Japanese Mexican
Encyclopedia
Japanese Mexican is a Mexican
-born citizen of Japanese descent
.
ese settlers appeared in Mexico on May 10, 1897, to set up a coffee plantation business in Chiapas
. Unfortunately, their business was unsuccessful, but regardless of this, many Japanese settlers married local women and built up a community in the country. The next wave of Japanese settlers lived in northern and central Mexico, especially Baja California, between 1901 and 1907, but unlike those who stayed in Chiapas, the Japanese who stayed in the former were dekasegi
s who migrated to Japan. They found contract work in mines, railroads, and farms through the services of emigration companies there. The plurality of those laborers allowed them to use Mexico to enter the United States, although the entry of Japanese from Mexico was prohibited after March 1907. The following decade led to the appearance of stable overseas Japanese communities in the northern states, as well as in Mexico City
. When the Mexican Revolution
began, the United States permitted Mexican immigration and a number of Japanese Mexican emigrants left for the U.S., settling in the farming valleys of California with the rest to Arizona
, New Mexico
, and Texas
. It has been even speculated that the majority of Japanese American
s from 1907–1917 have Mexican
and/or Spanish
ancestry.
When World War II
happened (early 1940s), all Mexican citizens of Japanese ancestry living in Baja California were commanded to flee to Mexico City and Guadalajara in early 1942 as they were judged as enemies by the Mexican community, including German Mexican
s and Italian Mexican
s. Displaced and disoriented, the resettlers were lucky to find housing and jobs with the assistance of the Kyoeikai (Comités de Ayuda Mutua, Committee of Mutual Aid) of Mexico City. While war was still going, Japanese-, including German
- and Italian
-, language teaching in schools and publishing in Japanese were prohibited and they were told to teach only in Spanish. Soon, more Japanese Mexicans began to shed their Japanese heritage and falsely assumed out of fear and shame they are "Chinese", "Korean" and "Filipino" instead of Japanese.
After the war, tens of thousands of Japanese refugees were permitted to enter Mexico. In addition to that, major changes happened in the Japanese Mexican community. Most of the Nikkei population remained concentrated in Guadalajara and Mexico City and their occupations shifted from agriculture to small urban businesses. Mexico became their permanent home. The postwar Nikkei community experienced problems of factionalism and some degree of disunity, but after the mid-1950s, the Japanese Mexican Association played a vital role in bringing the community together to build a Nikkei cultural center and later the Mexican Japanese Institute and other lyceums for the descendants under new Nisei leadership that are also attended by others who want to learn their language and even their ways of life. Japanese immigration to Mexico celebrated its 100th anniversary on May 10, 1997. Today, young Japanese Mexicans continue to build upon the legacy of their past while playing a more integral role in Mexico's multicultural society and Japanese Mexicans in general are proud of their community in Chiapas called Colonia Enomoto and are very important in Mexican culture.
In Baja California
, the Japanese Mexican population is very large with the majority of the Japanese descendants being mixed with Spanish and Amerindian ancestry (Mestizo). Mainly because when Japanese immigrants arrived in Mexico many generations ago, they were not in enclaved ethnic communities as like in the U.S. and Canada, so intermarriage between Japanese and Mexicans were highly encouraged from the Japanese Mexican society producing a unique and indistinguishable offspring of people mixed Japanese, Spanish/European, and Amerindian ancestry.
. In religion, the majority are Roman Catholic Christians, while the rest are Buddhists.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-born citizen of Japanese descent
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...
.
History
The first large numbers of JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese settlers appeared in Mexico on May 10, 1897, to set up a coffee plantation business in Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
. Unfortunately, their business was unsuccessful, but regardless of this, many Japanese settlers married local women and built up a community in the country. The next wave of Japanese settlers lived in northern and central Mexico, especially Baja California, between 1901 and 1907, but unlike those who stayed in Chiapas, the Japanese who stayed in the former were dekasegi
Dekasegi
Dekasegi is a term used in Latin American cultures to refer to ethnic Japanese people who have migrated to Japan, having taken advantage of Japanese citizenship or nisei visa and immigration laws to escape from economic instability in South America...
s who migrated to Japan. They found contract work in mines, railroads, and farms through the services of emigration companies there. The plurality of those laborers allowed them to use Mexico to enter the United States, although the entry of Japanese from Mexico was prohibited after March 1907. The following decade led to the appearance of stable overseas Japanese communities in the northern states, as well as in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. When the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
began, the United States permitted Mexican immigration and a number of Japanese Mexican emigrants left for the U.S., settling in the farming valleys of California with the rest to 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...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It has been even speculated that the majority of Japanese American
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 from 1907–1917 have Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
and/or Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
ancestry.
When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
happened (early 1940s), all Mexican citizens of Japanese ancestry living in Baja California were commanded to flee to Mexico City and Guadalajara in early 1942 as they were judged as enemies by the Mexican community, including German Mexican
German Mexican
A German Mexican is a Mexican citizen of German descent or origin....
s and Italian Mexican
Italian Mexican
An Italian-Mexican or Italo-Mexican is a Mexican citizen of Italian descent or origin. Most people of Italian ancestry living in Mexico arrived in the late 19th century, and have become generally assimilated into mainstream society.-History:...
s. Displaced and disoriented, the resettlers were lucky to find housing and jobs with the assistance of the Kyoeikai (Comités de Ayuda Mutua, Committee of Mutual Aid) of Mexico City. While war was still going, Japanese-, including German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
- and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
-, language teaching in schools and publishing in Japanese were prohibited and they were told to teach only in Spanish. Soon, more Japanese Mexicans began to shed their Japanese heritage and falsely assumed out of fear and shame they are "Chinese", "Korean" and "Filipino" instead of Japanese.
After the war, tens of thousands of Japanese refugees were permitted to enter Mexico. In addition to that, major changes happened in the Japanese Mexican community. Most of the Nikkei population remained concentrated in Guadalajara and Mexico City and their occupations shifted from agriculture to small urban businesses. Mexico became their permanent home. The postwar Nikkei community experienced problems of factionalism and some degree of disunity, but after the mid-1950s, the Japanese Mexican Association played a vital role in bringing the community together to build a Nikkei cultural center and later the Mexican Japanese Institute and other lyceums for the descendants under new Nisei leadership that are also attended by others who want to learn their language and even their ways of life. Japanese immigration to Mexico celebrated its 100th anniversary on May 10, 1997. Today, young Japanese Mexicans continue to build upon the legacy of their past while playing a more integral role in Mexico's multicultural society and Japanese Mexicans in general are proud of their community in Chiapas called Colonia Enomoto and are very important in Mexican culture.
In Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, the Japanese Mexican population is very large with the majority of the Japanese descendants being mixed with Spanish and Amerindian ancestry (Mestizo). Mainly because when Japanese immigrants arrived in Mexico many generations ago, they were not in enclaved ethnic communities as like in the U.S. and Canada, so intermarriage between Japanese and Mexicans were highly encouraged from the Japanese Mexican society producing a unique and indistinguishable offspring of people mixed Japanese, Spanish/European, and Amerindian ancestry.
Language and religion
Most Japanese Mexicans only speak Spanish. Only a selected number can speak Japanese, while those who attained higher education speak EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. In religion, the majority are Roman Catholic Christians, while the rest are Buddhists.
External links
- Sáinz, Pablo Jaime. Hard work won them a place in a diverse culture." San Diego Union-Tribune - March 2, 2008
- Historical Timeline of Japanese Mexican
- Migration Historical Overview - Mexico