SenatePresident pro tempore of the United States SenateThe President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate despite not being a member of the body...
.
Life under United States policies before World War II
In 1907, the "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the governments of Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S. The Immigration Act of 1924Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act, and Asian Exclusion Act , was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already...
banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese.
The ban on immigration produced unusually well-defined generational groups within the Japanese American community. Initially, there was an immigrant generation, the Issei
Issei
Issei is a Japanese language term used in countries in North America, South America and Australia to specify the Japanese people first to immigrate. Their children born in the new country are referred to as Nisei , and their grandchildren are Sansei...
, and their U.S.-born children, the Nisei Japanese American
Nisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
. The Issei were exclusively those who had immigrated before 1924. Because no new immigrants were permitted, all Japanese Americans born after 1924 were—by definition—born in the U.S. This generation, the Nisei, became a distinct cohort from the Issei generation in terms of age, citizenship, and English language ability, in addition to the usual generational differences. Institutional and interpersonal racism led many of the Nisei to marry other Nisei, resulting in a third distinct generation of Japanese Americans, the Sansei
Sansei
Sansei is a Japanese language term used in countries in South America, North America and Australia to specify the children of children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation, grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei and...
. Significant Japanese immigration did not occur until the Immigration Act of 1965 ended 40 years of bans against immigration from Japan and other countries.
The Naturalization Act of 1790
Naturalization Act of 1790
The original United States Naturalization Law of March 26, 1790 provided the first rules to be followed by the United States in the granting of national citizenship. This law limited naturalization to immigrants who were "free white persons" of "good moral character". It thus left out indentured...
restricted naturalized U.S. citizenship to "free white persons," which excluded the Issei from citizenship. As a result, the Issei were unable to vote, and faced additional restrictions such as the inability to own land under many state laws.
Like most of the American population, Japanese immigrants came to the U.S. in search of a better life. Some planned to stay and build families in the United States, while others wanted to save money from working stateside to better themselves in the country from which they had come. Before the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese residents experienced a moderate level of hardship that was fairly typical for any minority group at the time.
Farming
Japanese Americans have made significant contributions to the agriculture of the western United States, particularly in California and Hawaii. Nineteenth century Japanese immigrants introduced sophisticated irrigation methods that enabled the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, and flowers on previously marginal lands.While the Issei (1st generation Japanese Americans) prospered in the early 20th century, most lost their farms during the internment. Although this was the case, Japanese Americans remain involved in these industries today, particularly in southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and to some extent, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
by the areas' year-round agricultural economy, and descendants of Japanese pickers who adapted farming in Oregon and Washington state.
Japanese American detainees irrigated and cultivated lands near World War II internment camps, which were located in desolate spots such as Poston
Poston, Arizona
Poston is a census-designated place in La Paz County, Arizona, United States, in Parker Valley. The population was 389 at the 2000 census....
, in the Arizona desert, and Tule Lake
Tule Lake
Tule Lake is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon.-Geography:Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River...
, California, at a dry mountain lake bed. Due to their tenacious efforts, these farm lands remain productive today.
Internment
During World War II, an estimated 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals or citizens residing in the United States were forcibly interned in ten different camps across the US, mostly in the west. The internments were based on the race or ancestry rather than activities of the interned. Families, including children, were interned together. Each member of the family was allowed to bring two suitcases of their belongings. Each family, regardless of its size, was given one room to live in. The camps were fenced in and patrolled by armed guards.For the most part, the internees remained in the camps until the end of the war, when they left the camps to rebuild their lives. Several Japanese Americans began lawsuits against the U.S. government for wrongful internment, which culminated, decades later, in the 1980s, in official apologies and reparations of over $1.2 billion. Because many of the internees were no longer alive to receive those reparations, the money was paid to their heirs. To commemorate the life of Fred Korematsu
Fred Korematsu
was one of the many Japanese-American citizens living on the West Coast during World War II. Shortly after the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the Secretary of War and his military commanders to require all...
, a civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist, most known for the United States Supreme Court case, Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II....
(1944), which challenged the order sending Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II, the "Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution" was observed for first time on January 30, 2011, by the state of California, and first such commemoration for an Asian American in the US.
World War II Service
Many Japanese Americans served with great distinction during World War II in the American forces.Nebraska Nisei Ben Kuroki became a famous Japanese-American soldier of the war after he completed 30 missions as a gunner on B-24 Liberators with the 93rd Bombardment Group in Europe. When he returned to the US he was interviewed on radio and made numerous public appearances, including one at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club where he was given a ten-minute standing ovation after his speech. Kuroki's acceptance by the California businessmen was the turning point in attitudes toward Japanese on the West Coast. Kuroki volunteered to fly on a B-29 crew against his parent's homeland and was the only Nisei to fly missions over Japan. He was awarded a belated Distinguished Service Medal by President George W. Bush in August 2005.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Infantry Battalion is one of the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history. Composed of Japanese Americans, the 442nd/100th fought valiantly in the European Theater. The 522nd Nisei Field Artillery Battalion was one of the first units to liberate the prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau. Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye
Daniel Inouye
Daniel Ken "Dan" Inouye is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii, a member of the Democratic Party, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in American history. Inouye is the chairman of the United States Senate...
is a veteran of the 442nd. Additionally the Military Intelligence Service
Military Intelligence Service (United States)
The Military Intelligence Service was a World War II U.S. military unit consisting of two branches, the Japanese American Unit described here and the German-Austrian Unit based at Camp Ritchie, described partly in Ritchie Boys. The unit described here was primarily composed of Japanese-American...
consisted of Japanese Americans who served in the Pacific Front.
On October 5, 2010, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion, as well as the 6,000 Japanese Americans who served in the Military Intelligence Service
Military Intelligence Service (United States)
The Military Intelligence Service was a World War II U.S. military unit consisting of two branches, the Japanese American Unit described here and the German-Austrian Unit based at Camp Ritchie, described partly in Ritchie Boys. The unit described here was primarily composed of Japanese-American...
during the war.
Post-World War II and redress
In the U.S., the right to redress is defined as a constitutional right, as it is decreed in the First Amendment to the Constitution.Redress may be defined as follows:
- 1. the setting right of what is wrong: redress of abuses.
- 2. relief from wrong or injury.
- 3. compensation or satisfaction from a wrong or injury
Reparation is defined as:
- 1. the making of amends for wrong or injury done: reparation for an injustice.
- 2. Usually, reparations. compensation in money, material, labor, etc., payable by a defeated country to another country or to an individual for loss suffered during or as a result of war.
- 3. restoration to good condition.
- 4. repair. (“Legacies of Incarceration,” 2002)
The campaign for redress against internment was launched by Japanese Americans in 1978. The Japanese American Citizens’ League (JACL) asked for three measures to be taken as redress: $25,000 to be awarded to each person who was detained, an apology from Congress acknowledging publicly that the U.S. government had been wrong, and the release of funds to set up an educational foundation for the children of Japanese American families. Under the 2001 budget of the United States, it was also decreed that the ten sites on which the detainee camps were set up are to be preserved as historical landmarks: “places like Manzanar
Manzanar
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
, Tule Lake, Heart Mountain, Topaz, Amache, Jerome, and Rohwer will forever stand as reminders that this nation failed in its most sacred duty to protect its citizens against prejudice, greed, and political expediency” (Tateishi and Yoshino 2000).
Further reading
- "Present-Day Immigration with Special Reference to the Japanese," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (Jan 1921), pp. 1-232 online 24 articles by experts, mostly about California
- Chin, FrankFrank ChinFrank Chin is an American author and playwright.- Life and career :Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California, but was raised to the age of six by a retired Vaudeville couple in Placerville, California. At six his mother brought him back to the San Francisco Bay Area to live in Oakland Chinatown...
. Born in the USA: A Story of Japanese America, 1889-1947 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002). - Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Personal Justice Denied: Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (Washington, GPO: 1982)
- Conroy, Hilary, and Miyakawa T. Scott, eds. East Across the Pacific: Historical & Sociological Studies of Japanese Immigration & Assimilation (1972), essays by scholars
- Daniels, Roger. Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States since 1850 (U of Washington Press, 1988) online edition
- Daniels, Roger. Concentration Camps, North America: Japanese in the United States and Canada during World War II (1981).
- Daniels, Roger. The Politics of Prejudice: The Anti-Japanese Movement in California and the Struggle for Japanese Exclusion (2nd ed. 1978)
- Daniels, Roger, et al. eds. Japanese Americans: From Relocation to Redress (2nd ed. 1991)
- Ichioka, Yuji. "Amerika Nadeshiko: Japanese Immigrant Women in the United States, 1900-1924," Pacific Historical Review Vol. 49, No. 2 (May, 1980), pp. 339-357 in JSTOR
- Ichioka, Yuji. "Japanese Associations and the Japanese Government: A Special Relationship, 1909-1926," Pacific Historical Review Vol. 46, No. 3 (Aug., 1977), pp. 409-437 in JSTOR
- Ichioka, Yuji. "Japanese Immigrant Response to the 1920 California Alien Land Law," Agricultural History Vol. 58, No. 2 (Apr., 1984), pp. 157-178 in JSTOR
- Matsumoto, Valerie J. Farming the Home Place: A Japanese American Community in California, 1919-1982 (1993)
- Modell John. The Economics and Politics of Racial Accommodation: The Japanese of Los Angeles, 1900-1942 (1977)
- Niiya, Brian, ed. Encyclopedia of Japanese American History: An A-to-Z Reference from 1868 to the Present. (2001).
- Takaki, RonaldRonald TakakiRonald Toshiyuki Takaki was an academic, historian, ethnographer and author. Born in Oahu, Hawai'i, his work addresses stereotypes of Asian Americans, such as the model minority concept.-Early life:...
. Strangers from a Different Shore (2nd ed. 1998) - Wakatsuki Yasuo. "Japanese Emigration to the United States, 1866-1924: A
Monograph." Perspectives in American History 12 (1979): 387-516.
See also
- Japanese diasporaJapanese diasporaThe Japanese diaspora, and its individual members known as , are Japanese emigrants from Japan and their descendants that reside in a foreign country...
- Nisei Baseball Research ProjectNisei baseball research projectThe Nisei Baseball Research Project is a non-profit 501 organization documenting, preserving and exhibiting history of Japanese American baseball. It was founded by Kerry Yo Nakagawa, the author of Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball...