Japanese Americans

ETHNONYMS: Nikkei, Nihonjin

Orientation

Identification and Location. Japanese Americans are the descendants of people from East Asia who settled on the four major islands of what is now Japan. Japanese people began to migrate to America during the Meiji era (1868-1912), a period when Japan was undergoing modernization and industrial, economic, and military growth. Japanese people who moved to the United States in the late nineteenth century came from the southern agricultural region and settled in the Pacific Coast states and Hawaii. The physical environment of those areas had some similarities to the climate and topography of Japan (mildly temperate) but had more land available for cultivation. Because many of the first immigrants had an agricultural background, the land and climate of Hawaii and the western United States was a good match for their occupational skills.

Demography. In 1880 there were 148 Japanese in the United States; despite restrictive immigration laws, that number increased with each decade through the twentieth century. In 1890 the number was 2,039, and shortly before World War II, in 1940, the population was 285,115. The 1990 population was 847,562.

Linguistic Affiliation. The vast majority of Japanese Americans speak English. First- and second-generation immigrants are largely bilingual. The third and subsequent generations are likely to be monolingual English speakers, but there has been a resurgence of interest in the Japanese language among the more recent generations. The linguistic roots of the Japanese language are not agreed upon. Historical linguists suggest a "hybrid" theory by which the language emerged from the Altaic (Turkish, Mongolian, Korean) languages with some contributions from Austronesian (Pacific Islands, Australian) languages.

History and Cultural Relations

For many centuries Japan was a closed country where emigration was prohibited. In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay to open trade relations. This signaled the beginning of contact between Japan and Western nations and, as a result, increased migration of Japanese to North America and other parts of the world. According to Ichioka (1988), Japanese immigration can be broadly divided into two periods: 1885-1907 and 1908-1924. Those periods coincided with restrictions on Japanese immigration enacted by the U.S. government. During the early period, the pattern of immigration was called dekasegi, or the practice of going abroad to work, and eventually there was a return to the homeland. Between 1885-1894 nearly thirty thousand Japanese went to Hawaii to work as contract laborers on sugarcane plantations. The earliest Japanese settlement on the mainland United States was the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony near Gold Hill, California. The colony was not successful and was abandoned by 1872.

The bulk of Japanese migration occurred after 1880. The passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 led to a decline in the number of laborers available for the developing Western industrial economy, and Japanese immigrant laborers filled the gap left by the exclusion of the Chinese. Initially, many Americans viewed Japanese immigration as desirable. As a group the Japanese were often compared favorably with the Chinese, but those positive comparisons were short-lived. By the early twentieth century labor leaders and politicians became concerned with the increasing Japanese population and the relative success of those immigrants in agricultural ventures. Anti-Japanese activists sought to end Japanese immigration. In 1905 the San Francisco Board of Education wanted to move all Japanese students in that city to the Chinese school. This was met with a great deal of resistance by the Japanese community and the Japanese consulate in San Francisco. Through the consulate's intervention, the students were allowed to stay in their neighborhood schools. By that time the event had drawn national attention, and President Theodore Roosevelt was pressured to address the concerns of the leaders of the anti-Japanese movement. The Gentlemen's Agreement (1907-1908) was established in response to growing pressures for immigration restrictions. The United States agreed not to pass any formal exclusion laws concerning the Japanese, and the Japanese government agreed to stop issuing passports to laborers who wanted to work in the United States. Thus, both governments saved face at a time when relations between Japanese and American workers and the government were tense.

By 1908 returning to Japan had become less common among the Issei (first-generation) workers. The Gentlemen's Agreement discouraged many from returning because there was no assurance that they could reenter the United States as laborers at a later time. Many decided to stay and entered into arranged marriages or sent for wives so that they could establish families and communities in the United States. By the 1920s families with children constituted a large proportion of the established Japanese American community. Japanese immigration came to a halt in 1924 with the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 (National Origins Quota Act), which prevented further immigration from Japan. It was not until 1952 that the ban on immigration was lifted by the McCarran-Walter Act and the Issei became eligible for citizenship.

Settlements

There were major urban settlements in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Diego, California. Major rural settlements included the Yakima valley of eastern Washington state and the Central, Central Coast, and Imperial valleys in California.

During World War II more than 120,000 Japanese Americans in California, Oregon, and Washington were forced to move to relocation centers. Ten centers were built by the U.S. Army and operated by the War Relocation Authority, a branch of the Department of the Interior. Those centers were in operation between 1943 and 1946 and were located in Arkansas (Rohwer, Jerome), Arizona (Gila River, Poston), California (Manzanar, Tule Lake), Colorado (Amache), Idaho (Minidoka), Utah (Topaz), and Wyoming (Heart Mountain). The living quarters were built using army specifications for barracks. The rooms were 20 by 16 feet (6 by 5 meters), and one room would house an entire family with children or a group of single men or women. Cooking and eating areas, washrooms, toilets, and shower facilities were centralized.

Japanese Americans in Hawaii were not interned because of the logistic difficulties of mass incarceration. It was believed that the Hawaiian economy would collapse if such a large proportion of the population were removed from the islands.

Economy

Subsistence. Japanese immigrants engaged in commercial activities to obtain and distribute food and other necessities.

Commerical Activities. Japanese immigrants engaged in a wide range of activities to generate income. They worked in the lumber and railroad industries and in urban areas worked as domestics, gardeners, and small business owners (grocery and sundry stores, restaurants, and boardinghouses). The largest percentage of Japanese immigrants was involved in agricultural endeavors. They grew a number of specialty crops such as strawberries, lettuce and other vegetables, deciduous fruits (apples, cherries, pears, and peaches), potatoes, and wheat.

Division of Labor. Women traditionally were responsible for child rearing and management of the home. Men typically did tasks outside the home, working for wages, or worked in their own homes for production, such as agriculture. In early immigrant communities women's traditional homework was often combined with work to support the family. Women did paid work outside the home, took in work (such as laundry) for pay, or took care of children and other boarders (hired hands or workers on the farm). Children were educated in the American public education system. For the most part these schools were not segregated by race but might have been characterized by de facto racial segregation because of the composition of ethnic neighborhoods and the locations of the schools that served those neighborhoods.

While the Issei generation worked in jobs that were essential to the developing Western economy, such as agriculture, the Nisei (second) generation was encouraged to obtain a formal education. Many Nisei obtained college and professional degrees but had difficulty finding jobs in their areas of specialization because of their ethnic background. After World War II the third and fourth generations (Sansei and Yonsei ) experienced less discrimination than had the previous generations. There are greater opportunities now that some of the more obvious forms of discrimination have become illegal. Thus, there is a much higher proportion of third- and fourth-generation Japanese Americans in skilled and professional occupations.

Land Tenure. A large number of Japanese immigrants worked in agriculture. Beginning in 1913, several states (California, Arizona, Washington, Louisiana, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Kansas) began to pass laws restricting ownership of land by non-citizens. Japanese immigrants were not eligible to become naturalized citizens of the United States, and so those laws affected their livelihoods. Despite the laws, Japanese farmers devised a number of ways to continue farming. They put the land in the names of their underage American-born children who were U.S. citizens, found sympathetic whites who would lease land to them, and formed corporations that leased land as a business entity. Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants are no longer prohibited from purchasing or using land for any purpose.

Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. Most Japanese American families recognize patrilineal descent. Families that have similar surnames may have common ancestors and other relations, but those family ties and relations generally have not extended into the practices of kin relations in the United States. Kin groups are closely tied to the domestic unit of the household.

Kinship Terminology. Japanese Americans use a distinct nomenclature to refer to different generational groupings in the United States. The Issei are the immigrant generation. The Nisei are the second generation but are the first generation born in the United States. Kibei are a group of Nisei who are educated and raised in Japan. Sansei are the third generation, Yonsei are the fourth generation, and Gosei are the fifth generation. Because of the restricted time period of Japanese immigration, each generation has had unique experiences. Japanese immigrants who came to the United States after 1950 are usually designated shin issei, or new Issei.

Marriage and Family

Marriage. Marriages are one of the major life events for Japanese Americans. They are not marriages of individuals but represent the bringing together of two families. During the early immigration period "picture bride" marriages were common. This type of arranged marriage allowed male immigrants to become engaged to and marry a woman in Japan without being physically present during the ceremony. Afterward the bride's name would be entered into the groom's family registry as a member of the family and the bride would be eligible to immigrate as the wife of a Japanese immigrant worker in the United States. The 1907-1908 Gentlemen's Agreement did not affect the picture brides of men already living in the United States. Divorce was uncommon in the United States, but it did occur. Women could exercise some degree of control during the early immigrant period by leaving marriages in which they were unhappy and finding new partners without getting a legal divorce.

Domestic Unit. Issei families were based on the traditional kinship structure of the ie, or household. The term refers to both the physical structure of a household and its members and the past and future members of the household. Each individual was a registered member of a household; this included all the members marrying into the family unit. In the United States these were usually nuclear family units with the husband, wife, and children living in one household. Other family forms emerged but were less common. Households may have also included other male laborers (boarders) or unmarried or married relatives of either the husband or the wife. Thus, it was possible for families to be extended in the sense that there were non-parental relatives. Post-World War II Japanese American families are generations removed from the Meiji-era Japanese immigrant families of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. According to Yanagisako (1985), "the ideal family is one that is a balanced compromise between a traditional past and a modern past." Japanese American families incorporate traditional Japanese values (particularly duty and obligations to filial relations) into American cultural traditions and lifestyles.

Inheritance. Families in Japan had patrilineal lines of descent in which male progeny, in order of age, receive an inheritance. In this system females marry into other family and clan groups and do not receive an inheritance. Successor-son inheritances have been replaced by equal inheritance among siblings.

Socialization. Children's relationship with their parents is extremely important in traditional Japanese society, and these values have carried over to Japanese American families. The basis of the relationship lies in the oyako, parent-child relations that stress reciprocal obligation. There is a strong emphasis on children obeying adult (parental) authority. Parents provide for their children because in their old age and retirement the children will be responsible for taking care of them.

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. Family and kin are the most important primary group obligation for Japanese Americans. Beyond this, the Japanese American community has always had a strong history of social organization. The early immigrant communities were organized around prefectural associations called kenjinkai. A prefecture is a geographic area roughly equivalent in size to a small state or large county. Immigrants from certain prefectures in Japan, such as Wakayama, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka, formed associations based on common interests and familiarity with the homeland region. Those associations reinforced individual ties to Japan and emphasized Japanese national identity. As anti-Japanese hostility increased, prefectural associations served to organize people against those attacks. The Japanese government was concerned about the welfare of its citizens abroad. In cooperation with local Japanese consular officials, the Issei organized the Japanese Association of America. There were branches of this organization in cities that had substantial Japanese populations. In addition to the kenjinkai, Japanese immigrants had organizations such as farmer's cooperatives and business and trade associations that served the needs of individuals in certain occupations. Buddhist and Christian churches and Japanese schools also formed the basis of secondary group associations in the United States.

The post—World War II Japanese American community continues to have a high level of social organization. Ethnic churches; sports leagues for basketball, bowling, and golf; and cultural community functions (Japanese day camp for children, arts and crafts) continue to serve as primary and secondary group social outlets for many Japanese Americans.

Political Organization. The Japanese American community follows many of the same rules and practices of leadership, politics, and decision making as other groups in American society. Since the great majority of Japanese Americans are American citizens, they are active in the political process. Urban Japanese Americans tend to be Democrats, whereas rural residents are split between the Democratic and Republican parties. Several Japanese Americans have served in prominent political positions locally, regionally, and nationally, including Senator Daniel Inouye and Congresswoman Patsy Mink of Hawaii, and Congressmen Robert Matsui and Norman Mineta of California. Mineta became the first Japanese American appointed to a cabinet position, serving in the Clinton administration as secretary of commerce. Later, he was appointed to the cabinet of the Bush administration as secretary of transportation.

Social Control. Traditional Japanese culture required a great deal of social control and conformity from its members. Individuals with different status levels defer to those of higher status. Status positions are defined within the family (parent/child) as well as within the community (profession/age/family name). The norms and values of the culture include a sense of obligation and loyalty to one's family and community. By violating these norms, one risks being socially ostracized. Japanese norms in the United States have been adaptive, developing in response to the historical situations and necessities of life in a Western cultural world. However, some aspects of traditional Japanese culture conflict with American values and expectations. Though several generations removed from the culture of Japan, Japanese American culture recognizes status deference and obligation in social relations, and this conflicts with American societal values of egalitarian relationships between individuals.

Conflict. Japanese Americans have experienced conflict with other groups in American society. The anti-Japanese movement had its origins in the anti-Chinese movement of the late nineteenth century. The anti-Japanese movement is most frequently traced to economic competition between Japanese and non-Japanese workers. Other explanations for the movement suggest cultural factors: The Japanese were perceived as foreigners from a culture that would not fully assimilate into American society.

After being confined in camps during World War II, the community had to reestablish itself. Many individuals and families lost their savings and investments and had to start over. Compensation for those losses was not adequate. In the 1980s the Japanese American community rallied around a national redress and reparations movement. The issue was settled in the early 1990s, when approximately two-thirds of the surviving former internees were awarded $20,000 each in compensation for losses incurred during the war.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Japanese Americans have a range of religious affiliations, although most are Buddhists or Christians. Most Japanese Americans adhere to the Jodo Shinshu Nishi Hongwanji (Pure Land) tradition of Buddhism, which originated in Japan. Among Protestant Christians there are a range of denominations, including Baptist, Methodist, and Methodist-Episcopal. Missionaries from those sects worked with the Japanese community by teaching Sunday school and English classes and provided other social welfare activities within the community. The missionary work of Protestant denominations formed the basis of the Christian Japanese American ethnic church and congregation.

Religious Practitioners. The first Buddhist churches in the United States did not have ministers because religion was not a weekly activity, but religious philosophy and practice were part of everyday living. In the early Christian churches the ministers were not Japanese, but lay leaders in the church might be members of the Japanese American community. In contrast to the early religious leadership, both Buddhist and Christian Japanese American churches are now headed by men and women who are Japanese American.

Ceremonies. Japanese Americans, regardless of religious affiliation, observe different seasonal and religious holidays (matsuri ) that are both secular and religious in nature. Members come from different parts of the community and include non-Japanese outsiders, and these events have become symbolic of Japanese American ethnicity. The events typically occur as seasonal celebrations, such as the fall and spring festivals (Hanamatsuri and Akimatsuri ). Japanese traditional holidays such as Girls Day and Boys Day are celebrated within a Japanese American context. During the months of July and August, most Buddhist churches celebrate obon, an event that honors the dead. This takes place as a festival that includes Japanese dancing and music. Obon festivals have been transformed into larger Japanese American community events and may include games for children and adults; food, flower, and produce vendors; and other cultural activities.

Arts. Some of the artistic activities traditional to Japan have survived in the United States. The art of ikebana (flower arranging), classical Japanese dance, and music played on the shamisen and the koto (stringed instruments) and the taiko (drum) continue to be practiced and interpreted in new ways. In Los Angeles during the 1980s the band Hiroshima had several hit songs in the progressive jazz music scene. The band used traditional Japanese instruments (koto and taiko) and consisted almost exclusively of Japanese American musicians.

Japanese American writers and poets have made contributions to the literature of American society. They include prose writers such as Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Cynthia Kadohata, Toshio Mori, John Okada, Yoshiko Uchida, Hisaye Yamamoto, and Karen Tei Yamashita and the poets Lawson Inada and Mitsuye Yamada. Visual artists include Matsusaburo and Hisako Hibi, Chiura Obata, Mine Okubo, and Henry Sugimoto. Many writings and art works document and provide a literary and visual interpretation of the World War II internment camp experience.

Death and Afterlife. Japanese Americans' views of death coincide with different religious and spiritual affiliations. Death is one of the major events that bring people from the community together. Funerals and memorial services represent a significant social responsibility and obligation by members of a family to the deceased and the deceased's family and thus can be very large affairs. There is a strong obligation to attend a funeral to recognize the accomplishments of the deceased and show respect to the surviving family members. A mortuary offering of koden (money) is commonplace among those attending a funeral. Because the members of a family may have different religious affiliations (the Issei generation may be Buddhist, while the Nisei and Sansei may be Christian), there is some overlap between Christian and Buddhist funeral services.

For other cultures in The United States of America, see List of Cultures in Volume 10 and under specific culture names in Volume 1, North America.

Bibliography

Daniels, Roger (1968). The Politics of Prejudice. New York: Atheneum.

Glenn, Evelyn Nakano (1981). Issei, Nisei, War Bride: Three Generations of Japanese American Women in Domestic Service. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Ichioka, Yuji (1988). The Issei: The World of the First Generation Japanese Immigrants, 1885-1924. New York: Free Press.

Kitano, Harry H. L. (1976). Japanese Americans: The Evolution of a Subculture. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Ng, Wendy (2001). Japanese American Internment during World War II. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Niiya, Brian, editor (1991). Japanese American History: An A-to-Z Reference. New York: Facts on File.

O'Brien, David J., and Stephen S. Fugita (1991). The Japanese American Experience. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

Spickard, Paul R. (1996). Japanese Americans: The Formation and Transformations of an Ethnic Group. New York: Twayne.

Weglyn, Michi (1976). Years of Infamy. New York: William Morrow and Company.

Yanagisako, Sylvia (1985). Transforming the Past: Tradition and Kinship Among Japanese Americans. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

WENDY NG