Mitsuye Yamada
Encyclopedia
Mitsuye Yamada is a Japanese American
activist, feminist, essayist, poet, story writer, editor, and former professor of English.
, Japan
. Her parents were Jack Kaichiro Yasutake and Hide Shiraki Yasutake, both first-generation Japanese Americans (Issei
) who were visiting Japan when she was born. Her older brother, Seiichi Yasutake (known as "Mike") was born in the US. Her family returned to the U.S. in 1926 and settled in Seattle, Washington
.
Jack Yasutake was the founder and president of the Senryu (Japanese poet) Society in Seattle and an interpreter for the U.S. Immigration Service during World War II. At the time, Japanese society did not offer the opportunity to women to decide how to live their lives; they were unable to obtain higher education or choose a husband on their own. Yamada's own ordeal during World War II and observations of her mother's way of life bring anti-racist and feminist attitudes to her works.
Yamada spent most of her childhood and youth in Seattle, Washington. Mitsuye's father was arrested by the FBI for espionage
after the U.S joined the Second World War. In 1942, Mitsuye and her family were interned at Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho
. She was allowed to leave the camp with her brother because they renounced loyalty to the Emperor of Japan; she went to the University of Cincinnati in 1944. Mitsuye and her brother also were allowed to leave the camp in order to attend college and work (Usui, 2002), and both attended the University of Cincinnati
. Mike was soon expelled because the U.S. Air Force was conducting "sensitive wartime research on campus and requested his removal" which was thought to be incompatible with his status as a Japanese American male and a pacifist, but Mitsuye was allowed to continue studying at the University (Yamada, 1981).
Mitsuye married Yoshikazu Yamada in 1950. They had four children: Jeni, Stephen, Douglas, and Hedi. As of 2010, Mitsuye has seven grandchildren: Aaron, Jason, Adam, Alana, Evan, Mia and Emi.
Mitsuye became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1955. She considers herself Nisei
(second-generation Japanese American).
, where she received a B.A.
in English and Art in 1947. She earned an M.A.
in English Literature and Research from the University of Chicago
in 1953. She began teaching at Cypress College
in 1968, and retired in 1989 as a Professor of English.
She wrote her first book, Camp Notes and Other Poems, during and just after her internment during the Second World War, but it remained unpublished until 1976. In this collection, the "wartime conflicts of Japanese Americans are traced back to the injustice of Executive Order 9066
and to visible and invisible racism against Japanese and Americans of Japanese ancestry both inside and outside the camp." (Usui, 2002). Yamada's professed purpose for writing is to encourage Asian American
women to speak out and defy the cultural codes that encourage Asian American women to be silent. (Sheffer, 2003). Yamada recognizes that Asian American women have not been fully represented as "sites of complex intersections of race, gender, and national identity." (Yamamoto, 2000). Yamada once said, "Asian Pacific women need to affirm our culture while working within to change it." (Geok-Lin, 1993).
Yamada's first publication was Camp Notes and Other Poems. The book is a chronological documentary, beginning with "Evacuation" from Seattle, moving in the camp through "Desert Storm," and concluding with poems recounting the move to Cincinnati. "Cincinnati" illustrates the visible racial violence and "The Question of Loyalty" shows the invisible humiliation of the Japanese during World War II. She wrote the book to promote public awareness about how the Japanese were discriminated against during the war and to open discussion of the issue. With this publication, Yamada challenged Japanese traditions that demand silence from the female.
She contributed two essays to This Bridge Called My Back
: Radical Writings from Women of Color. (1981) “Invisibility as an Unnatural Disaster” reflects the double invisibility of being both Asian and a woman while “Asian Pacific American Women and Feminism” urges women of color to develop a feminist agenda that addresses their particular concerns. That same year, Yamada joined Nellie Wong in a biographical documentary on public television, “Mitsuye and Nellie: Two Asian-American Woman Poets.” The film tells of actual events that happened to the speakers, their parents, grandparents and relatives. It uses poetry to tell Asian American history of biculturalism.
In 1982, she received a Vesta Award from the Los Angeles Woman's Building
http://content-admin.otis.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/wb&CISOPTR=711&CISOBOX=1&REC=2.
Her latest volume, "Desert Run: Poems and Stories", returns to her experience at the internment camp. Here, Yamada explores her heritage and discovers that her identity involves a cultural straddle between Japan and the US, which she describes in "Guilty on Both Counts. " Some poems, especially "The Club," indicate that Yamada expanded her point of view to include feminist as well as racist issues because they recount sexual and domestic violence against women. Some of her poems are revisions of earlier versions in Camp Notes. The book contains the history and transition of the Japanese American in the U.S., including Yamada's perspective on gender discrimination.
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...
activist, feminist, essayist, poet, story writer, editor, and former professor of English.
Early and personal life
Mitsuye Yamada was born as Mitsuye Yasutake in FukuokaFukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, Japan
Japan
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...
. Her parents were Jack Kaichiro Yasutake and Hide Shiraki Yasutake, both first-generation Japanese Americans (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...
) who were visiting Japan when she was born. Her older brother, Seiichi Yasutake (known as "Mike") was born in the US. Her family returned to the U.S. in 1926 and settled in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
Jack Yasutake was the founder and president of the Senryu (Japanese poet) Society in Seattle and an interpreter for the U.S. Immigration Service during World War II. At the time, Japanese society did not offer the opportunity to women to decide how to live their lives; they were unable to obtain higher education or choose a husband on their own. Yamada's own ordeal during World War II and observations of her mother's way of life bring anti-racist and feminist attitudes to her works.
Yamada spent most of her childhood and youth in Seattle, Washington. Mitsuye's father was arrested by the FBI for espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
after the U.S joined the Second World War. In 1942, Mitsuye and her family were interned at Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. She was allowed to leave the camp with her brother because they renounced loyalty to the Emperor of Japan; she went to the University of Cincinnati in 1944. Mitsuye and her brother also were allowed to leave the camp in order to attend college and work (Usui, 2002), and both attended the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
. Mike was soon expelled because the U.S. Air Force was conducting "sensitive wartime research on campus and requested his removal" which was thought to be incompatible with his status as a Japanese American male and a pacifist, but Mitsuye was allowed to continue studying at the University (Yamada, 1981).
Mitsuye married Yoshikazu Yamada in 1950. They had four children: Jeni, Stephen, Douglas, and Hedi. As of 2010, Mitsuye has seven grandchildren: Aaron, Jason, Adam, Alana, Evan, Mia and Emi.
Mitsuye became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1955. She considers herself Nisei
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...
(second-generation Japanese American).
Yamada: Her Career and Literature
Yamada began her studies at the University of Cincinnati. She left in 1945 to attend New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where she received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English and Art in 1947. She earned an M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in English Literature and Research from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1953. She began teaching at Cypress College
Cypress College
Cypress College is a community college located in Cypress, California. Opened on September 12, 1966 , the southern California college offers a variety of general education , transfer courses , and 141 vocational programs leading to Associate's degrees and certificates.-Overview:Cypress College's...
in 1968, and retired in 1989 as a Professor of English.
She wrote her first book, Camp Notes and Other Poems, during and just after her internment during the Second World War, but it remained unpublished until 1976. In this collection, the "wartime conflicts of Japanese Americans are traced back to the injustice of Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066
United 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...
and to visible and invisible racism against Japanese and Americans of Japanese ancestry both inside and outside the camp." (Usui, 2002). Yamada's professed purpose for writing is to encourage Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
women to speak out and defy the cultural codes that encourage Asian American women to be silent. (Sheffer, 2003). Yamada recognizes that Asian American women have not been fully represented as "sites of complex intersections of race, gender, and national identity." (Yamamoto, 2000). Yamada once said, "Asian Pacific women need to affirm our culture while working within to change it." (Geok-Lin, 1993).
Yamada's first publication was Camp Notes and Other Poems. The book is a chronological documentary, beginning with "Evacuation" from Seattle, moving in the camp through "Desert Storm," and concluding with poems recounting the move to Cincinnati. "Cincinnati" illustrates the visible racial violence and "The Question of Loyalty" shows the invisible humiliation of the Japanese during World War II. She wrote the book to promote public awareness about how the Japanese were discriminated against during the war and to open discussion of the issue. With this publication, Yamada challenged Japanese traditions that demand silence from the female.
She contributed two essays to This Bridge Called My Back
This Bridge Called My Back
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color is a feminist anthology edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa. The anthology was first published in 1981 by Persephone Press, and the second edition was published in 1984 by Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press...
: Radical Writings from Women of Color. (1981) “Invisibility as an Unnatural Disaster” reflects the double invisibility of being both Asian and a woman while “Asian Pacific American Women and Feminism” urges women of color to develop a feminist agenda that addresses their particular concerns. That same year, Yamada joined Nellie Wong in a biographical documentary on public television, “Mitsuye and Nellie: Two Asian-American Woman Poets.” The film tells of actual events that happened to the speakers, their parents, grandparents and relatives. It uses poetry to tell Asian American history of biculturalism.
In 1982, she received a Vesta Award from the Los Angeles Woman's Building
Woman's Building
The Woman's Building was an non-profit arts and education center located in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. The Woman's Building focused on feminist art and served as a venue for the women's movement and was spearheaded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levrant de...
http://content-admin.otis.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/wb&CISOPTR=711&CISOBOX=1&REC=2.
Her latest volume, "Desert Run: Poems and Stories", returns to her experience at the internment camp. Here, Yamada explores her heritage and discovers that her identity involves a cultural straddle between Japan and the US, which she describes in "Guilty on Both Counts. " Some poems, especially "The Club," indicate that Yamada expanded her point of view to include feminist as well as racist issues because they recount sexual and domestic violence against women. Some of her poems are revisions of earlier versions in Camp Notes. The book contains the history and transition of the Japanese American in the U.S., including Yamada's perspective on gender discrimination.
Works
- 1976 - Camp notes and other poems
- 1976 - Anthologized in Poetry from Violence
- 1976 - Lighthouse
- 1976 - The Japanese-American Anthology
- 1981 - Mitsuye and Nellie: Two Asian-American Woman Poets
- 1989 - Desert Run: Poems and stories
- 1992 - Camp notes and other poems [2nd edition]
- 2003 - Three Asian American Writers Speak Out on Feminism
Quotations
- "I have thought of myself as a feminist first, but my ethnicity cannot be separated from my feminism."(Kolmar, 319).
- "A movement that fights sexism in the social structure must deal with racism, and we had hoped the leaders in the women’s movement would be able to see the parallels in the lives of the women of color and themselves, and would ‘join’ us in our struggle and give us ‘input’." (Kolmar, 319).
- "White sisters should be able to see that political views held by women of color are often misconstrued as being personal rather than ideological. Views critical of the system held by a person in an out-group are often seen as expressions of personal angers against the dominant society." (Kolmar, 319).
- "I find myself, as I get older, assuming a more political stance in my writings. I have moved from writing intensely personal poetry to writing essays on social and political issues. The reason for this progression in my writings is that my identity as an Asian American and my identity as a woman is just beginning to merge within me as a singular identity and I am feeling a missionary zeal to let others know about it." (Yamada)
- "Being a feminist activist is more dangerous for women of color." (Geok-Lin, 571).