The Life of Japanese Americans during the First Decades in America

1.    Introduction

1.1  Background

Japanese Americans are Japan-descent Americans. The Americans are the second Asian American group to come to America and have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities. Now, it has become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,304,286, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity. The history of Japanese Americans is interesting to be discussed; the Japanese Americans had the start as similar to the African slave trade, but the the racially-based issues appeared during the first decades in America was, instead,  the misconception of their their hard work and high educational attainment. And even until now, Japanese has been transforming into a highly regarded ethnic that plays a lot in economical-based fields.

1.2  Objectives

The objective of the paper is to figure out the way Japanese Americans survive during the first decades in America.

2.    Japanese Immigration to America

2.1  First Immigration of Japanese to Hawaii and America

In 1835 in Hawaii, a sugar plantation system was set up by Americans and resulted in requiring to have a high number of agricultural workers.

In 1852, Chinese laborers were imported to fulfill the need of labor.

In 1865, after many Chinese stopped working for other jobs, the Foreign Minister of Hawaii imported 148 first-generation Japanese (also called as Issei) sailed with the Scioto from Yokohama to Honolulu with the help of an American friend of his in Japan, included samurai, cooks, sake brewers, potters, printers, tailors, wood workers, and one hairdresser

In 1869, Pacific Mail Company brought again displaced Japaneses, included samurai, farmers, tradesmen, and four women, to work in Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony, San Francisco. But, after bankruptcy faced the company two years later, a small number of Japanese returned to home, while others do not.

2.2  Japanese Ban

In 1886, after a labor convention that allowed Japanese workers to be contracted in Hawaii and California,  the increasing number of Japanese triggered an anti-Japanese movement and segregation.

In 1907, Gentlemen's Agreement, which accepted the already-in-America Japanese and the immediate family members,  was created to maintain the relationship between Japan and America.

In 1924, Senator Hiram Johnson of California banned on all immigration from Japan.

2.3  Naturalization toward A Status of Japanese American

In 1952, the second wave of Japanese’s immigration landed in America due to the allowance of immigration stated in the McCarran-Walter Act.

In 1965, 46,000 immigrants from Japan got naturalized.

In 1982, Racially-based misconception, which assumed they better became technicians rather than leaders, was directed to Japanese by a part of Americans for their hard work and high educational attainment.

2.4  The Assimilation of Both Japanese and American Values

To pass down culture and values, Japaneses established halls to be the schools or places of drama, dramas, films, judō lessons, poetry readings, potlucks, and parties; Buddhist temples and Christian churches; shops of Japanese food and herbal medicines; and sport centers for sumō rings, baseball fields, and bath houses.

The descendants were educated to obtain white collar jobs rather than stay in farming communities and learn white middle-class American values. As a result, most of the Japanese Americans successfully competed in academic and job fields. At the end of World War II, the misconception toward the Japaneses was declined. They started studying in public schools, living in Caucasian-dominated neighborhoods, and seating in official positions.

The descendants  of Japanese concerned about the lack of Japanese values. They started digging out Japanese culture through service to the Japanese community at centers for the elderly, participation in community festivals, involvement with Asian political and legal organizations, and learning Japanese arts.

As for the language, Japanese language had aesthetic appeal and contributed to a feeling on the part of many Japanese that they are unique among the world's peoples. For a variety of reasons, including negative pressures by the majority population and a lack of new Japanese immigrants in the United States, many next generations of Japanese American do not know the language of their ancestors.

2.5  Non-Communalism of Japanese and American

Both Japanese and American did the same in a matter of family and community. The son and daughter of a family would be motivated to leave the home and to make a family. This tradition was intended to prepare their descendants to form families.

However, it did not mean that Japanese highly regarded a marriage of a Japanese and  an American or someone from other ethnics. Only ten percent of Japanese married outside their ethnic group. They preferred to marry someone from their ethnic even if the couples were in two different areas and only able to meet some time later. For instance, couples were married while the bride was in Japan and the groom was in the United States. The marriage was arranged by parents.

2.6 Spiritual Life of Japanese American

In 1877, when Christian Missionaries intended to convert the immigrants, Japanese regularly came to Church.

In 1893, San Francisco Methodist minister, Yasuzo Shimizu successfully stimulated the Japanese back to Buddhists.

In 1899,  due to the arrival of two Nishi Honganji priests, Shuyei Sonoda and Kukuryo Nishijima, the Japanese started going to Buddhist churches.

In 1990, Zen, Nichiren, and Shingon sects of Buddhism are represented in various cities throughout the United States.

Because of cultural assimilation, it is difficult to obtain statistics on the religious practices of Japanese Americans. However, followers of Christianity are probably more numerous than Buddhists.

2.7 The Discriminated Issei

Although the next generations of the first generation had already been accepted by many parts of American society, the Issei themselves were not. Those who immigrated to America in the late 1800s and early twentieth century were invisibly not allowed to work in factories or offices, means they had to struggle to work on the West Coast as contract seasonal agricultural workers, on the railroad, and in canneries. In spite of doing the farming or laboring works, the first generation Japanese Americans created small businesses such as hotels and restaurants to serve their own ethnic group or became small vegetable farmers. While doing so, they motivated the next generations to attain high educations and high positions in the world of job.

3.    Conclusion

Japanese Americans concerned a lot about economics. To stand up in the midst of discrimination and racially-based misconception, the first (Issei) and the next generations (Sansei, Nisei, Yonsei) tried to level up their economics for independently providing what the society of the ethnic needed to survive such as schools, halls, sport centers, shops, churches, and so on.

But still, although Japanese was able to survive mostly by itself, the Japanese still paid attention to build a harmonious relationship with American. For the reason, the Japanese opened up their minds about any values and lifestyles of American. And, it was proven that they could be appreciated in many parts of America some time later.

Interestingly, they cared much about their cultural root. And, the descendant or the next generations tried to get closer to their culture through some cultural organizations and events. The Japanese still ran a close social control by keeping the lineage of the descends by preferring the marriage from one ethnic.

As for the conclusion, either Japanese or American does not dominate and be dominated. In Japanese Americans, “sociologist Harry Kitano observed that Japanese Americans developed a congruent Japanese culture within the framework of American society. Coexistence between Japanese and American cultures has been successful due to the willingness of both cultures to accommodate to one another”. And, the development of culture is actually the characteristic of Japanese, from the native land, that is capable of selectively importing foreign customs and adapting them to the archipelago.

4.    Bibliography

Easton, Stanley E. and Lucien Ellington. “Japanese Americans” Countries and Their Cultures. 11 October 2012.

            <http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Japanese-Americans.html>

“Japanese American” Wikipedia. 11 October 2012.

           <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American>


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