The Japanese American Experience
David J. O'Brien, 1991
The author starts by noting the difference in attitude towards Japanese-Americans fifty years ago and now, and how now they have become firmly established in the middle class society. Their average income is higher than that of whites; they live in Caucasian neighborhoods, primarily, and they marry out of their race about half the time.
The author then notes "structural constraints" on the Japanese-Americans which set limits on what they were able to do when they were first coming into this country. One thing he points out is the homogeneous nature of the Japanese people, especially at that time and this helped their communities to stay together, whereas the white immigrants were fractured into numerous nationalistic groups that didn't always get along with each other.
He then discusses their experience in organization and setting up formal organizations which helped them a lot in the development of their economy. He discusses "cultural relativism," in which the Japanese are open to new experiences in clothes, food, religion, etc, as long as it doesn't interfere with the group survival. Changes in personal behavior patterns, the elimination of politeness, for example, would be unacceptable, whereas eating hamburgers and other Western food would be ok.
In 1873 the method of taxation changed and this resulted in many farmers losing their farms; hence, this established a pressure for emigration. Another thing was an odd draft law. National conscription also started in 1873. If a young man went abroad and stayed out of the country until he was 32, then he would no longer be eligible for the draft. If there was a younger son then he would be declared head of family and also be ineligible for the draft. Yet another reason was the opening of Japan to foreign trade which ended up showing there was a need for workers in other countries.
He next talks about the actual emigration and points out that most of the immigrants came from four prefectures; Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka and Kumamoto. These immigrants ended up going to Hawaii and were primarily farmers. Immigrants to the West Coast ended up being mainly students and merchants. He then discusses Japanese farmers in the U.S. and their effect on labor organizations relating to farming. Their successes in that and farming caused problems with white farmers, and this led to the growing anti-Japanese movement in the U.S., which is detailed in the book.
More differences between the Hawaiian immigrants and U.S. ones are discussed, especially in relation to the "Buddhaheads" vs. the "Kotonks." (Which eventually led to some trouble when the two groups entered the military and were trained together and did not get along at all well, at least at first.)
Problems in finding jobs are also discussed. For example, even high achieving students of the Japanese-American community were prevented from become teachers in the very public schools they did so well at as students.
The attack on Pearl Harbor is the next thing covered in the book. The book points out that experienced officers didn't really worry about the U.S. being invaded by Japan since its major forces were 5000 miles away and further. The German air force was actually closer to the U.S. than the Japanese military. ( I remember watching one program on T.V. that noted an experimental German long-range bomber actually came within 12 miles of Manhattan before turning back. The Germans were also working on rockets which, if they would have had time, would have had the range to hit the U.S. Japan had nothing of the sort nor was really planning anything like that. In addition, Germany was working on the atomic bomb and Japan wasn't.)
However racism won and the Japanese-Americans, Issei and Nisei, were relocated from the West Coast. The book goes into the assembly centers and then the internment camps (using the term "concentration camps") It then moves on to the loyalty questionnaire and the use of the Nisei in the military. He then goes into the psychological effects of the incarceration in the camps.
Then he goes into the redress movement. After that he discusses the postwar experiences of the Nisei, especially in relation to their acculturation into society. The amount of involvement in the ethnic community is the next topic to be discussed; sort of how much "Japaness" do the Japanese-Americans retain as their adapt more and more to the American culture.
The rest of the book is a sociological examination of Japanese culture, how it fits into American cultures, the problems it has doing so, what effects this attempt to fit in has on its own ethnic culture. etc.
This is a very well done and very interesting book, taking a more sociological approach and analysis of Japanese-American culture, including the period of evacuation, internment and immediately thereafter. Quite a good book.
Main Index
Japan main page
Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page
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